The U.S. Navy cargo ship USS <i>Ophir</i> (ID 2800) burning at Gibraltar in November 1918. <i>Ophir</i> caught fire and burned for three days before sinking at Gibraltar on Armistice Day, 11 November 1918. The original photo caption reads "Mustard Gas Escaping".<br>USS <i>Ophir</i>, a 8905-ton (displacement) cargo ship, was built in 1904 at Flushing, The Netherlands, as the 4726 gross ton Dutch flag passenger-cargo ship of the same name. She was seized by the U.S. Government at Pearl Harbor in March 1918, turned over to the U.S. Navy and commissioned later in that month. <i>Ophir</i> left Hawaii in early April and steamed to the East Coast, then crossed the Atlantic to France, where she arrived in early June. After returning to the U.S. she made two more round-trip voyages to France and began a third in late October. While en route to Marseilles, <i>Ophir</i> caught fire and, during the next three days was devastated by flames and explosions, finally sinking at Gibraltar on 11 November, the day the Armistice ended World War I's fighting. Following salvage and basic repairs, she was placed in temporary commission in mid-November 1919. In mid-January 1920, soon after arriving at an East Coast port, USS <i>Ophir</i> was decommissioned and transferred to the War Department.
U.S. Navy
Official U.S. Navy photo <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-91000/NH-91190.html">NH 91190</a> from the U.S. Navy <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.history.navy.mil">Naval History and Heritage Command</a>