USS W. F. Babcock (ID-1239) was a collier that served in the United States Navy from 1917-1919.

W. F. Babcock was a wooden-hulled, schooner-rigged barge launched in 1882 at Bath, Maine by A. Sewall and Company.

[1] She was acquired by the U.S. Navy from the Luckenbach Steamship Company on 18 October 1917 for service in World War I.

Plying the United States East Coast between New England and Norfolk, Virginia.

Sailing in the Golden Gate it appears on the 20 cent postage stamp issued in 1923.