USS Susquehanna ( ID - 3016 ) USS " Susquehanna " ( ID - 3016 ) was a transport for the United States Navy during World War I . She was the second U . S . Navy ship to be named for the Susquehanna River . Before the war she operated at SS " Rhein , an ocean liner for North German Lloyd . She was the lead ship of her class of three ocean liners . After the end of World War I , the ship operated briefly in passenger service as SS " Susquehanna . Laid up in 1922 , " Susquehanna " was sold to Japanese ship breakers in 1928 and scrapped . History . SS " Rhein " was launched on 20 September 1899 by Blohm & Voss of Hamburg , Germany , for North German Lloyd . The ship was long between perpendiculars ( overall ) was abeam , and had a draft of . The ship ' s two quadruple - expansion steam engine s turned her twin screw propellers that drove her at speeds of . " Rhein " sailed from Bremen to New York on 9 December 1899 for her maiden voyage , and began regular Bremen – Baltimore service in May 1900 . Later that same year , " Rhein " served as a transport carrying German Empire troops as part of the Eight - Nation Alliance intended to put down the Boxer Rebellion in China . From September to November 1901 , " Rhein " sailed on a Bremen – Suez Canal – Australia route . Returning to North Atlantic sailings at the end of 1901 , " Rhein " sailed from Bremen variously to New York , Baltimore , or Philadelphia through 1914 . She began what would become her last voyage for North German Lloyd on 16 July 1914 when she left Bremen bound for Baltimore , and was in that port when Germany declared war in early August . As a neutral in the war at that time , the United States interned the liner and her sister ship , which was also in Baltimore . The two sisters would remain idle in Baltimore for almost three years . After the United States declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917 , " Rhein " , along with all other German ships interned in American ports , was seized by U . S . authorities . Initially handed over to the United States Shipping Board ( USSB ) , she was later transferred to the U . S . Navy to effect repairs caused by neglect and sabotage by her German crew . The ship was overhauled , reconditioned , fitted out as a transport , and commissioned as USS " Susquehanna " at Norfolk , Virginia , on 5 September 1917 . USS Susquehanna sailed from New York on her first voyage with troops on 14 December 1917 , under the Command of Captain Zachariah H . Madison with Commander Allen B . Reed , Executive Officer . Subsequently , Commander Reed relieved Captain Madison of command on 22 August 1918 . Both Commanding Officer s were awarded the Navy Cross in 1920 for the hazardous duty of commanding the troop ship through waters that were mined and patrolled by German U - boat s . On 29 May 1918 , " Susquehanna " , escorted by three American and one French destroyer , got underway from Brest , , France , with troopships , and for the return voyage to the U . S . At sundown on 30 May 1918 , having passed through the so - called " danger zone " of submarine activity , the destroyers left the convoy to proceed alone . At about 09 : 00 on 31 May 1918 , , with Commander Percy Foote , in command , was struck by three torpedoes from the German submarine U - 90 , and sank about 20 minutes later . Of the 715 people aboard , 26 men were lost with the ship , and a Lieutenant Edward Isaacs was taken aboard U – 90 as prisoner . Survivors were rescued from lifeboats late that night by destroyers and . They were taken to France , arriving at Brest on 2 June . The at 33 , 000 tons , was the largest U . S . Naval vessel to be lost in World War I . " Susquehanna " was attached to the Cruiser and Transport Force and made eight round trips to Europe before the Armistice , transporting 18 , 348 troops . After the Armistice , she made seven more voyages to France and returned 15 , 537 passengers to the United States . " Susquehanna " was placed out of commission on 27 August 1919 and turned over to the USSB . The ship was chartered to the United States Mail Steamship Company ( U . S . Mail Line ) and began passenger service from New York to Bremen in August 1920 . When the U . S . Mail Line ran into financial difficulties , SS " Susquehanna " , along with the other six former German vessels the company had chartered , was seized in April 1921 by the USSB , and later placed with the newly formed United States Lines . Beginning in April 1922 , " Susquehanna " sailed on a New York – Plymouth – Cherbourg – Bremen route . Laid up in September 1922 after completing five roundtrips for United States Lines , the ship was sold in November 1928 to Japanese interests for scrapping .