USS West Haven ( ID - 2159 ) USS " West Haven " ( ID - 2159 ) was a steel – hulled freighter that saw service with the U . S . Navy during World War I , and which later saw convoy service during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II . Originally named War Flame , " West Haven " completed two supply voyages for the Navy during World War I , and two relief missions in the immediate postwar period before being decommissioned . Between the wars , " West Haven " was placed in commercial service as SS " West Haven and operated for several different companies . In 1929 her name was changed to SS " Marian Otis Chandler and in 1938 to SS " Onomea " . Following the outbreak of World War II , " Onomea " was acquired by the British Ministry of War Transport , renamed SS " Empire Leopard " and placed into convoy service on the North Atlantic , delivering vital supplies from the United States to Britain . In November 1942 , while operating with Convoy SC - 107 , " Empire Leopard " was torpedoed and sunk by " U - 402 " , commanded by U - boat ace Siegfried von Forstner . Construction and design . " West Haven " was built as " War Flame " in Seattle , Washington in 1917 at Plant No . 1 of the Skinner & Eddy Corporation . A product of the United States Shipping Boards emergency wartime shipbuilding program , " War Flame " was laid down on 13 August 1917 and launched on 1 November 1917 in what was then apparently a new world keel - to - launch record of just 67 working days ( 81 calendar days ) . The ship was completed an additional 43 working ( 54 calendar ) days later on 24 December 1917 — a keel - to - delivery time of 110 working days ( 135 calendar days ) , establishing a new company record . When completed , " War Flame " had a deadweight tonnage of 8 , 480 tons ( 8 , 800 nominal ) and a gross register tonnage of 5 , 520 tons ( 5 , 600 nominal ) . The ship had an overall length of 423 feet 9 inches , a beam of 54 feet and a draft of 24 feet 2 inches . " War Flame " was powered by a three - cylinder triple expansion steam engine supplied by the Puget Sound Machinery Depot of Seattle , with cylinders of 25 , 42 and 72 inches respectively and a stroke of 48 inches , which drove a single screw propeller and delivered a service speed of 11 knots . Service history . U . S . Navy service , 1918 – 1919 . After completion , " War Flame " was handed over on 24 December 1917 to the U . S . Navy , who named the ship " West Haven " . On 18 June 1918 , the vessel was commissioned into service at New Orleans as USS " West Haven " ( ID - 2159 ) for operation with the Naval Overseas Transportation Service ( NOTS ) , with Lt . William M . Tonken , USNRF , in command . Laden with general Army supplies , " West Haven " departed New Orleans on 3 July and steamed to Norfolk , Virginia , where she joined a convoy sailing for Europe . She arrived at Bordeaux , France , on 12 August 1918 and unloaded her cargo over the ensuing days . Departing Bordeaux on the 21st , " West Haven " arrived at New York on 5 September . After shifting to Philadelphia the same day , the vessel there took on board 5 , 125 tons of general Army supplies before departing on 17 September and steaming to Norfolk , whence she got underway on 23 September in a convoy bound for France . After discharging her cargo at Brest , " West Haven " departed that French port on 3 November . While the vessel was steaming home , the armistice was signed on 11 November 1918 ending World War I . However , the return of peace did not change the ship ' s duties , as there remained the postwar task of reconstructing Europe which had been devastated by the war . Following a brief layover in New York , " West Haven " loaded 7 , 075 tons of general Army cargo at Baltimore and sailed on 5 December , bound for France . The ship made La Pallice on 2 January 1919 , discharged her cargo over the ensuing days , picked up a return Army cargo , and sailed for Norfolk on the 26th . En route home , she ran low on fuel and was forced to reduce her speed to three and one - half knots . She finally reached Bermuda on 28 February . After topping up her bunkers , " West Haven " arrived at Norfolk on 4 March to load 673 tons of cargo for her fourth and final voyage for NOTS . Departing 28 March , she arrived at La Pallice on 12 April where she discharged her cargo . Moving on to Brest , " West Haven " loaded 2 , 306 tons of captured German ordnance , aviation supplies and 375 tons of steel rail ballast for the return journey . Departing for New York on 17 May , " West Haven " made an intermediate stop on 23 May at Ponta Delgada , Azores , probably to refuel , before continuing on to her destination . Some days later , " West Haven " came across the stricken British steamer " Beechleaf " . The 10 , 000 ton cargo carrier had been in transit from Baton Rouge to Ireland with a cargo of fuel oil when her engines and steering gear were disabled by a fire which killed one crewman and severely burned another . " West Haven " took the disabled vessel in tow to Ambrose Light , arriving 7 June , before continuing on to New York where she berthed the following day . Soon after arriving at New York on 8 June , " West Haven " was placed in line for demobilization . She was accordingly decommissioned on 21 January 1920 , simultaneously struck from the Navy List and returned to the USSB . Atlantic , Gulf and Pacific Steamship service , early 1920s . After decommissioning from the Navy , " West Haven " was returned to the USSB and sold in 1920 to the Atlantic , Gulf and Pacific Steamship Corporation , which appears to have put the vessel into service as a coastal freighter , operating between the west and east coasts of the U . S . In November 1921 , " West Haven " sailed from the east coast to Los Angeles with the unusual deck cargo of a fifty - ton Lawler racing yacht , " Idalia " , owned by C . B . Eyer of the Golden State Woolen Mills . At Los Angeles Harbor , the yacht was lifted from " West Haven " s deck by slings suspended from shear legs at the docks of the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Company , after which " West Haven " was moved away and the yacht lowered into the water . " Idalia " s arrival in this unusual manner was hailed as an innovation likely to give " great stimulus to the yachting spirit " of Los Angeles . In September 1922 , " West Haven " was repossessed by the USSB after the Atlantic , Gulf and Pacific Steamship Corporation went bankrupt . No further records of the ship ' s movements appear until 1929 , indicating that the USSB may have laid the vessel up through the 1920s because of the postwar oversupply of shipping . LASSCO and Matson Line service , late 1920s – 1930s . In February 1929 , " West Haven " was sold by the USSB to the Los Angeles Steamship Company ( LASSCO ) , who at this time were in the process of expanding their line from four ships to ten . LASSCO renamed the ship SS " Marian Otis Chandler " after the wife of LASSCOs founder , Harry Chandler , and placed the vessel into service once again as a coastal freighter . In a repeat performance of " West Haven " s rescue of the stricken freighter " Beechleaf " in June 1919 , " Marian Otis Chandler " participated in the rescue of another vessel on the high seas , the USSB freighter " West Hardaway " , in December 1929 . After battling gales for three weeks in the North Atlantic , " West Hardaway " had run out of fuel and was drifting helpless when " Marian Otis Chandler " arrived on the scene to tow the vessel 500 miles to Halifax , Nova Scotia . " West Hardaway " , which had been on a voyage from Grangemouth , Scotland to Norfolk , Virginia , sustained some damage in the episode . In June 1930 , " Marian Otis Chandler " was placed into service between Los Angeles and Hawaii after the LASSCO liner " City of Honolulu " was badly damaged in a fire . " Marian Otis Chandler " continued making runs to Hawaii until early 1931 , when she resumed coastal service . Over the next few years she operated from Los Angeles to west coast ports such as Seattle and Aberdeen , Washington ; Portland and St . Helens , Oregon ; and to east coast ports including Richmond , Virginia and Philadelphia . By about 1934 , " Marian Otis Chandler " appears to have been shifted back to making regular runs to Hawaii . In 1937 , the Los Angeles Steamship Company was wound up and its assets sold to the parent company , the Matson Line . The Matson Line continued to operate " Marian Otis Chandler " in the Hawaiian trade into the late 1930s . In 1938 , Matson renamed the ship SS " Onomea " . World War II . In 1940 , " Onomea " was acquired by the British Ministry of War Transport ( MoWT ) in order to help alleviate the shipping shortage caused by losses to German U - Boats . Renamed SS " Empire Leopard " , the ship would spend the next two years in convoy service between the United States and Britain , during the Battle of the Atlantic . Between February 1941 and August 1942 , " Empire Leopard " completed five round trips across the Atlantic , carrying vital supplies of steel , sulphur and other goods from the United States to the British industrial cities of Liverpool and Hull . After crossing from Liverpool to the United States in February – March 1941 , " Empire Leopard " picked up a cargo of steel at Baltimore and joined Convoy HX - 130 at Halifax , Nova Scotia bound for Liverpool and Hull , arriving at the latter destination in late June . Returning to Hampton Roads , Virginia in July , " Empire Leopard " loaded a cargo of sulphur and completed her second round trip to Britain with Convoy SC - 50 , arriving at Hull on 8 November . " Empire Leopard " s third round trip was completed from New York with Convoy SC - 67 in February 1942 , this time with a cargo of general goods bound for the Tyne , England . The fourth was made from Philadelphia to Hull with Convoy SC - 82 in April – May 1942 with a cargo of steel and general supplies . " Empire Leopard " s fifth and final successful round trip between Britain and the United States was completed from Cape Cod , Massachusetts to Hull in August 1942 , sailing in Convoy SC - 95 with a cargo of steel and general goods . Two ships in this latter convoy were sunk by U - boats during the crossing . Final voyages . Following the discharge of her cargoes at Hull , " Empire Leopard " made her final voyage to North America via Methil and Loch Ewe , Scotland to Botwood , Newfoundland via St . John ' s in September – October 1942 . At Botwood , the ship took on a cargo of 7410 tons of zinc concentrates and munitions and sailed for St . John ' s on 24 October , arriving 26 October . At St . John ' s , " Empire Leopard " joined another 44 merchant ships and a small number of escorts preparing to sail for Liverpool as Convoy SC - 107 . The convoy departed for Liverpool on 30 October . On 2 November , Convoy SC - 107 was intercepted by the German wolf pack " Vielchen " ( " Violet " ) . U - boat ace Siegfried von Forstner commanding " U - 402 " was the first to score a kill . At around 4 : 10 am , " U - 402 " fired two torpedoes , sinking the cargo ships " Dalcroy " and " Rinos " . " U - 402 " struck again a few hours later , firing two torpedoes at 8 : 03 am , one of which hit and sank " Empire Antelope " and the other hitting " Empire Leopard " , which caused the ship to explode . All the crew on board " Empire Antelope " were rescued , but of the 34 crew and seven gunners aboard " Empire Leopard " , only three crew members survived . The survivors from both vessels were picked up by the British rescue ship " Stockport " and transferred to Reykjavík , arriving there on 8 November . Wolf pack " Vielchen " would sink more than a dozen ships from Convoy SC - 107 ( including , coincidentally , " Hobbema " , a sister ship of " Empire Leopard " ) before being driven off by Liberator aircraft from No . 120 Squadron RAF a few days later .