SS Corvus (1919)

Sister ship Karaganda (ex-Circinus). Photo dated between 18 March 1961 and 1 October 1963.
History
United States
Name	Corvus (1919–1930) Flomar (1930–1945) Uzbekistan (1945)
Namesake	Corvus
Owner	Green Star Line (1919–1923) Planet Steamship Co. (1923 – Dec 1929) Calmar Steamship Corp. (Dec 1929 – 10 Jan 1945)[note 1] War Shipping Administration (10 Jan 1945 – 5 July 1946)
Operator	Green Star Line (1919–1923) Isthmian Steamship Company (1923–1929) War Shipping Administration (20 December 1941 – 10 Jan 1945)[note 2] Far East Shipping Co. (10 Jan 1945 – 11 Aug 1945) War Shipping Administration (11 Aug 1945 – 5 July 1946)
Builder	Columbia River Shipbuilding Company, Portland
Yard number	33
Launched	6 November 1919
Sponsored by	Mrs. M. E. Thorne
Christened	Frances Smith
Completed	21 November 1919
Commissioned	26 November 1919
Maiden voyage	26 November 1919
Homeport	New York Vladivostok (1945)
Identification	US Official Number 219269 Call sign LTSQ (1919–1933) Call sign KOPL (1934–1945) Call sign UURO (1945)
Fate	Scrapped, August 1946
General characteristics
Class and type	Design 1013 Cargo ship
Tonnage	5,749 GRT (1919–1930) 5,551 GRT (1930–1945) 3,550 NRT (1919–1930) 3,422 NRT (1930–1945) 8,640 DWT
Length	410.0 ft (125.0 m)
Beam	54.2 ft (16.5 m)
Depth	27.5 ft (8.4 m)
Installed power	582 ihp
Propulsion	triple expansion
Speed	11+1⁄2 knots (13.2 mph; 21.3 km/h)
Complement	60 (1945)
Armament	In Soviet service (1945)[1] 1 x 102 mm (4 in) naval gun 1 x 76.2 mm (3 in) anti-aircraft gun 8 x 20 mm anti-aircraft gun

Corvus was a steam cargo ship built in 1919 by

Design and construction

After the United States entered into World War I, a large shipbuilding program was undertaken to restore and enhance shipping capabilities both of the United States and their Allies. As part of this program, EFC placed orders with nation's shipyards for a large number of vessels of standard designs. Design 1013 cargo ship was a standard cargo freighter of approximately 8,800 tons deadweight designed by Skinner & Eddy Corp. and adopted by USSB.

West Hastan was part of the order for 14 vessels placed by USSB with Columbia River Shipbuilding Co. on 28 May 1918.

The ship was shelter-deck type, had two main decks and had five main holds which allowed for the carriage of a variety of goods and merchandise. The vessel also possessed all the modern machinery for quick loading and unloading of cargo from five large hatches, including ten winches and a large number of derricks. She was also equipped with wireless apparatus, had submarine signal system installed and had electric lights installed along the decks.

As built, the ship was 410.0 feet (125.0 m) long (

The sea trials were held in the Columbia River on 21 November 1919 with the ship performing satisfactorily. Following their successful completion, Corvus was handed over to her owners next day.^[10]

Operational history

Following delivery to the Green Star Steamship Co., the ship departed from the shipbuilder's yard on 26 November 1919 and after a short stop at the oil dock departed on her first trip in the morning of November 27 bound for

Following the acquisition, Planet Steamship Co. decided to allocate Corvus and another freighter, SS Santa Cecilia, to intercoastal East to West Coast trade. Corvus was reconditioned in Baltimore and left the port on 25 April 1923 for her first voyage under new flag carrying 7,500 tons cargo of steel and general merchandise to West Coast ports.[21]^[22][23] On her return trip the ship carried 4,600 tons of lumber and general cargo to New York. The vessel remained in this coastal trade through the second half of 1924 at which point she was temporarily switched to South American service. After conducting two trips to Argentina with lumber, Corvus returned to her usual coast to coast trade route in 1925. She continued serving this route for the next several years, largely carrying steel and steel products and general cargo on her westward journeys being often chartered to Isthmian Line. On her eastward trips she carried lumber and general cargo from various ports of the Pacific Northwest. On one of such trips in March 1927 she broke and lost one of her propeller blades after striking a submerged object and had to be towed to San Francisco for repairs.^[24] The repairs were done in five days and were accomplished without unloading the ship's cargo of 4,800,000 feet of lumber.^[25] In September 1928 Corvus while on a trip from Rio de Janeiro to Baltimore with a cargo of manganese ore ran out of fuel while in the Caribbean Sea and was drifting helplessly until saved by US Navy minesweeper Grebe who brought her into Trinidad for refueling.^[26][27]

Calmar Steamship Corporation

In 1927 Bethlehem Steel founded Calmar Steamship Corp. as a whole subsidiary company to transport steel and steel products from the company's steel mills in Maryland and Pennsylvania to the West Coast costumers. Calmar transported exclusively Bethlehem's products westbound but served as a common carrier carrying lumber and other cargoes on their return voyages eastwards for a variety of shippers.^[28]

In November 1929 it was reported that Calmar Steamship Corp. placed a bid in the amount of US$937,500 for five steamers operated by Planet Steamship Corp. with Corvus being valued at US$179,843^[29] Approximately two weeks later the sale went through and all five vessels were sold to Calmar increasing the size of their operational intercoastal fleet to eleven vessels.^[30][31] Following the sale all five new vessels were renamed according to Calmar Steamship established naming pattern, where the names of the ships consisted of two parts, the prefix corresponding to a state, city or facility operated by Bethlehem Steel, and the second part consisting of word "-mar", an abbreviation for Maryland. Under this naming tradition, Corvus became Flomar and was turned to her new owners after reconditioning and repairs were done.^[32][33] Flomar cleared out of Philadelphia on her first trip for Calmar Steamship carrying 7,700 tons of steel and other cargo on 25 January 1930, passed through the Panama Canal on February 4 and arrived in Los Angeles on February 17.^[34][35][36] After unloading approximately 3,400 tons of cargo in California the steamer proceeded further north to unload the rest of her cargo and load lumber for her return trip.^[37]

Flomar remained in the intercoastal service through the early part of 1941. For example, in March 1934 she delivered a variety of goods to California from the East Coast including canned goods, machinery and even several luxury automobiles.^[38] In December 1932 she had to fight off a strong gale off Cape Meares resulting in her deck cargo shifting. The freighter managed to make the port even though she had a list of 22°. After restoring her load, the ship was able to continue her journey.^[39]

In November 1934 during one of her usual trips from Los Angeles to Baltimore Flomar became disabled after losing her propeller about forty miles away from the Panama Canal. The vessel was towed into port for evaluation and repairs. After examination it was discovered that the vessel broke her tail shaft and was put into drydock for quick repairs. She was able to depart on December 10 and continue on to her destination.^[40][41]

On 18 September 1935 Flomar was proceeding down

The ships sailing in the Pacific between the West Coast ports of the United States and Soviet Union usually traveled unescorted with ship information being provided to the US Navy prior to ships' arrival, although Soviet vessels sometimes broke this rule. Uzbekistan arrived unannounced on 31 May 1945 at Dutch Harbor from Petropavlovsk for coaling. After filling her bunkers, the freighter sailed out from port. As she was exiting the Iliuliuk Bay about 23:19, she was struck amidships by incoming steamer SS American Star on her port side.^[62] The collision produced a large hole at her main deck level but also damaged the ship's hull below waterline around her boiler room resulting in rapid flooding of the vessel's engine room. Despite the flooding, the engines continued working and the captain of Uzbekistan decided to beach the ship to avoid sinking. The ship ran aground on Ulakta Head at about 23:27. Harbor tug Osamekin (YTB-191) was dispatched and stood by the stricken vessel assisting the survivors.^[62]

An inspection of the vessel took place on June 1 and it was determined that the ship needs stabilization first before any attempt to refloat could be undertaken due to the freighter's position and sustained damage. All preparatory operations were finalized by June 6 and Uzbekistan was successfully refloated.^[62] The freighter was then towed to Dutch Harbor where temporary repairs were done, and the vessel was able to depart for West Coast on June 30.^[63] Uzbekistan arrived at Portland on July 10 and was immediately put into dock for evaluation. Due to the condition and age of the vessel, the Soviet Government returned the ship to the United States effective 11 August 1945.^[1][52] The ship remained berthed in Portland with Pacific Atlantic SS Co. and States SS Co. acting as WSA agents until sold to Dulien Steel Products, Inc. for $1,675.00, delivered 5 July 1946 for scrapping in August 1946.^[5][52][64]

Footnotes

Notes