SS Registan
U.S. Army Transport Grey Lag 1943
| |
History | |
---|---|
Name | |
Owner |
|
Builder | William Gray & Company Ltd., West Hartlepool, County Durham[1] |
Launched | 9 May 1910 |
Fate | Scrapped 1960 |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | |
Length | 350 ft 7 in (106.9 m)[4] |
Beam | 46 ft 5 in (14.1 m)[4] |
Height | 86 ft (26 m) bridge[4] |
Draught | 22 ft 4 in (6.8 m)[4] |
Speed | 10 kts[5] |
Registan, built 1910, was the first name for a ship serving fifty years under the later names Guantanamo, USS Guantanamo (ID-1637), Comerio, Vittorin, Grey Lag and finally Hai Lung until scrapping in 1960. The ship transported gunpowder and munitions during
Construction
The cargo ship Registan was built and launched on 9 May 1910 by William Gray & Company Ltd., West Hartlepool, County Durham, United Kingdom with engines supplied by Central Marine Engine Works of the same city for Anglo-Algerian Steamship Co. (1896) Ltd., an operating line of the Frank C. Strick & Company.[1] The ship was completed in July of that year.[1] The Anglo-Algerian Steamship Co. had been founded to transport coal from South Wales to France and with the sister company, merged to form Strick Line in 1913, extended to serve Mediterranean ports and the Persian Gulf.[6]
This was the second ship of the name to operate for the company with five more to follow with the seventh built 1973.[6]
Operational history
Very shortly after delivery Registan was sold in 1911 to the
USS Guantanamo
During 1917 Guantanamo was inspected by the Third Naval District for use in 1919.[7] On 25 February 1918, the ship was turned over to the U.S. Navy at Philadelphia, commissioned on 21 May 1918 as USS Guantanamo (ID-1637), and began service transporting gunpowder and ammunition to forces in Europe. The ship made three voyages in convoy before arriving in New York on 11 December 1918 and being decommissioned on 25 January 1919.[2] The ship was returned to her owners, New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company.[7]
Interwar years
In 1927 Guantanamo was renamed Comerio operating with another subsidiary of the same line and in 1940 sold to Italian interests and renamed Vittorin.[1]
World War II
Vittorin, idle at Norfolk, Virginia since June 1940, was detained at March 1941 and seized under the Act of June 6, 1941, Public Law 101-77th Congress, 46 U.S.C.A. which provided for seizure "during such emergency charter or requisition the use of, or take over the title to, or the possession of, for such use or disposition as he shall direct, any foreign merchant vessel which is lying idle in waters within the jurisdiction of the United States, including the Philippine Islands and the Canal Zone, and which is necessary to the national defense" with ownership passing to the War Shipping Administration.[1][8][9]
The ship, renamed Grey Lag, was placed in service 15 October 1941 with South Atlantic Steamship Company as the WSA operating agent.
By 12 October 1943 Grey Lag had arrived in the Southwest Pacific Area and was incorporated into the Army's permanent local fleet operating under the
By 1 December Grey Lag was one of fifty-two ships of the mixed fleet composed at the time largely of Dutch vessels, mostly
With a shortage of tugs, the invasion of the Philippines underway and an urgent need to move small and unpowered craft with cargo from New Guinea to Leyte, Grey Lag acted as a tow and as a cargo vessel.[13]
Post war
Sometime after 27 April 1946 Grey Lag was released from Army service, acquired by Coastwise Steamship and sold on 19 September 1946 to the Republic of China, Shanghai represented by the Chinese Supply Commission.[9] The ship was renamed Hai Lang and operated until scrapped in Taiwan January 1960.[1][9]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Teesside Ship Society.
- ^ a b DANFS: Guantanamo.
- ^ a b Masterson 1949, pp. Appendix 30, p. 3.
- ^ a b c d e Lloyds 1942–1943.
- ^ a b Masterson 1949, p. 346.
- ^ a b c Swiggum & Kohli 2010.
- ^ United States District Court, E.D. New York 1942.
- ^ a b c d e f Maritime Administration.
- ^ Masterson 1949, pp. 342, Appendix 30, p. 3.
- ^ Masterson 1949, pp. 34–343.
- ^ Masterson 1949, pp. 347, 388 (Note 41).
- ^ Masterson 1949, pp. 602–603.
References cited
- Grover, David (1987). U.S. Army Ships and Watercraft of World War II. LCCN 87015514.
- Lloyds (1942–1943). Lloyd's Register (PDF). Lloyd's Register. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- Maritime Administration. "Grey Lag". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. Maritime Administration. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- Naval History And Heritage Command. "Guantanamo". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- Naval History And Heritage Command: Online Library of Selected Images (5 August 2007). "'S.S. Guantanamo (American Freighter, 1910)". Online Library of Selected Images—Civilian Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- Swiggum, S; Kohli, S.M. (September 8, 2010). "Frank C. Strick & Co. / Strick Line". TheShipsList. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- Teesside Ship Society. "William Gray & Company Ltd., West Hartlepool: Registan". Shipbuilding on the River Tees. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
- Masterson, Dr. James R. (1949). U. S. Army Transportation In The Southwest Pacific Area 1941–1947. Washington, D. C.: Transportation Unit, Historical Division, Special Staff, U. S. Army.
- United States District Court, E.D. New York (31 January 1942). "The VILLARPEROSA". Retrieved 3 June 2014.