USS Huron ( ID - 1408 ) USS " Huron " ( ID - 1408 ) was a United States Navy transport ship during World War I . She was formerly the Norddeutscher Lloyd liner SS " Friedrich der Grosse ( or Friedrich der Große " ) built in 1896 , which sailed Atlantic routes from Germany and sometimes Italy to the United States and on the post run to Australia . At the outset of World War I the ship was interned by the U . S . and , when that country entered the conflict in 1917 , was seized and converted to a troop transport . Originally commissioned as USS " Fredrick Der Grosse " , the ship was renamed " Huron " — after Lake Huron , the center lake of the Great Lakes — while undergoing repairs and conversion at a U . S . Navy yard . The ship carried almost 21 , 000 men to France during the hostilities , and returned over 22 , 000 healthy and wounded men after the Armistice . After decommissioning by the U . S . Navy , the ship was turned over to the United States Shipping Board and was later transferred to the United States Mail Steamship Company , for whom she sailed in the Atlantic as SS " Huron . In May 1922 the ship was allocated to the Los Angeles Steamship Co . and renamed SS " City of Honolulu . The ship caught fire on 12 October 1922 during her maiden voyage , and sank with no loss of life . History . SS " Friedrich der Grosse " . SS " Friedrich der Grosse " ( or " Friedrich der Große " ) was built in 1896 by Vulcan Shipbuilding Corp . of Stettin , Germany , and sailed the Atlantic for North German Lloyd until being interned in New York Harbor in 1914 . On 27 July 1900 , the deck of " Friedrich der Grosse " was the site of Kaiser Wilhelm II ’ s famous " Schrecklichkeit " speech in which he compared the military of the German Empire to the Huns . U . S . Navy transport . The United States Government interned German and Austro - Hungarian ships wherever they had put into port , and upon the entrance of the United States into the hostilities on the side of the Allied and Associated Powers — on 6 April 1917 — took them over and assigned them to the United States Shipping Board ( USSB ) . U . S . Customs agents boarded " Friedrich der Grosse " in the port of New York , along with 30 other German and Austro - Hungarian vessels , and sent their crews to an internment camp on Ellis Island . However , before these sailors left their ships , they carried out a program of systematic destruction calculated to take the longest possible time to repair . " Friederich der Grosse " was taken to Robbins Drydock Co . in Brooklyn for repairs . The USSB then turned the ship over to the U . S . Navy , and she was commissioned at New York Navy Yard on 25 July 1917 as " Fredrick Der Grosse " . The ship , Commander S . H . R . Doyle in command , was renamed " Huron " on 1 September 1917 after the center lake of the Great Lakes . " Huron " acted as a troop transport during the remaining years of the war . During the beginning of one voyage to France . " Huron " , in convoy , departed Hoboken on 23 April 1918 . Two days out , a steering gear casualty in the transport forced that ship to leave her assigned place in the formation . To avoid collision with " Siboney " , transport altered course radically and in so doing struck " Huron " at about 21 : 00 on 25 April . Fortunately , no lives were lost ; but both transports were damaged , which necessitated their turning back . While the signing of the armistice of 11 November 1918 signalled the end of hostilities , it only meant the beginning of the task of returning American troops from " over there " . During the war , " Huron " had transported 20 , 871 men to the European battlefront in her eight voyages . In the postwar months , " Huron " conducted a further seven turn - around voyages , bringing back some 20 , 582 healthy veterans , and some 1 , 546 wounded and sick . " Huron " reached New York City on 23 August and was decommissioned on 2 September for return to the USSB . Post - war service . " Huron " operated on Atlantic South American routes for the United States Mail Steamship Company from 1920 - 1922 . Renamed " City of Honolulu " in May 1922 , she was turned over to the Los Angeles Steamship Co . for passenger service from Los Angeles to Honolulu . After departing on her maiden voyage , the ship caught fire around 05 : 30 on 12 October 1922 at position , some from Los Angeles . The captain ordered everyone to the lifeboats after it became apparent that the fire could not be brought under control . None of the passengers or crew were killed or seriously injured during either the firefighting attempts or the orderly evacuation of the liner . The passengers were rescued by freighter " West Faralon " , the first ship on the scene , but transferred to United States Army transport ship " Thomas " for return to Los Angeles . United States Coast Guard Cutter and tug " Tamaroa " were dispatched to either tow or sink the hulk of " City of Honolulu " . When towing proved to be impossible , " Shawnee " fired 25 rounds at the stricken ship and sank it on 17 October 1922 at position , some from the location of her fire .