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USS Buena Ventura (ID-1335)
Encyclopedia
USS Buena Ventura (ID-1329), also spelled USS Buenaventura, was a United States Navy
cargo ship
in commission in 1918 that was sunk during World War I
.
, by Northumberland Shipbuilding Company, Ltd.. The United States Steel Products Company of New York City
owned her when the United States Shipping Board
requisitioned her for World War I service in 1917. The Shipping Board assigned her to the United States Army
, for which she began operations in 1917 with a United States Navy
Naval Armed Guard detachment aboard to man her guns.
as USS Buena Ventura (or USS Buenaventura) at Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania
on 26 July 1918 with Lieutenant Commander
Howard Fitzsimons, USNRF, in command.
Buena Ventura was assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service on a U.S. Army account. After loading cargo
at Philadelphia, she departed for New York City on 9 August 1918, then left New York in a convoy
on 13 August 1918 bound for France
. Steaming first to La Pallice and from there to Royan
and Bordeaux
, she proceeded to Le Verdon-sur-Mer
to take on fuel for the return voyage to Philadelphia.
Buena Ventura cleared Le Verdon-Sur-mer in ballast
on 14 September 1918 as part of a 25-ship convoy bound for the United States
. Seven escorts protected the convoy until that evening, after which the convoy continued across the Atlantic Ocean
unescorted.
submarine
U-46
came across the unescorted convoy and fired two torpedo
es into Buena Ventura. The first struck amidships, directly beneath the flying bridge about 4 ft (1.2 m) below the waterline
and tore a hole that measured 10 ft (3 m) long by 4–6 ft (1.2–1.8 m) wide. The blast from the explosion coursed upward, splintering the lifeboat
suspended in its davit
s just above and knocking the wireless
out of commission. The second torpedo hit in the after end of the empty hold
number four.
Buena Ventura, mortally stricken, soon slowed in the rising swells, listing to port. Her siren
blasted out the submarine warning signal while her after gun fired one shot. After throwing the confidential publications and code
s overboard in weighted bags, the crew abandoned their rapidly sinking ship in the four undamaged lifeboats. Her commanding officer — Lt. Cdr. Fitzsimons — remained on board to be sure that everyone who could abandon ship had done so and, when thus assured, stepped into the last boat and ordered it lowered away. That boat, damaged in bumping against the side of the ship due to the Buena Venturas port list, required unceasing efforts to bale out the water that had gained entry through several leaks. Fitzsimons, his executive officer
, and the 27 enlisted men in the boat, separated from the other three boats in the darkness and rising seas, steered in the direction of the Spanish
coast
.
On 18 September, the French
destroyer
rescued 45 of Buena Venturas crew, while on the morning of 20 September, the Spanish coaster
Lola took Fitzsimons and his remaining sailor
s on board and landed them at Corunna
, Spain
on 22 September.
Louis Siegel's name appears in the U. S. Government publication, "Officers and enlisted men of the United States Navy who lost their lives during the world war, from April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918", with a death date of September 27, 1918, eleven days after the ship was torpedoed. His name is not listed on other records.
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
in commission in 1918 that was sunk during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Construction and early career, 1913-1918
Buena Ventura was built as a commercial cargo ship in 1913 at Howden-on-Tyne, EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, by Northumberland Shipbuilding Company, Ltd.. The United States Steel Products Company of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
owned her when the United States Shipping Board
United States Shipping Board
The United States Shipping Board was established as an emergency agency by the Shipping Act , 7 September 1916. It was formally organized 30 January 1917. It was sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board.http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Hurley/bridgeTC.htm | The Bridge To France by Edward N....
requisitioned her for World War I service in 1917. The Shipping Board assigned her to the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, for which she began operations in 1917 with a United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Naval Armed Guard detachment aboard to man her guns.
United States Navy service, 1918
Buena Ventura was transferred to the U.S. Navy on 25 July 1918. Assigned the naval registry Identification Number (Id. No.) 1335, she was commissionedShip commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
as USS Buena Ventura (or USS Buenaventura) at Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
on 26 July 1918 with Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
Howard Fitzsimons, USNRF, in command.
Buena Ventura was assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service on a U.S. Army account. After loading cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
at Philadelphia, she departed for New York City on 9 August 1918, then left New York in a convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
on 13 August 1918 bound for France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Steaming first to La Pallice and from there to Royan
Royan
Royan is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, along the Atlantic Ocean, in southwestern France.A seaside resort, Royan is in the heart of an urban area estimated at 38,638 inhabitants, which makes it the fourth-largest conurbation in the department, after La Rochelle, Rochefort and Saintes...
and Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, she proceeded to Le Verdon-sur-Mer
Le Verdon-sur-Mer
Le Verdon-sur-Mer is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
to take on fuel for the return voyage to Philadelphia.
Buena Ventura cleared Le Verdon-Sur-mer in ballast
Sailing ballast
Ballast is used in sailboats to provide moment to resist the lateral forces on the sail. Insufficiently ballasted boats will tend to tip, or heel, excessively in high winds. Too much heel may result in the boat capsizing. If a sailing vessel should need to voyage without cargo then ballast of...
on 14 September 1918 as part of a 25-ship convoy bound for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Seven escorts protected the convoy until that evening, after which the convoy continued across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
unescorted.
Loss
At about 20:45 on 16 September 1918, the GermanKaiserliche Marine
The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
U-46
SM U-46
SM U-46 was one of the 329 submarines serving in the Imperial German Navy in World War I.U-46 was engaged in the naval warfare and took part in the First Battle of the Atlantic....
came across the unescorted convoy and fired two torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es into Buena Ventura. The first struck amidships, directly beneath the flying bridge about 4 ft (1.2 m) below the waterline
Waterline
The term "waterline" generally refers to the line where the hull of a ship meets the water surface. It is also the name of a special marking, also known as the national Load Line or Plimsoll Line, to be positioned amidships, that indicates the draft of the ship and the legal limit to which a ship...
and tore a hole that measured 10 ft (3 m) long by 4–6 ft (1.2–1.8 m) wide. The blast from the explosion coursed upward, splintering the lifeboat
Lifeboat (shipboard)
A lifeboat is a small, rigid or inflatable watercraft carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard ship. In the military, a lifeboat may be referred to as a whaleboat, dinghy, or gig. The ship's tenders of cruise ships often double as lifeboats. Recreational sailors sometimes...
suspended in its davit
Davit
A davit is a structure, usually made of steel, which is used to lower things over an edge of a long drop off such as lowering a maintenance trapeze down a building or launching a lifeboat over the side of a ship....
s just above and knocking the wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
out of commission. The second torpedo hit in the after end of the empty hold
Hold (ship)
thumb|right|120px|View of the hold of a container shipA ship's hold is a space for carrying cargo. Cargo in holds may be either packaged in crates, bales, etc., or unpackaged . Access to holds is by a large hatch at the top...
number four.
Buena Ventura, mortally stricken, soon slowed in the rising swells, listing to port. Her siren
Siren (noisemaker)
A siren is a loud noise making device. Most modern ones are civil defense or air raid sirens, tornado sirens, or the sirens on emergency service vehicles such as ambulances, police cars and fire trucks. There are two general types: pneumatic and electronic....
blasted out the submarine warning signal while her after gun fired one shot. After throwing the confidential publications and code
Code
A code is a rule for converting a piece of information into another form or representation , not necessarily of the same type....
s overboard in weighted bags, the crew abandoned their rapidly sinking ship in the four undamaged lifeboats. Her commanding officer — Lt. Cdr. Fitzsimons — remained on board to be sure that everyone who could abandon ship had done so and, when thus assured, stepped into the last boat and ordered it lowered away. That boat, damaged in bumping against the side of the ship due to the Buena Venturas port list, required unceasing efforts to bale out the water that had gained entry through several leaks. Fitzsimons, his executive officer
Executive officer
An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
, and the 27 enlisted men in the boat, separated from the other three boats in the darkness and rising seas, steered in the direction of the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
.
On 18 September, the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
rescued 45 of Buena Venturas crew, while on the morning of 20 September, the Spanish coaster
Coastal trading vessel
Coastal trading vessels, also known as coasters, are shallow-hulled ships used for trade between locations on the same island or continent. Their shallow hulls mean that they can get through reefs where deeper-hulled sea-going ships usually cannot....
Lola took Fitzsimons and his remaining sailor
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
s on board and landed them at Corunna
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
on 22 September.
Casualties
Three officers and 15 or 16 enlisted men died in the loss of Buena Ventura. The United States Navy and United States Naval Reserve Force (USNRF) personnel who perished were:Officers
- Brown, Henky Cartwhight, ensign, USNRF (class 8)
- Kalning, Heinrich, ensign, USNRF (class 3)
- Mawdsley, William Charles, lieutenant, USNRF (class 3).
Men
- Antrim, Harry Reece, ship's cook, second class
- Bennett, James, seaman
- Busse, Gustav Philip, quartermaster, first class
- De Launcey, Montague, quartermaster, third class
- Etzold. Ernest Walter, fireman, second class, USNRF
- Kropp, Louis Paul, seaman
- Mahathey, James, water tender
- Phillips, Edwin David, engineman, second class, USNRF
- Robinson, Chables William, mess attendant, third class, USNRF
- Scott, Elliott Matthews, seaman
- Siegel, Louis, mess attendant, third class, USNRF
- Smith, Albert William, seaman, USNRF
- Vermeulen, David, boatswain's mate, second class
- Whitman, Keefer Jennings, engineman, second class, USNRF
- Williams, Arthur, wardroom cook
- Winters, William Otto, water tender
Louis Siegel's name appears in the U. S. Government publication, "Officers and enlisted men of the United States Navy who lost their lives during the world war, from April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918", with a death date of September 27, 1918, eleven days after the ship was torpedoed. His name is not listed on other records.