Invincible I (Cargo Ship)
1918–1919
The Navy retained the name carried by this ship at the time of her acquisition.
(Cargo Ship: displacement 15,942 (normal); length 440'2"; beam 36'0"; depth of hold 38'0"; draft 28'7"; speed 11.0 knots; complement 70)
Invincible, a steel-hulled, single-screw cargo ship, was launched in 1918 at San Francisco, Calif., by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp.; transferred to the Navy from the United States Shipping Board (USSB) on 17 October 1918 and commissioned the same day, Lt. George H. Zeh, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS), U. S. Army Account, Invincible took on cargo at Port Costa and sailed for New York on 31 October 1918 via the Panama Canal. She arrived at New York on 25 November and departed for London with supplies for the Allies on 11 December, arriving there on 27 December, two days after Christmas.
Invincible left London on 18 January 1919 and reached New York on 1 February. She made one more voyage to London before being decommissioned on 15 April 1919, and being returned to USSB the same day. The ship continued to sail for the Shipping Board and later for National Bulk Carriers, Inc., until the late 1930s.
Updated by Mark L. Evans and Robert J. Cressman
8 April 2024
