The USS Jean (ID-1308) was a cargo vessel built in 1909 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Newport News, Virginia. Originally constructed as the depot collier SS Jean, she was designed for commercial use and measured as a cargo ship capable of transporting significant quantities of supplies. She was operated by the A. H. Bull Steamship Company of New York City and served in this capacity until the United States entered World War I. During the war, the U.S. Army took control of the vessel in September 1917, deploying her with a civilian crew likely in European waters, before returning her to Newport News in August 1918. The ship was then transferred to the U.S. Shipping Board on a U.S. Army account. The Navy inspected her in 1917 and acquired her from the Shipping Board on 30 August 1918, commissioning her the same day as USS Jean with the Identification Number 1308. As part of the Naval Overseas Transportation Service within the 5th Naval District, USS Jean operated on a bareboat charter, carrying general cargo. She departed Norfolk, Virginia, on 30 September 1918, bound for Nova Scotia, and subsequently joined an Atlantic convoy heading for Bordeaux, France. She was diverted to Brest, arriving on 21 October 1918, with supplies for war-ravaged Europe. She visited several French ports before returning to Newport News on 24 November 1918, shortly after the armistice. After the war, USS Jean refueled, loaded additional cargo, and departed for Rio de Janeiro, arriving in January 1919. There, she exchanged coal for coffee beans, then returned to New York City in March 1919. She was decommissioned on 15 April 1919 at Hoboken, New Jersey, and transferred back to the Shipping Board, resuming her commercial career. The vessel underwent multiple name changes in her commercial service, becoming SS Margarita Calafati in 1926, SS Gladstone in 1927, and SS Sports under the Latvian flag in 1928. Later, under Soviet control, she was renamed SS Magdalena and seized by Germany in 1941, becoming SS Magdalena again. Post-World War II, she was transferred to the U.K., returned to the name SS Sports in 1947, and finally was transferred to Panamanian registry, remaining in service until her scrapping in 1954.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.