SS El Capitan
U.S. Navy service.
| |
History | |
---|---|
Name |
|
Owner |
|
Operator |
|
Port of registry | |
Ordered | 2 December 1915[1] |
Builder | Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Newport News, Virginia |
Launched | Uncertain (See "History") |
Sponsored by | Katherine Jessup[2] |
Completed | 1917 |
Acquired |
|
Commissioned | (USN) 21 March 1918 |
Decommissioned | (USN) 1 February 1919 |
Identification | United States Official Number : 285587 |
Fate | Damaged by aircraft, abandoned, sunk by torpedo 9–10 July 1942. |
General characteristics | |
Type | Cargo ship |
Tonnage | |
Displacement | 10,200 tons[3] |
Length | |
Beam | 51 ft 2 in (15.6 m)[6] |
Draft | 23 ft (7.0 m) loaded mean[5] |
Depth | 33 ft 6 in (10.2 m) molded to hurricane deck[5] |
Propulsion | Triple-expansion steam engine, cys: 24.25 in (61.6 cm), 41.5 in (105.4 cm) and 72 in (182.9 cm) diameter with 48 in (121.9 cm) stroke[4] |
Speed | 11 knots (12.7 mph; 20.4 km/h) |
Complement | (WW I, Navy) 52 |
Armament | (WW I, Navy) 1 × 6-inch (152-millimeter) gun |
El Capitan,
Construction and design
Both El Capitan and sister ship El Almirante were designed by the line's engineer, A. S. Hebble, as single screw ships with three complete steel decks on a transverse framing system.[5] Watertight bulkheads extending to the main deck were fitted at the forepeak, between #1 and #2 holds, aft the engine room and after peak. A watertight bulkhead extending only to the lower deck was fitted aft the ballast tank.[4]
Propulsion was by a
History
The precise launch date is given on widely differing dates in sources. 18 August 1917 is given by Navy. September 21 is given in the Annual Report of the Commissioner of Navigation to the Secretary of Commerce for the fiscal year ending 30 June 1918.[10] The photograph of the ship underway that leads the article "New Southern Pacific Freighters" has an annotation of "8-4-17" indicating the ship was launched, fitted out and underway by 4 August 1917.[5]
World War I
Before delivery to the Southern Pacific Company the ship was requisitioned by an order on 3 August 1917 directly from the builder by the USSB Emergency Fleet Corporation with payment of $230,000.[1] The 19 September 1917 bill of sale specifies that "nothing herein shall be construed to the prejudice of any legal or equitable right or claim" by the "former owner," the Southern Pacific Company.[1] After the United States entered World War I, the United States Shipping Board transferred El Capitan to the U.S. Navy for war service on 21 March 1918. The Navy assigned her the naval registry Identification Number (Id. No.) 1407 and commissioned her the same day as USS El Capitan.[3]
Assigned to the
Interwar years
El Capitan was
World War II and loss
Before the United States entered World War II, El Capitan was taken over by the United States War Shipping Administration (WSA) and was placed under the operation of United States Lines as WSA's agent on 26 June 1941.[12] She was transferred to Panamanian registry (a flag of convenience) on 1 October 1941 without an official number and change in code letters.[12][13]
El Capitan was part of Arctic convoy
Footnotes
- ^ Though some sources give other names contemporary references and Lloyd's Register indicate no names other than El Capitan from construction until loss.
References
- ^ a b c d United States of America 1922, p. 74.
- ^ Lee, 2011.
- ^ a b c International Marine Engineering (December 1917), p. 539.
- ^ a b c d e f g h International Marine Engineering (December 1917), p. 538.
- ^ a b c d Lloyd's Register 1930–31.
- ^ Rand McNally 1915, p. 58.
- ^ Southern Pacific Bulletin (February 1921), p. 16.
- ^ Southern Pacific Bulletin (January 1922), p. 7.
- ^ Marine Journal (October 8, 1921).
- ^ a b MARAD Vessel Status Card.
- ^ Lloyd's Register 1941–42.
- ^ a b c d Helgason.
Bibliography
- Commissioner of Navigation (1918). Annual Report of the Commissioner of Navigation to the Secretary of Commerce (fiscal year ending June 30, 1918). Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- Helgason, Guðmundur. "El Capitan". Ships hit by U-boats. uboat.net. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- International Marine Engineering (1917). "New Southern Pacific Freighters". International Marine Engineering. 22 (December 1917). New York: Aldrich Publishing Company. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- Jungen, C. W. (1922). "Ocean Unit of Lines That Span Continent". Southern Pacific Bulletin. 11 (January 1922). San Francisco: Southern Pacific. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- Lee, Bill (July 2011). "The Ship Sponsors of Newport News" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- Lloyds. "Lloyd's Register (1930–31)" (PDF). Lloyd's Register (through PlimsollShipData). Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- Lloyds. "Lloyd's Register (1941–42)" (PDF). Lloyd's Register (through PlimsollShipData). Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- Luce, G. W. (1920). "Sunset Gulf—The 100 Per Cent Route". Southern Pacific Bulletin. 10 (February 1921). San Francisco: Southern Pacific. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- Maritime Administration. "El Capitan". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- Marine Journal (1921). "Retires Gracefully After Forty Years of Service". Marine Journal. 44 (October 8, 1921). New York: Edgar Pennington Young. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- Naval History And Heritage Command. "El Capitan". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- Rand McNally (1915). Rand McNally Hudson River Guide. New York, Chicago: Rand McNally & Company. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- United States of America (1922). United States-Norway Arbitration—Counter Case of the United States of America, Appendix. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
External links