USS Agamemnon (USN)

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The USS Agamemnon was a ship in the United States Navy from 1917 - 1919. She was built in 1903 in Germany as a passenger ship originally named the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II.

History

As the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II, the ship was built in the city of Stettinn(Szczecin) as a private passenger liner. As a passenger liner, she made a number of trips between New York, New York and Germany. The ship was west bound to New York when World War I broke out. After evading British patrols, she arrived safely in New York.

Until the US entered the war, the ship sat in New York. During World War I she was taken by US forces. Work began to repair the ship's machinery, which was sabotaged by the German caretaker crusier. Other work was done to turn the vessel into a troop transport ship. She was initially commissioned as the USS Kaiser Wilhelm II in August of 1917, then in September of 1917 she was renamed as the USS Agamemnon.

From September of 1917 to the end of the war, the ship made regular trips back and forth from New York to France carrying US troops to Europe to fight in the war. Once the war was over, in December of 1918 the Agamemnon began carrying troops back home from the war. She continued to do this until August of 1919. It's believed that she carried about 42,000 American soldiers back home.

After August of 1919, the Agamemnon was decommissioned and sold to the US Army for use as a transport ship. In 1927 the ship was renamed to Monticello. After 1927 the ship saw no future service. Considered too old to be useful, she was sold for scrap in 1940.

For other uses of the name Agamemnon, please see the Agamemnon (Disambiguation) page.

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