SS West Hosokie
 A camouflaged SS West Hosokie on trials, 29 August 1918
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SS West Hosokie |
| Operator |
|
| Builder | Skinner & Eddy |
| Yard number | 29 (USSB #1182) |
| Laid down | 11 July 1918 |
| Launched | 15 August 1918 |
| Christened | SS West Hosokie |
| Completed | 29 August 1918 |
| Commissioned | 29 August 1918–2 July 1919 |
| In service | 29 August 1918–1955? |
| Renamed |
|
| Stricken | 2 July 1919 |
| Fate | Scrapped, 1960 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Design 1013 cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 5,600 gross, 8,800 dwt |
| Displacement | 12,100 |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 54 ft (16 m) |
| Draft | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Depth of hold | 29 ft 9 in (9.07 m) |
| Installed power | 1 × Curtis geared turbine |
| Propulsion | Single propeller |
| Speed | 11.5 kn (21.3 km/h) |
| Complement |
|
SS West Hosokie was a steel–hulled cargo ship built in 1918 as part of the World War I emergency wartime shipbuilding program organized by the United States Shipping Board.
On completion in August 1918, West Hosokie was immediately commissioned into the
In 1928, West Hosokie was acquired by the
In 1944, Liloa was turned over to the Soviet Union and renamed SS Belorussia. Belorussia was scrapped in 1960.
Construction and design
West Hosokie was built in
West Hosokie had a design deadweight tonnage of 8,800 tons and gross register tonnage of 5,600. She had an overall length of 423 feet 9 inches, a beam of 54 feet and a mean draft of 24 feet.[4] The ship was powered by a Curtis geared turbine,[5] driving a single screw propeller and delivering a speed of 11.5 knots.[4]
Service history
Upon delivery to the Navy on 29 August, West Hosokie was commissioned the same day for operation with the
USS West Hosokie commenced her first voyage for the Navy on September 7, when she sailed for
After arriving at Le Verdon-sur-Mer, France, West Hosokie unloaded her cargo and shipped an Army return cargo bound for Philadelphia, United States, departing 14 February 1919. Pausing briefly at the Azores for provisions and fuel, West Hosokie continued on to Philadelphia, where she arrived 10 March. After discharging her cargo, the ship departed for New York, where more Army supplies bound for France were loaded prior to her departure once again on 10 April.[4]
Arriving at
Merchant service
Following her Naval decommission, West Hosokie was placed into merchant service by the USSB as SS West Hosokie. Little is known about the ship's movements in the early 1920s, but she made a voyage from
On April 26, 1929, West Hosokie was purchased from the USSB by the
In 1930, LASSCO was taken over by the
In 1938, Constance Chandler was renamed SS Liloa, but continued to work for the Matson Line in her usual capacity.[5][13] After America's entry into World War II in December 1941, no more information about the ship's movements appears in contemporary newspaper records, presumably because of a news blackout, but one of the ship's last recorded journeys was a voyage from Hawaii to Australia in January 1941 to pick up a cargo of wool.[14]
Under Soviet Union flag
On 13 January 1945, Liloa was sold to the Soviet Union, renamed SS Belorussia and commissioned to the
She was transferred to the balance of the Black Sea State Shipping Company on 9 of June 1947. She was decommissioned, deleted from the ship's lists of Ministry of Maritime fleet of the USSR on 11 of April 1962 and transferred to "Glavvtorchermet" (Main organization for the Second use of Black Metals, - Mainsecondblackmet) for dismantling and scrapping. The ship was scrapped in 1968.[5][15][16]
References
- ^ a b Pacific Ports Annual, pp. 64-65.
- ^ "General Cargo Ships Built in Pacific Coast Shipyards" Archived 2009-04-22 at the Wayback Machine, shipbuildinghistory.com.
- ^ Hurley, p. 93. Pacific Ports Annual, pp. 64-65. Note that Hurley's figure of 78 days for West Lianga differs from the company's own, which is 80 days. Assuming the company's figure is correct, West Hosokie would be the fastest-built ship of above 5,500 tons of the war. It may be however that Hurley's figure is for the date of completion of the ship while the company's is for the date of delivery.
- ^ a b c d e f "West Hosokie", Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval History and Heritage Command website.
- ^ a b c Silverstone, p. 169.
- New York Times, August 26, 1920.
- ^ Search results for "Constance Chandler" 1928-1934, news.google.com. See numerous "Shipping and Mail" type entries for the New York Times and Los Angeles Times.
- New York Times, July 11, 1932 (subscription required).
- Chicago Daily Tribune, July 11, 1932 (subscription required).
- ^ "Ships in Crash Off Golden Gate", Los Angeles Times, June 10, 1933 (subscription required).
- ^ "Shipping News and Activities at Los Angeles Harbor", Los Angeles Times, June 26, 1933 (subscription required).
- ^ "Shipping News and Activities at Los Angeles Harbor", Los Angeles Times, February 18, 1935 (subscription required). See also Search results for "Constance Chandler", 1934-1935, news.google.com for numerous "Shipping and Mails" type entries for the Los Angeles Times.
- ^ McKellar, p. 479a.
- ^ "Shipping News and Activities at Los Angeles Harbor", Los Angeles Times, January 14, 1941.
- ^ Тип "Белоруссия" (пр. 1013) - 25 единиц >> 3. БЕЛОРУССИЯ (до 1929 г. "West Hosokie", до 1945 г. "Liloa").
Bibliography
- Books
- Hurley, Edward N. (1920): The New Merchant Marine, p. 93, The Century Co., New York.
- Pacific Ports Inc. (1919): Pacific Ports Annual, Fifth Edition, 1919, pp. 64–65, 402–405, Pacific Ports Inc.
- Silverstone, Paul H. (2006): The New Navy, 1883-1922, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-97871-2.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- Journals
- McKellar, Norman L. (1962): "Steel Shipbuilding under the U.S. Shipping Board, 1917–1921, The Belgian Shiplover, p. 479a, No. 89, September–October 1962.