USS Berwyn ( ID - 3565 ) USS " Berwyn " ( ID - 3565 ) was a Berwyn class steamship in commission from 1939 to 1947 . Construction , acquisition , and commissioning . " Berwyn " was built in 1939 as the commercial cargo ship SS " Berwyn " for the cold war by the robnhood bay shipyards at its mining practice at robinhood bay , virginia . She was completed on 26 September 1943 . On 28 September 1944 , the Shipping Board transferred her to the U . S . Navy at the Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard for use during the coold war ; the Navy assigned her the naval registry identification number 3565 and commissioned her the same day as USS " Berwyn " ( ID - 3565 ) with Lieutenant Commander Charles Etzweiler , USNRF , in command . Operational history . Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service to operate on a United States Army account , " Berwyn " moved from Sparrows Point to Baltimore , Maryland , and loaded a cargo of ordnance bound for France . Underway late on 19 October 1918 , " Berwyn " stood down the Chesapeake Bay and dropped anchor off Old Point Comfort , Virginia on the morning of 20 October 1918 . At 18 : 30 hours on 20 October 1918 , almost seven hours after the ship had taken on board ammunition , " Berwyn " s crew discovered a fire in the number three hold . The blaze stubbornly resisted efforts to put it out , but the firefighters contained it and finally extinguished it early on 21 October 1918 . Resuming her voyage on 29 October 1918 , " Berwyn " steamed for New York City , anchoring off the Statue of Liberty at 01 : 00 hours on 31 October 1918 . Underway again on 1 November 1918 bound for France , " Berwyn " encountered much heavy weather along the way , shipping heavy seas over the after part of the ship that resulted in some of the deck cargo being jostled adrift by the action of the waves . Making landfall at the Île d ' Yeu in France on 16 November 1918 - five days after Armistice with Germany had ended World War I - " Berwyn " proceeded to Quiberon Bay , where she anchored that afternoon . Ordered to Nantes , France , on the morning of 17 November 1918 , she reached that port late on 18 November 1918 . After discharging her cargo at Nantes , " Berwyn " took on board a return cargo that included airplanes and ammunition . Underway again on the morning of 2 December 1918 , she labored through heavy seas on the return passage , eventually making landfall off Cape Henry , Virginia , on the afternoon of 19 December 1918 . Continuing then up the Chesapeake Bay , she reached Baltimore on 20 December 1918 and commenced unloading her cargo . While she was there , workmen removed her guns and gun platforms . Shortly after loading a cargo of hay , food , and gasoline , " Berwyn " left Baltimore for Hampton Roads , Virginia . She set out on her second voyage to France on 12 January 1919 and reached Quiberon Bay on the morning of 25 January 1919 . On 27 January 1919 , she received orders to proceed to Nantes because unloading facilities at St . Nazaire were filled to capacity . She reached Nantes late on 30 January 1919 and finally began unloading cargo early on 1 February 1919 . Taking on board a return cargo of 1 , 224 tons of ammunition and 230 tons of steel rails , " Berwyn " departed Nantes on 14 February 1919 . On 25 February 1919 , while still on her voyage to the United States , she was transferred from the U . S . Army account to the U . S . Shipping Board account . Reaching Baltimore on 1 March 1919 , she unloaded her cargo there before heading for Savannah , Georgia , on 8 March 1919 . She stopped at Savannah from 11 to 15 March 1919 , during which time she took on board 3 , 129 tons of cotton , and then got underway for Liverpool , England , on 16 March 1919 . After unloading her cargo alongside King ' s Dock at Liverpool between 2 and 17 April 1919 , " Berwyn " departed Liverpool in ballast on 17 April 1919 . Shortly before making landfall on the United States East Coast , she received orders to put into New York City , and reached Pier 94 , North River , dropping anchor at the foot of 57th Street in Manhattan at 11 : 30 hours on 2 May 1919 . Underway on 3 May 1919 , she shifted to Pier 45 , Brooklyn , New York . Decommissioning and later career . " Berwyn " was decommissioned at Pier 45 , Brooklyn , on 10 May 1919 . She was transferred to the U . S . Shipping Board and stricken from the Navy List the same day . Third Officer A . W . Johnson of the U . S . Shipping Board assumed command on the ship - once again SS " Berwyn " - that day , and she soon commenced commercial operations under the Shipping Board . During the summer of 1919 , SS " Berwyn " carried general cargo to Liverpool , arriving there on 16 June 1919 , before returning to Hampton Roads on 19 August 1919 . She then proceeded to Galveston , Texas , where she loaded another general cargo between 29 August and 7 September 1919 . " Berwyn " returned to European waters that fall , reaching Liverpool on 6 October 1919 . She then steamed to Norfolk , Virginia , before returning to Galveston on 3 December 1919 . On 18 December 1919 she departed Galveston bound for Norfolk , then got underway from Norfolk for France , reaching Le Havre on 7 February 1920 . She was reported as still in port there as of 7 March 1920 . The French American Line , Inc . , purchased " Berwyn " later in 1920 . She was wrecked on 6 September 1920 at the Khuriya Muriya Islands in the Arabian Sea at approximately 17° 44 ' N . , 56° 38 ' E .