The steamship Lake Farmingdale was steel-hulled freighter built for the United States Shipping Board in 1919.

She was sunk on 19 February 1942 by Japanese carrier aircraft while attempting to deliver arms and supplies to General Douglas MacArthur's forces in the Philippines.

When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, neither it nor any Allied power had shipping capacity to carry the two million Americans who sailed for Europe, much less all their accompanying armament and supplies.

[13] Lake Farmingdale sailed continuously in Southeast Asia for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company until 1922, calling at Hong Kong,[14] Manila,[15] Singapore,[16] Calcutta,[17] Saigon,[18] Rangoon,[19] Haiphong,[20] Foochow,[21] and Penang.

In any case, on 16 June 1924, the Shipping Board entered into a six-month bare-boat charter of Lake Farmingdale with Captain Juan Gisbert.

[32] From 1929 to 1931 Florence D. sailed for the Philippine Steam Navigation Company, presumably under a charter from Cadwallader-Gibson, since Lloyd's Register shows no change in ownership.

"[33] During this period she is recorded as calling at Bais, Cagayan,[34] Cebu, Iloilo,[35] Lamit Bay,[36] Legaspi, Liguan, Sumagui,[37] Tabaco, and Zamboanga.

General Douglas MacArthur's forces were in urgent need of additional supplies to defend the territory.

The supply situation was so concerning that, on 18 January 1942, General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, cabled Major General Julian F. Barnes, the top Army officer in Australia, to commission blockade runners.

[40][41] When Robenson reached Soerabaja he was able to acquire supplies that MacArthur could use from the recently arrived President Polk.

After repeated requests from Robenson, Rear Admiral William A. Glassford agreed to release Florence D. to the Army.

The thinking at the time was that once the supplies were in Mindanao, the abundant small craft in the area could shuttle them to MacArthur's forces in Bataan and Corregidor.

Florence D rescued the eight crew members, which included the pilot, Lt. Thomas H. Moorer, who later in his career became Chief of Naval Operations, and co-pilot Ensign Walter H. Mosley, whose valor later in the war was honored in the naming of the destroyer escort USS Mosley.

[46][47] At one in the afternoon, on 19 February 1942, a Japanese twin-float seaplane dropped two bombs on Florence D, and missed.

The ship sank bow first, but remained afloat long enough for the survivors to cut loose two lifeboats.

She was attacked by a Japanese flying boat, but used a smoke screen to avoid damage and returned safely to Darwin.