- References
{{Infobox ship image| Ship image=SS Cauto (1916).jpg | Ship caption=SS Cauto on 19 June 1916, nearing completion at the Seattle Construction and Dry Dock Company, Seattle, Washington.
}}{{Infobox ship career | Hide header= | Ship country=United States | 1918}} | Ship name=USS Cauto | Ship namesake=Previous name retained | Ship owner= | Ship operator= | Ship registry= | Ship route= | Ship ordered= | Ship awarded= | Ship builder=Seattle Construction and Drydock Company, Seattle, Washington | Ship original cost= | Ship yard number= | Ship way number= | Ship laid down= | Ship launched=1916 | Ship sponsor= | Ship christened= | Ship completed=9 December 1916 | Ship acquired=12 July 1918 | Ship commissioned=13 July 1918 | Ship recommissioned= | Ship decommissioned=22 February 1919 | Ship maiden voyage= | Ship in service= | Ship out of service= | Ship renamed= | Ship reclassified= | Ship refit= | Ship struck= | Ship reinstated= | Ship homeport= | Ship identification= | Ship motto= | Ship nickname= | Ship honours= | Ship honors= | Ship captured= | Ship fate=Transferred to United States Shipping Board for return to owner 1919 | Ship status= | Ship notes=*In commercial service as SS Cauto 1916-1918 and 1919-1937 | Ship badge=
}}{{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header= | Header caption= | Ship class= | Ship type=Cargo ship | Ship tonnage=3,820 gross tons | Ship displacement=8,060 tons | Ship tons burthen= | 368|ft|m|abbr=on}} | 47|ft|m|abbr=on}} | Ship height= | Ship draught= | 22|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} | Ship depth= | Ship hold depth= | Ship decks= | Ship deck clearance= | Ship ramps= | Ship ice class= | Ship power=2,500 indicated horsepower | Ship propulsion=Steam engine, one shaft | Ship sail plan= | Ship speed=14 knots | Ship range= | Ship endurance= | Ship test depth= | Ship boats= | Ship capacity= | Ship troops= | Ship complement=62 | Ship crew= | Ship time to activate= | Ship sensors= | Ship EW= | Ship armament=2 × 3-inch (76.2-millimeter) guns | Ship armour= | Ship armor= | Ship aircraft= | Ship aircraft facilities= | Ship notes=
}} | USS Cauto (ID-1538) was a United States Navy cargo ship in commission from 1918 to 1919. SS Cauto was a commercial cargo ship launched in 1916 and completed on 9 December 1916 at Seattle, Washington, by the Seattle Construction and Drydock Company for the New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company of New York City. During World War I she came under the control of the United States Shipping Board, and the United States Army chartered her on 15 October 1917 to haul Army cargo during World War I. The U.S. Navy acquired Cauto from the Shipping Board for World War I service on 12 July 1918, assigned her the naval registry Identification Number (Id. No.) 1538, and commissioned as USS Cauto on 13 July 1918 with Lieutenant Commander J. R. Curtis, USNRF, in command. Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, Cauto was outfitted for naval service at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Between 21 July 1918 and 9 February 1919, Cauto made three round-trip transatlantic voyages between the United States and France, carrying supplies for the American Expeditionary Force in France. Cauto was decommissioned at Philadelphia on 22 February 1919 and transferred to the U.S. Shipping Board for return to the New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company. Once again SS Cauto, she resumed civilian service, operating commercially until wrecked in 1937. References- {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c5/cauto.htm}}
- Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: S.S. Cauto (American Freighter, 1916).Served as USS Cauto (ID # 1538) in 1918-1919
- NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: Cauto (ID 1538)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cauto (ID-1538)}} 4 : World War I cargo ships of the United States|Ships built in Seattle|1916 ships|Cargo ships of the United States Navy |