USS Justin photographed after the expansion of her amidships superstructure and the addition of a raised navigating bridge. She retains her short well deck forward.
History
United States
Name	USS Justin
Namesake	a former name retained
Owner	Bowring & Archibald
Builder	R. Dixon & Co., Middlesbrough, England
Launched	23 December 1890
Completed	February 1891
Commissioned	27 April 1898
Recommissioned	19 September 1900
Decommissioned	20 December 1915
Fate	Sold 1916, scrapped 1933
General characteristics
Type	Collier
Displacement	1,419 long tons (1,442 t)
Length	287 ft 6 in (87.63 m)
Beam	39 ft (12 m)
Draft	19 ft 8 in (5.99 m)
Propulsion	steam engine, screw-driven
Speed	10 knots (12 mph; 19 km/h)
Complement	35
Armament	2 × 6-pounders

USS Justin was a steamship acquired by the United States Navy for use as a collier. Her task was to carry coal and to provide it to ships and stations. Her task was one that was being phased out, as the navies of the world were shifting from coal to oil to drive their ships.

Service history

USS Justin (1898–1915) In drydock at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, circa 1899–1900.

The first Justin to be named as such by the U.S. Navy, she was completed in 1891 by R. Dixon & Co., Middlesbrough, England; purchased from Bowring & Archibald; and commissioned on 27 April 1898. Justin performed collier service in the Chesapeake Bay area until sailing for Guantánamo Bay on 2 June for coaling duties during the Spanish–American War. Returning to Virginia, Justin operated along the U.S. East Coast and in New England, then departed Norfolk, Virginia on 11 October. After visiting Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Mexico, she arrived San Francisco, California on 3 February 1899 and decommissioned there on 17 February.

Recommissioned at Mare Island, California on 19 September 1900, Justin sailed on 1 October for duty in the Far East. For the next seven years, she provided fuel and supplies to the Asiatic Fleet during a period of intense and growing American activity in the Orient. She returned to San Francisco, California on 23 November 1907 via Guam and Honolulu. From 1907 to 1915, Justin carried coal to units of the Pacific Fleet stationed at widely scattered points from the U.S. West Coast to South America. She decommissioned at Mare Island 20 December 1915, and was sold into commercial service in 1916 and scrapped in 1933.^[1]

References

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

External links

• NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive – Justin