After her Olympic charter ended,
Finland returned to her usual New York–Antwerp route until the outbreak of war in Europe in August 1914.
Finland was next chartered to the
American Line, yet another IMM subsidiary, for service from New York to
Falmouth and
London beginning on 26 October. After completing two circuits, the liner was returned to New York–Liverpool service on 19 January 1916. (center foreground, with beard) inspects gun crews aboard
Finland in
Liverpool on 15 May 1917.
Finland was still in New York–Liverpool service when the United States declared war on the
German Empire in April 1917. The United States Army, needing transports to get its men and materiel to France, had a select committee of shipping executives pore over registries of American shipping. On 28 May, the committee selected
Finland and thirteen other American-flagged ships that were sufficiently fast, could carry enough coal in their
bunkers for
transatlantic crossings, and, most importantly, were in port or not far at sea. After
Finland discharged her last load of passengers, she was officially handed over to the Army at noon on 2 June, the last of the fourteen ships acquired.
U.S. Army service , with returning U.S. troops in 1919. Before any troop transportation could be undertaken, all of the ships had to be hastily refitted—in two weeks in the case of
Finland. Of the fourteen ships, ten, including
Finland, were designated to carry human passengers; the other four were designated as animal ships. The ten ships designated to carry troops had to have all of their second- and third-class accommodations ripped out and replaced with berths for troops. Cooking and toilet facilities had to be greatly expanded to handle the large numbers of men aboard.
Finland, uniquely among the fourteen ships, already carried guns and did not need to be refitted for them. All the ships were crewed by merchant officers and sailors but carried two U.S. Navy officers, Navy gun crews,
quartermasters,
signalmen, and
wireless operators. The senior Navy officer on board would take control if a ship came under attack. The American convoy carrying the AEF was broken into four groups;
Finland was in the third group with and , and escorts consisting of
cruiser , armed
collier , and
destroyers , , and . The headquarters detachment and six
companies (of a total of 12) of the
18th Infantry Regiment embarked on
Finland at New York. The ship, under the command of U.S. Navy
Commander S. V. Graham, departed with her group on 14 June for
Brest, France, steaming at a comfortable pace. A thwarted submarine attack on the first convoy group, and reports of heavy submarine activity off of Brest resulted in a change in the convoy's destination to
Saint-Nazaire. After returning to the United States,
Finlands next convoy crossing began on 6 August in the company of , , and
San Jacinto, all escorted by cruiser .
Finland, carrying some of the troops that had tried to depart on 30 July on before she sank near
Staten Island, had an uneventful roundtrip.
Henderson was the only ship to return to the United States without incident. On 17 October,
Antilles was torpedoed by , sinking in 6 minutes with the loss of 67 out of the 234 men on board.
Finland began her return journey to the United States on 28 October in an convoy with cargo ships
Buford and
City of Savannah and escorted by
armed yachts , , and , and destroyers , , , and .
Finland, returning most of the survivors of
Antilles back to the U.S., was struck on her
starboard side by a torpedo from
U-93 at 09:27, from the French coast. Many of the civilian crew and the survivors of
Antilles, experiencing a torpedo attack for the second time in 11 days, panicked. Lifeboats were immediately launched without word from Commander Graham, and the engine room and fire room men all left their stations, contrary to orders. The naval officers, armed with a
revolver and a wooden mallet, were able to get the men back to their stations. The damage was limited to one
cargo hold and had not affected the boilers or the engines. Although
Finland took a starboard
list, it did not increase and Graham was able to steer a course back to Brest, anchoring there the next morning. Men aboard the prematurely launched lifeboats were rounded up by
Wakiva II and
Alcedo and returned to Brest. including three of the Naval Armed Guard detachment, two soldiers and four crew perished in the attack. In the aftermath of the torpedoing incident, Commander Graham was awarded the
Navy Distinguished Service Medal for his "exceptionally meritorious service" in getting
Finland safely back to port.
Lieutenant (junior grade) Huntington English, from
Wakiva II, received the
Navy Cross, in part because he rescued a soldier who had jumped from the torpedoed transport.
Chief Boatswain's Mate John P. Doyle, on
Alcedo, was issued a letter of commendation for commanding a
whaleboat that pulled a number of men from
Finland from the water. The deportment of the crew aboard
Finland, as well as that of
Antilles, while under attack demonstrated the problems with civilian-crewed vessels. The Navy, led by the recommendations of
Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves, insisted that all troop transports be crewed entirely by Navy personnel. This was accomplished soon after so as to avoid the need for what Gleaves called "ignorant and unreliable men" who were "the sweepings of the docks". After safely reaching Saint-Nazaire,
Finland discharged her passengers and cargo that included of frozen beef for the AEF. On 27 February, one day after departing, steering gear jammed, forcing her into the path of
Henderson. That ship was able to maneuver such that
Finland only dealt her a glancing blow.
Finland suffered only superficial damage;
Henderson was holed below the waterline, but her crew took advantage of unusually calm February seas to repair the damage, and were soon able to proceed to New York.
Finland and
President Lincoln arrived back at New York on 16 March. and was delivered to the U.S. Navy the same day.
U.S. Navy service Finland was
commissioned on 26 April.
Finland next left New York on 15 June with ,
Kroonland, , , , Italian steamer , and British steamer
Vauban and met up with the Newport News portion of the convoy—which included
Lenape, , , , and British troopship —the next morning and set out for France. The convoy was escorted by cruisers and , and destroyers and ;
Finland and
Kroonland arrived back at New York on 13 July. on her
foremast while the ship was underway at sea, . On 26 July,
Finland, loaded with 3,879 officers and men, departed on her next trip to France. In the company of
Kroonland and Italian steamer , she met up with , , and the Italian steamers and from Newport News. Cruisers
Pueblo, , and destroyers and ushered the transports to France, where they arrived on 7 August.
Finland arrived back in the United States on 25 August.
Finland departed again on 15 September sailing with
Henderson,
Martha Washington,
Pocahontas, ,
Powhatan, and steamer
Ulua.
Finlands New York group met up with a Virginia group of Navy transports and , and steamers and . Escorts ,
Pueblo, , , , and helped to ensure the safe arrival of all ships in France on 28 September.
Martha Washington and
Pocahontas accompanied
Finland on her return journey and arrived at New York on 12 October.
Finland began one last transatlantic crossing before the
Armistice. She left New York with
hospital ship and steamers , and with battleship on 4 November and arrived in France on 15 November, four days after the end of hostilities. In all,
Finland transported 12,654 troops to France on her five Navy crossings. As the flow of troops was reversed to bring American troops home,
Finland made 8 round trips from Europe to the United States, returning 32,197 personnel to the United States. On 4 September 1919 she was transferred to the
3d Naval District and on 15 November decommissioned and delivered to the
War Department, and, eventually, to the Red Star Line. ==Postwar career==