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UNITED STATES NAVY
TEMPORARY AUXILIARY SHIPS
WORLD WAR I

Photo #  NH 105291:  USS Gargoyle circa September 1917.

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USS Gargoyle (ID # 1656), 1917-1918.
Previously S.S. Pennoil (Tanker, 1902) and S.S. Gargoyle. Later S.S. Oswego, Queen Maeve, Petroil, and Zenobia Martini

USS Gargoyle, a 4433 gross ton tanker, was built in 1902 at Greenock, Scotland, as S.S. Pennoil and operated before World War I for a German subsidiary of the Vacuum Oil Co. She was re-registered under the American flag and renamed Gargoyle in 1914. Transferred to the Navy in August 1917 and placed in commission at that time as USS Gargoyle (ID # 1656), she loaded a cargo of fuel oil and in September fueled several battleships in the New York area. Taking on another cargo, Gargoyle sailed from New York in early October for England, where she delivered her load of fuel to several ports and naval bases in the English Channel. She made another similar voyage in January 1918, and during this trip became one of the initial group of ships assigned to the newly-created Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS). In March 1918 the tanker sailed from New York on her third transatlantic voyage, delivering her cargo at Devonport and Plymouth, England. In May 1918, soon after her return to New York, Gargoyle was decommissioned and returned to the Vacuum Oil Co. She was renamed Oswego in 1920, Queen Maeve in 1924, Petroil in 1931, and Zenobia Martini in 1951. The very elderly ship was scrapped at Savona, Italy, in 1961.

This page features all available views concerning USS Gargoyle (ID # 1656) and the American tanker Gargoyle, Originally Pennoil, later Oswego, Queen Maeve, Petroil, and Zenobia Martini.


Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

Photo #: NH 105291

USS Gargoyle
(ID # 1656)

This tanker was in commission as USS Gargoyle (ID # 1656) from August 1917 to May 1918. She is probably shown here around the time of her inspection by the Third Naval District in September 1917.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 58KB; 740 x 545 pixels

 


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Page made 25 May 2008
Minor punctuation change 1 June 2008