Lake Shore (Id. No. 1792)
A village in central Minnesota.
Lake Shore, a mine cargo ship, was launched under USSB contract as War Shell 15 September 1917 by Toledo Shipbuilding Co., Toledo, Ohio; acquired by the Navy 31 December 1917; and commissioned as Lake Shore 11 January, 1918 at Philadelphia, Lt. Comdr. John Burns, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to NOTS, Lake Shore steamed to Norfolk 7 February. After a coaling run to Boston, she loaded a cargo of coal and mines and departed Norfolk 7 March. Arriving Lamlash, Scotland, 29 March, she steamed to Kyle and Clyde, Scotland; then returned from Lamlash to Norfolk 17 April to 5 May.
Between 8 May and 20 June Lake Shore steamed to Portsmouth, N.H.; Boston; and New York; then she loaded another cargo of mines and military cargo for shipment to Europe. Sailing out of Norfolk she made two more runs to Scotland and back between 27 June and 31 October.
On her fourth voyage from Norfolk to European waters Lake Shore steamed to St. Nazaire, France, 10 to 28 November with a full cargo of mines. She operated out of French and British ports until 10 January 1919 when she departed Inverness, Scotland, for Norfolk. Arriving 6 February, she decommissioned 5 March and was returned to USSB the next day. In 1923 she was sold to E. K. Wood Lumber Co., Inc., and renamed Olympic.
