SS Iowan

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"USS Iowan" redirects here. For other ships, see USS Iowa.

USS Iowan (ID-3002) is seen here in 1919 returning American troops from France.
USS Iowan (ID-3002) is seen here in 1919 returning American troops from France.
History
NameSS Iowan
OwnerAmerican-Hawaiian Steamship Company
Port of registryUnited States New York[3]
OrderedMay 1912[5]
Builder
Cost$732,000[6]
Yard number132[4]
Launched24 January 1914
Completed16 May 1914[4]
Identification
FateRequisitioned by U.S. Navy
History
United States
NameUSS Iowan (ID-3002)
Acquired12 August 1918
Commissioned12 August 1918
Decommissioned18 September 1919
FateReturned to American-Hawaiian
History
Name
  • 1919: SS Iowan
  • 1943: SS Tashkent (Ташкент in Cyrillic)[8]
Namesake1943: Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan
Owner
Operator
Port of registry
  • 1919: United States New York
  • 1943: Soviet Union Soviet Union
FateTransferred to North Korea, 1966; scrapped 1969[7]
General characteristics
TypeCargo ship
Tonnage6,529 GRT[6] 10,175 LT DWT[6]
Length
Beam53 ft 6 in (16.31 m)[10]
Draft28 ft (8.5 m)[10]
Depth of hold31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)[11]
Propulsion
Speed14 knots (26 km/h)[10]
CapacityCargo: 490,859 cubic feet (13,899.6 m3)[6]
Crew18 officers, 40 crewmen
NotesSister ships: Dakotan, Montanan, Pennsylvanian, Minnesotan, Washingtonian, Panaman, Ohioan[4]
General characteristics (as USS Iowan)
Displacement14,375 t[10]
Troops1,650[12]
Complement96[10]
Armament

SS Iowan was a cargo ship built in 1914 for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company. During World War I she was taken over by the United States Navy and commissioned as USS Iowan (ID-3002). During World War II, the ship was transferred to the Soviet Union and renamed SS Tashkent (or Ташкент in Cyrillic).

Iowan was built by the

Armistice
.

After her Navy service ended in 1919, she was returned to her original owners, who, at least once,

Los Angeles
, and repaired.

In 1942, the ship was requisitioned by the

merchant fleet until 1966. She was transferred to North Korea
at that time to become a fish processing facility, and was scrapped in 1969.

Design and construction

In May 1912, the

cargo ships—Iowan and Ohioan.[Note 1] The contract cost of the ships was set at the construction cost plus an 8% profit for Maryland Steel, but with a maximum cost of $640,000 per ship. The construction was financed by Maryland Steel with a credit plan that called for a 5% down payment in cash with nine monthly installments for the balance. Provisions of the deal allowed that some of the nine installments could be converted into longer-term notes or mortgages. The final cost of Iowan, including financing costs, was $71.95 per deadweight ton, which came out to just over $732,000.[5]

Iowan (Maryland Steel yard no. 132)

screw propeller at a speed of 14 knots (26 km/h).[2][9]

Early career

When Iowan began sailing for American-Hawaiian, the company shipped cargo from

Straits of Magellan to West Coast ports and Hawaii, and vice versa.[Note 2] Eastbound shipments were primarily sugar and pineapple from Hawaii, while westbound cargoes were more general in nature.[14] With the opening of the Panama Canal on 15 August 1914, American-Hawaiian ships switched to taking that route.[15]

At 15:20 on 15 October 1914, the outbound Iowan rammed the United Fruit Company passenger and cargo steamer Metapan at the entrance of Ambrose Channel outside New York. Metapan had stopped in the dense fog, but Iowan was traveling at a rapid pace. When Iowan had appeared out of the fog some 200 to 300 yards (180 to 270 m) from Metapan, the United Fruit ship sounded three blasts on the ship's whistle—warning Iowan of the impending collision. Iowan's captain did not alter the ship's course, but did drop her anchor to try to slow the fully laden ship. Nevertheless, Iowan gashed the bow of Metapan and traveled almost halfway through the passenger ship. When Iowan pulled out three minutes later, Metapan began to sink rapidly. Metapan's captain ordered his ship to sail at full speed for shoals some 200 yards (180 m) distant, on which the ship grounded in 18 feet (5.5 m) of water. A variety of craft—including the nearby British Royal Navy cruiser Lancaster—responded to Metapan's SOS. Even though the ship was resting on the bottom and the passengers in no immediate danger, most of the 78 passengers and 90 crewmen evacuated the ship in lifeboats and were picked up by rescue craft.[Note 3] Iowan, which suffered no casualties among her crew, attempted to return to her pier in Brooklyn, but was unable and instead anchored in Ambrose Channel.[16] Iowan's damage was restricted to her bow, which was crushed above the waterline. Two days later, The Wall Street Journal reported that Iowan was anchored off Clifton, Staten Island, and awaiting inspection from surveyors.[17]

SS Metapan sinking after being rammed by Iowan in 1914

After repairs and return to service, Iowan resumed her inter-coastal service. In May 1915, she was delayed by a large Pacific storm that was responsible for the sinking of the steamer Victoria, and also damaged

San Francisco.[21] The Los Angeles Times reported that one portion of Iowan's delayed cargo consisted of Christmas toys for Los Angeles merchants. The newspaper went on to predict that the delay would be "very disastrous" for the holiday season.[24]

The balance of Iowan's activities over the next two years are unclear. She may have been in the half of the American-Hawaiian fleet that was

chartered for transatlantic service. She may also have been in the group of American-Hawaiian ships chartered for service to South America, delivering coal, gasoline, and steel in exchange for coffee, nitrates, cocoa, rubber, and manganese ore.[25]

World War I

On 23 December 1917, some seven months after the United States declared war on Germany, the United States Navy acquired Iowan from American-Hawaiian. USS Iowan was commissioned the same day.[10]

American Expeditionary Force, like these seen here with a U.S. field artillery unit at Château-Thierry
.

Iowan loaded a cargo of 800 horses,

Armistice.[27]

With the fighting at an end, the task of bringing home American soldiers began almost immediately.[28] Iowan was selected for conversion to a troop transport and transferred to the Cruiser and Transport Force,[12] but before she could begin returning troops, Iowan had to undergo conversion from a cargo and animal ship. Though sources do not indicate the specific modifications Iowan underwent, typical conversions for other ships included the installation of berths for troops, and adding greatly expanded cooking and toilet facilities to handle the large numbers of men aboard.[29] Similar modifications on Iowan's sister ship Minnesotan took three months,[30] but it is not known how long Iowan's refit took. By the time Iowan had completed her sixth and final trooping voyage on 29 August 1919, Iowan had carried home 9,876 healthy and wounded men.[12] USS Iowan was decommissioned on 22 September 1919, and returned to American-Hawaiian.[10]

Interwar years

Iowan resumed cargo service with American-Hawaiian after her return from World War I service. Though the company had abandoned its original Hawaiian sugar routes by this time,

United American Line. In May 1922, the Associated Press reported that Iowan, sailing under the United American banner, was loading wheat, flour, and lumber at Tacoma, Washington, for England and European ports.[32] Later that same month, on 29 May, Iowan rammed and sank the Furness-Prince Line cargo ship Welsh Prince in the Columbia River near Astoria, Oregon. Seven men aboard Welsh Prince were killed and three were injured in the crash and subsequent fire.[3]

On 11 June 1941, Iowan departed Los Angeles with a cargo of 4,500 long tons (4,600 t) of steel and iron pipe destined for San Francisco;

Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, Iowan's captain, S. A. Gates, a Californian with 25 years of sailing experience along the coast, blamed unusual tides for the grounding.[37]

World War II and later career

San Francisco during World War II
.

In 1942, after Iowan was repaired and after the United States had entered World War II, the ship was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration (WSA).[7] On 6 December 1942, Iowan was transferred to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease, and renamed Tashkent (Ташкент Russian pronunciation: [tɐʂˈkʲɛnt]) after the capital of Uzbekistan.[8][7] Near the end of World War II, the WSA offered a payment of $694,743 to American-Hawaiian for the former Iowan as part of a $7.2 million settlement for eleven American-Hawaiian ships that had been requisitioned by the WSA.[38]

Tashkent was assigned to the

Kurile Islands. After the war's end, Tashkent returned to merchant operation with FESCO through 1966, when she was transferred to North Korea for use as a fish processing facility. The former Tashkent was scrapped in 1969.[7]

Notes

  1. Maryland Steel had built three ships—Kentuckian, Georgian, and Honolulan—for American-Hawaiian in 1909 in what proved to be a satisfactory arrangement for both companies. In September 1911 and November 1912, American-Hawaiian placed an order for Iowan's six older sister ships; Minnesotan, Dakotan, Montanan, and Pennsylvanian in the earlier order, Washingtonian and Panaman
    in the latter.
  2. Tehuantepec National Railway
    . See: Hovey, p. 78.
  3. Incan mummies, Incan jewelry and other artifacts, and 10,000 feet (3,000 m) of motion pictures documenting their finds. See: "Liner Metapan sunk in harbor crash; 168 saved" (PDF). The New York Times. 16 October 1914. pp. 1, 7. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
    Metapan was raised and repaired, but sank again, this time permanently, when she struck a mine off North Africa during World War II. See: Mann, Raymond A. (15 February 2006). "Bernadou". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command
    . Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  4. ^ The canal finally reopened to shipping traffic on 15 April 1916. See: "Panama Canal opens to ship traffic again". The Christian Science Monitor. 15 April 1916. p. 18.

References

  1. ^ "Iowan". Property Management & Archive Record System (PMARS). United States Maritime Administration.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Iowan (5535319)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  3. ^ a b "Seven in forecastle killed in collision" (PDF). The New York Times. 30 May 1922. p. 21. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d e Colton, Tim. "Bethlehem Steel Company, Sparrows Point MD". Shipbuildinghistory.com. The Colton Company. Archived from the original on 8 October 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  5. ^ a b Cochran and Ginger, p. 358.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Cochran and Ginger, p. 365.
  7. ^ a b c d e Radigan, Joseph M. (2006). "Iowan (ID 3002)". Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive. NavSource Online. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  8. ^ a b c "Реестр флота ДВМП: Ташкент (Iowan)" (in Russian). FESCO Transport Group. Archived from the original on 7 January 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2008..
  9. ^ a b c Cochran and Ginger, p. 357.
  10. ^
    Naval Historical Center. "Iowan". DANFS
    .
  11. ^ "Disposal Card (front)" (scan of record). Property Management & Archive Record System (PMARS). United States Maritime Administration. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  12. ^ a b c Gleaves, pp. 256–57
  13. ^ "California cargo of produce shipped to East". Los Angeles Times. 3 October 1914. p. II–8.
  14. ^ Cochran and Ginger, p. 355–56.
  15. ^ Cochran and Ginger, p. 360.
  16. ^ "Liner Metapan sunk in harbor crash; 168 saved" (PDF). The New York Times. 16 October 1914. pp. 1, 7. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  17. ^ "Trans-Atlantic ship news". The Wall Street Journal. 17 October 1914. p. 6.
  18. ^ "Big storm subsiding". Los Angeles Times. 2 May 1915. p. I–1.
  19. ^ "Slide in Gaillard Cut blocks waterway traffic and canal may be closed for months to come". The Washington Post. 19 December 1915. p. R9.
  20. ^ "Must close canal for rest of month" (PDF). The New York Times. 5 October 1915. p. 4. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  21. ^ a b "Ship's in port via Cape Horn". Los Angeles Times. 27 November 1915. p. II–7.
  22. ^ "Around the horn again". Los Angeles Times. 7 October 1915. p. II–1.
  23. ^ "Goethals tackles long canal fight" (PDF). The New York Times. 14 October 1915. p. 3. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  24. ^ "Toys delayed". Los Angeles Times. 17 October 1915. p. I–10.
  25. ^ Cochran and Ginger, p. 362.
  26. ^ a b Krenzelok, Greg. "Newport News Animal Transport ship List overseas to France during WW1". Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  27. ^ Crowell and Wilson, p. 563.
  28. ^ Gleaves, p. 31.
  29. ^ Crowell and Wilson, p. 316.
  30. Naval Historical Center. "Minnesotan". DANFS
    .
  31. ^ Cochran and Ginger, p. 363
  32. ^ "News of ships and sailings in Pacific ports". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 21 May 1922. p. I–11.
  33. ^ Austin, Tom (29 June 1941). "Shipping news and activities at Los Angeles Harbor". Los Angeles Times. p. 19.
  34. ^ a b "Defense cargo ship crashes on reef in foggy weather". Los Angeles Times. 13 June 1941. p. A1.
  35. ^ "More help on way to vessel on reef off Government Point". Los Angeles Times. 14 June 1941. p. A1.
  36. ^ "Grounded ship's damage estimated". Los Angeles Times. 1 July 1941. p. A14.
  37. ^ "Captain blames rare tide for grounding of freighter". Los Angeles Times. 2 July 1941. p. A3.
  38. ^ Stone, Leon (31 March 1945). "U.S. awards $7,247,637 to Hawaiian ship firm". The Christian Science Monitor. p. 4.
  39. ^ Naval Historical Center (17 April 2005). "Picture Data: Photo #NH 89976". Online Library of Selected Images. Navy Department, Naval Historical Center. Retrieved 25 August 2008.

Bibliography

External links

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