USS West Gate ( ID - 3216 ) USS " West Gate " ( ID - 3216 ) was a cargo ship for the United States Navy during World War I . The ship was laid down as SS " War Agate , but she was launched in January 1918 as SS " West Gate instead . SS " West Gate " was one of the steam - powered " West " boats that were built for the . They were steel - hulled cargo ships built on the West Coast of the United States for the World War I war effort . She was the 3rd ship built by the Columbia River Shipbuilding Company in Portland , Oregon . She was commissioned into the of the United States Navy in April 1918 . After experiencing engine trouble on her first attempt at a transatlantic crossing , " West Gate " was unsuccessfully attacked by two German submarines in early July 1918 while returning to port for repairs . After successfully completing her trip to France , she began her second transatlantic trip in early October . In the early morning hours of 7 October , " West Gate " s steering gear jammed and , another Navy cargo ship , collided with the " West Gate " , sinking her . Seven men lost their lives in the accident . Design and construction . The ship was laid down at the Columbia River Shipbuilding Company of Portland , Oregon under the name " War Agate " as part of an order for the British Admiralty . Had she been sold to them , the " War Agate " would have been operated by the Cunard Line . However , the commandeered and received title to all private shipbuilding projects in progress in mid - 1917 , which included the still - incomplete " War Agate " . The ship was renamed " West Gate " by the time of her launching on 27 January 1918 . She was one of the " West " ships , which were cargo ship s of similar size and design built by several shipyards on the West Coast of the United States for the for emergency use during the First World War . All of the " West " ships were given names that began with the word " West " , and " West Gate " was the 3rd of some 30 " West " ships built at Columbia River Shipbuilding . " West Gate " was , and was long ( between perpendiculars ) and abeam . She had a steel hull that displaced 12 , 185 t with a mean draft of . Her hold was deep . " West Gate " s power plant consisted of a single steam turbine driving a single screw propeller which moved the ship at up to . Career . After her April 1918 completion , " West Gate " was handed over to the United States Navy for use in the . She was commissioned at Norfolk , Virginia , as USS " West Gate " ( ID - 3216 ) the same day with Lieutenant Commander Alexander Watson , , in command . After making her way to New York , " West Gate " took on 6 , 700 tons of cargo that included locomotives , steel rails , and other materiel for the United States Army and departed in a convoy for France on 28 June . The ship soon developed engine trouble and dropped out of the convoy to head to St . John ' s , Newfoundland , for repairs . While headed to St . John ' s in moderate seas under a cloudy sky , " West Gate " was attacked by two German submarines at 19 : 15 on 3 July . One U - boat surfaced in front of the cargo ship , crossing to starboard . As " West Gate " quickly turned to port to evade the U - boat , a second U - boat surfaced one point to starboard . While " West Gate " s radio operator sent out a preemptive SOS , her gunners opened fire on the two submarines . Though her gunners made hits on neither boat , both were bracketed with fire , quickly submerged , and apparently departed the scene . " West Gate " arrived at St . John ' s at 18 : 00 on 7 July without any further contact with enemy vessels . After four days of repairs , " West Gate " departed St . John ' s for France and arrived at the Gironde estuary on 22 July . She shifted to Saint - Nazaire three days later where she unloaded her cargo . " West Gate " departed on 21 August for Newport News , Virginia , where she arrived on 10 September . Later in the month , she headed to New York for major engine repairs . Final voyage . After taking on of Army materiel , she departed for Bordeaux on 4 October in a convoy escorted by cruiser . On the night of 6 / 7 October — noted in the " Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships " as " particularly dark and rainy " — the ships were having trouble maintaining their stations in the convoy . " West Gate " was sailing in the first column to the starboard of the guide ship , . At 02 : 28 on 7 October , while about south of Halifax , " West Gate " s steering gear engine jammed , sending the ship veering sharply to the port . The crew put the ship ' s engines at half speed to try to drop out of the convoy . Lieutenant Spencer , the chief engineer , and his assistant , Lieutenant ( j . g . ) Hillery , headed to the machinery spaces to see about effecting repairs . At 02 : 30 , men on the bridge sighted the red light from the oncoming , which had been steaming behind and to the port of " West Gate " . Though the bridge ordered the engines raised to " full speed ahead " to avoid the collision , there was no time for the engines to respond before " American " s bow cut into the starboard side of " West Gate " , near the poop deck . " West Gate " s engines were shut down while " American " backed out of the tangle . " West Gate " quickly began to settle and the order to abandon ship was issued . The chief engineer and his assistant , Spencer and Hillery , remained belowdecks long enough to extinguish the boilers and open safety valves to prevent the explosion of the boilers . They finished the task just before the aft bulkhead gave way to the inrushing seawater . Both arrived on deck in time to board lifeboat number 2 , which had been held as long as possible for men in the after part of the ship . Chief Gunner ' s Mate Michael B . Wallrath , who had assisted in lowering three lifeboats while he remained on board , jumped overboard after seeing to it that all the boats were away . Wallrath was pulled into lifeboat number 6 just before a wave capsized it and drowned two of its occupants . Lieutenant commander R . B . Vandervoort , , " West Gate " s commanding officer , remained on board until he felt sure that the entire crew had departed the sinking ship . When he climbed up on the deckhouse to cut free a life raft and leave the ship , he discovered six men huddled on deck . Vandervoort was able to get the six on the life raft , but the suction caused by " West Gate " s final plunge pulled him away and below the surface . After he managed to get back to the surface , he clung to floating wreckage for two hours until pulled aboard the very raft he had missed earlier . Vandervoort and the six men aboard the raft were rescued by one of " American " s lifeboats at 06 : 00 , after some 3½ hours in the water . A total of seven men from " West Gate " , two from lifeboat six and five others probably killed in the initial collision , lost their lives in the accident . The U . S . Navy awarded Chief Gunner ' s Mate Wallrath a Letter of Commendation for his actions during the sinking of " West Gate " .