Sylvan Arrow, a 7797 gross ton tanker, was built at Camden, New Jersey, in 1917. She was taken over by the Navy and commissioned in July 1918 as USS Sylvan Arrow (ID # 2150). As a unit of the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, she made two voyages to England, carrying fuel oil and deck cargo, before the Armistice ended World War I combat in November. In January 1919, a little over a month after returning to the U.S. at the end of her second trans-Atlantic round-trip, USS Sylvan Arrow was decommissioned and returned to her owner.
The ship had over two decades of additional commercial service, with no changes of name. On 20 May 1942, while operating in the Caribbean Sea, S.S. Sylvan Arrow was torpedoed by the German submarine U-155. The badly damaged tanker was abandoned, but remained afloat. She sank on 28 May, following unsuccessful attempts to tow her to port.
This page features all available views concerning the tanker Sylvan Arrow, which served as USS Sylvan Arrow (ID # 2150) in 1918-1919.
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
NOTES:
Page made 14 October 2003
New image added 11 January 2009