USS Yellowstone ( ID - 2657 ) The first USS " Yellowstone " ( ID - 2657 ) was a cargo ship of the United States Navy that served during World War I and its immediate aftermath . Construction and acquisition . The Moore and Scott Shipbuilding Company in Oakland , California launched launched a steel - hulled , single - screw commercial cargo ship originally named SS " Passatt " , SS " War Boy " , or SS " War Buoy " on 9 December 1917 . Renamed SS " Yellowstone " , she was completed in April 1918 and came under the control of the United States Shipping Board . The U . S . Navys 12th Naval District inspected " Yellowstone " with an eye toward using the ship as a depot collier during World War I and her assigned the identification number 2657 . She steamed from California to Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , where the Navy took control of her for operation with the Naval Overseas Transportation Service . She was commissioned at the shipyard of William Cramp and Sons in Philadelphia as USS " Yellowstone " ( ID - 2657 ) on 21 September 1918 with Lieutenant Commander Lawrence Dodd , USNRF , in command . Navy service . Soon after her commissioning , " Yellowstone " moved to New York City , where she arrived on 24 September 1918 . She underwent repairs at the Morse Drydock and Repair Company yards in Brooklyn , New York , and suffered additional damage in a minor sideswiping collision with the British - registered merchant ship " Moorish Prince " on 13 October 1918 . After repairs to the damage she suffered in her collision with " Moorish Prince " , " Yellowstone " shifted to Pier 5 at Bush Terminal in Brooklyn on the morning of 15 October 1918 and over the next few days took on board 6 , 672 tons of general cargo – including automobiles and locomotives – earmarked for American forces in France . On 27 October 1918 , " Yellowstone " got underway in convoy for France , " proceeding under confidential orders on [ United States ] Army transport duty to port of debarkation , " St . Nazaire . The war ended on 11 November 1918 while " Yellowstone " was en route to France . On 14 November 1918 she arrived at Quiberon Bay . She remained at anchor there until she received onward routing to St . Nazaire . There , she discharged her cargo and began taking on " return " cargo for transport to the United States , including " aeroplane parts . " After shifting briefly to the St . Nazaire roadstead , " Yellowstone " departed the French coast , proceeding independently , on 27 November 1918 . On 15 December 1918 , only two days from New York , " Yellowstone " sighted a derelict three - masted schooner and altered course to close . She discovered the water - logged " Joseph P . Cooper " of Mobile , Alabama , abandoned with her decks and cabin awash and with her forerigging gone and her forecastle smashed in . " Joseph P . Cooper " looked like she had been adrift from six to eight weeks . After leaving the derelict , " Yellowstone " continued her passage and arrived at Pier 5 , Bush Terminal , in Brooklyn on 17 December 1918 . Shifting to Pier 1 at the end of December , she spent a week at anchor off the Statue of Liberty before returning to Bush Terminal and , later , shifting to the U . S . Army docks at Brooklyn . There , from 17 to 25 January 1919 , " Yellowstone " took on board 5 , 150 tons of supplies and , on 25 January 1919 , got underway for France . During the crossing , " Yellowstone " ran into a heavy gale on 4 February 1919 . She rolled considerably at the outset , shipping water and spray amidships , and labored heavily in the storm . On 9 February 1919 , with the storm still showing no signs of abating , " Yellowstone " s steering gear failed . Soon both auxiliary systems – steam - and hand - powered – also failed . Pumping oil through waste pipes in an attempt to break the force of the waves , " Yellowstone " wallowed through the storm while her engineers worked to repair the casualty . By 12 February , " Yellowstone " was once again able to use her steering gear effectively . " Yellowstone " anchored at Quiberon Bay at 0953 on 14 February 1919 . Her troubles were not over , however , as she grazed the jetty wall while entering the locks at St . Nazaire . At 0545 , the engineer officer reported to the captain that two boilers were under water and the steam was cut off . As " Yellowstone " moored alongside the nearby quay , her crew broke out a tarpaulin and collision mat . Soon thereafter , " Yellowstone " , still with way on , nudged into the bridge walk of the lock . By 0630 , under tow by a French tug , she reached a safe basin , where she dropped both anchors and her crew began to take stock of the situation . Divers examining the damage reported that a hole , six inches ( 15 . 2 cm ) in width , had been opened up in " Yellowstone " s side , extending from a point 10 feet ( 3 meters ) beneath the waterline and about six feet ( 1 . 8 meters ) in length . Drydocked on 11 March 1919 , " Yellowstone " grazed the French passenger ship SS " Alesia " that morning , causing minor damage to " Alesia " s railings on her promenade deck and boat deck . Undocked upon completion of her hull repairs on 6 April 1919 , " Yellowstone " loaded a return cargo of structural iron for use as ballast , barbed wire , and 6 - inch ( 152 - mm ) artillery pieces . On 19 April 1919 , she shifted from St . Nazaire to Brest , France , and got underway the next day for the United States . Mooring at Pier 3 , Bush Terminal , Brooklyn , on 7 May 1919 , she unloaded through mid - month . Decommissioning and transfer . At noon on 24 May 1919 , a United States Shipping Board crew reported aboard " Yellowstone " , and , at 1247 that day , " Yellowstone " was decommissioned and simultaneously stricken from the Navy list and returned to the Shipping Board . Later career . Once again SS " Yellowstone " , the ship entered commercial service under the control of the Shipping Board . On 10 December 1920 , she dragged her anchors due to high winds and ran hard aground off Ponta Delgada on São Miguel Island in the Azores . She was listed as " stranded " and a total loss , but her entire crew of 45 men was saved .