USS Kittery (AK-2)

History
German Empire
Name	Präsident (1905–18)
Owner	Hamburg America Line (1905–18)
Builder	Schichau Werft, Bremerhaven
Laid down	date unknown
Launched	30 November 1905
Out of service	interned at San Juan, 1915
Fate	Acquired by US Navy, 14 May 1917
United States
Name	Kittery
Namesake	Kittery, Maine
Owner	US Navy (1918–33) US Shipping Board (1933–37)
Acquired	14 May 1917
Commissioned	6 July 1918
Decommissioned	5 April 1933
Stricken	11 April 1933
Identification	Hull symbol AK-2
Fate	Scrapped 1937
General characteristics [1]
Tonnage	1,839 GRT
Displacement	3,300 t (3,200 long tons)
Length	293 ft 8 in (89.51 m)
Beam	40 ft 6 in (12.34 m)
Draft	13 ft 3 in (4.04 m)
Installed power	1,400 shp (1,000 kW)
Propulsion	triple expansion steam engine
Speed	15.5 kn (17.8 mph; 28.7 km/h)
Complement	87
Armament	none

USS Kittery (AK-2) was a German passenger liner of the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) that was built in 1905 as Präsident. The United States Navy took her over in 1918, renamed and commissioned her as a troopship and military cargo transport in World War I. She was transferred to the United States Shipping Board in 1933 and scrapped in 1937.

Schichau Seebeckwerft of Bremerhaven built Präsident, launching her on 30 November 1905. Hamburg America Line operated her in the West Indies and Caribbean.

After the outbreak of World War I, she was suspected of supplying German cruisers in the Leeward Islands. After several cruises, in which she narrowly avoided capture by British and French ships, she entered the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico, early in 1915 and was interned with the HAPAG ship Odenwald and the captured collier KD-III. After the United States entered the war in April 1917, the US Navy took her over on the authority of President Woodrow Wilson's Executive Order 2619-A of 14 May 1917. Präsident sailed to the United States escorted by USS Hancock and was refitted for naval service. She was commissioned as USS Kittery 6 July at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Assigned to cargo and troop transport service between the United States and the West Indies, Kittery left Philadelphia on 18 July. Operating out of Charleston, South Carolina, she made monthly trips during the remainder of the war to supply US forces.

After the war she continued cargo service from Charleston and Norfolk, Virginia, for more than 15 years, making scores of runs to West Indian ports. After a final trip to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Port-au-Prince, and Cap-Haïtien, she arrived Norfolk 21 December 1932. She left on 28 January 1933 and reached Philadelphia two days later.

Kittery decommissioned on 5 April, and her name was struck from the Navy List 11 April 1933. She was transferred to the United States Shipping Board 26 June 1933 and scrapped in 1937.

Kittery's crew members were authorized the following medals:

• World War I Victory Medal (with Transport Clasp)

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

• NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - AK-2 Kittery
• Photo gallery at Naval Historical Center