USS Saturn ( AG - 4 ) The first USS " Saturn " ( AG - 4 ) was an iron collier in the United States Navy . " Saturn " was launched during 1890 by Harlan & Hollingsworth Company , Wilmington , Delaware ; was purchased on 2 April 1898 by the United States Navy from the Boston Towboat Company for service in the Spanish - American War ; and commissioned on 11 April 1898 , Commander Samuel W . Very in command . Service history . Spanish - American War , 1898 . Departing from Brooklyn , New York , on 11 April 1898 , " Saturn " steamed south to Key West . Carrying coal for United States Navy ships operating against Spanish forces in the Caribbean , " Saturn " called at Cienfuegos , Cuba , at ports in Haiti and Puerto Rico , and at St . Thomas , Danish West Indies , before the war ended . She returned to Norfolk , Virginia on 1 September 1898 and was decommissioned there on 4 November and placed in reserve . Asiatic Squadron , 1900 – 1903 . Recommissioned on 15 August 1900 , " Saturn " departed from Norfolk on that day to join the Asiatic Squadron . Visiting Gibraltar , Port Said , Aden , and Singapore , " Saturn " arrived at Cavite , Luzon , Philippine Islands , on 10 October 1900 . The collier , based at Philippine ports , operated in East Asian waters into 1903 , but usually was stationed for months at a time at Chefoo and Woosung , China ; Nagasaki , Japan ; and Hong Kong . Detached on 5 March 1903 from the Asiatic Fleet , the ship arrived at Bremerton , Washington , on 25 April and was decommissioned there on 30 June 1903 and placed in reserve . Pacific Fleet , 1903 – 1916 . " Saturn " was placed in service on 2 December 1903 on a merchant basis and attached to the Pacific Squadron the same day . She operated on the United States west coast , from San Diego , California to Elaine , Washington , into 1908 . She made one voyage to Kiska and Dutch Harbor , Alaska , during mid - 1904 , and another to Honolulu and Midway Island in January 1906 , carrying coal for shore facilities . She also cruised in Mexican waters during January , April , July , and August 1907 , supplying ships of the fleet . " Saturn " was assigned to the Pacific Torpedo Flotilla on 1 December 1908 . She cruised along the southern California and Mexican coast into 1911 , returning to Puget Sound Navy Yard on 22 August 1911 . " Saturn " was placed out of service there on 30 September and returned to the Reserve Force . Placed in service again on 3 August 1912 , " Saturn " returned to duty with the Pacific Fleet . She operated out of California , Washington , and Mexican ports supporting fleet activities until placed in reserve on 31 July 1913 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard . " Saturn " was placed in service on 4 April 1914 and deployed to Mexican waters to protect United States citizens while the Mexican political situation deteriorated . " Saturn " spent much of 1914 anchored at Mazatlán , Manzanillo , and La Paz , Mexico , and returned to United States waters early in the following year . The collier remained in service in waters from Mexico to Washington into September 1916 . Alaska , 1916 – 1920 . " Saturn " departed Bremerton on 2 September 1916 for Sitka , Alaska , to operate as a tender and relay ship for radio communication between Alaska and bases on the United States west coast . She cruised extensively in waters of the North Pacific and was placed in full commission on 4 April 1917 upon United States entry into World War I . She called frequently at Seward , Sitka , Tatoosh , Ketchikan , and Dutch Harbor , insuring continuous communications between the continental United States and the Alaska Territory . During November 1918 , " Saturn " was assigned special duty carrying coal and supplies to the United States Expeditionary Force at Vladivostok , Russia , during the Russian Civil War and large - scale Japanese intervention . She departed Vladivostok on 12 January 1919 and proceeded homeward via Olongapo , Philippine Islands ; Guam ; and Pearl Harbor , arriving on 25 February at Mare Island Navy Yard . " Saturn " resumed duty as a communications link between Alaska and the continental United States , with occasional additional duty as a radio repair ship . She was classified AG - 4 as a miscellaneous auxiliary on 17 July 1920 . Decommissioning and sale . Relieved of her duty at the end of 1921 , she departed Mare Island on 19 January 1922 , transited the Panama Canal , and reached League Island , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , on 16 February . Decommissioned on 17 March 1922 , " Saturn " was sold on 25 September 1922 to Joseph G . Hitner of Philadelphia , and scrapped .