USS Amphion (ID-1888)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS Amphion.

USS Amphion
History
United States
Name
  • Köln (1899–1917)
  • Amphion (1917–1924)
Namesake
  • City of
    Köln
  • Greek mythology, Amphion
BuilderJ. C. Teckenborg A. G., Geestemünde, Germany
Launched24 July 1899
Commissioned12 April 1919 (as USS Amphion)
Decommissioned27 September 1919
Maiden voyage20 October 1899 (Bremen—Galveston)
Renamed1917
IdentificationSignal: QGTJ (Köln)
FateSold for scrap, 1924
General characteristics
Tonnage
Displacement18,000 tons
Length
  • 447 ft (136 m) LOA
  • 428 ft 9 in (130.7 m) Registry
Beam54 ft 3 in (16.54 m)
Draft
  • 38 ft 3 in (11.7 m) loaded
  • 30 ft (9.1 m) aft
Depth39 ft 4 in (12.0 m)
Decks2 full & awning deck
Installed power6 X Scotch boilers
Propulsion2 X triple expansion engines
Speed12 kts.
Capacity120 2nd, 1,850 3d class passengers
Complement85 (Navy)

The first USS Amphion was a former German passenger liner SS Köln for

United States Expeditionary Force
from Europe.

The USSB contracted for the refurbishment of the ship after return by the Navy but the glut of war built ships, many new, resulted in Amphion lying idle from 1920 until sold for scrap in January 1924.

Norddeutscher Lloyd Köln

Köln was built in 1899 by J. C. Teckenborg A. G., Geestemünde, Germany, for Norddeutscher Lloyd.

Galveston trade with limited cabin class accommodation and concentration on steerage passenger and cargo space.[3] The ship was launched 24 July 1899 and placed in service 20 October 1899 on a voyage from Bremen to Galveston and on 21 December on initial service to Baltimore.[4]

Registry information shows 4,666 Net tonnage, registry length of 428 ft 9 in (130.7 m), breadth 54 ft 3 in (16.5 m) and depth of 39 ft 4 in (12.0 m).[1] USSB data after the war shows loaded draft as 38 ft 3 in (11.7 m) with 7,409 GRT and summer 8,970 DWT.[5] Navy shows draft aft as 30 ft (9.1 m) with a 447 ft (136.2 m) overall length.[6] There were six holds with six hatches, the largest 26 ft (7.9 m) by 16 ft (4.9 m), served by seventeen booms, and ten winches of five ton capacity each.[5] Two double ended and two single ended, a total of six, Scotch boilers provided steam to two triple expansion engines.[1][5][note 1]

The ship was configured to carry 120 second class and 1,850 third class passengers and in addition to Baltimore and Galveston made voyages to Boston, Montreal, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, and Quebec. Köln made her last voyage to Boston on 29 July 1914 before war and internment.[4]

World War I

When World War I broke out in August 1914, Köln was interned by the

United States Government
. When the United States entered the war in April 1917, Köln was seized,

U.S.A.C.T. Amphion (April 1917 – April 1919

The USSB was operating the ship, with a Naval gun crew for protection, for

American Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.) in France.[6][7][8][9]

Amphion was the first animal transport to sail from the Chesapeake on 14 October 1917, with forage, 881 mules, 169 horses and general cargo.[8] The transport, loaded with animals for the A.E.F., was approaching Brest alone on 30 October 1917 separated from a convoy in fog when a surfaced submarine was spotted close on the port bow. The bridge officer turned sharply toward the submarine, attempting to ram, and the forward gun got off three shots followed by the gun on the stern. Some shots seemed to be hits, and the gun crews were officially commended.[10]

Amphion was returning to the United States on 12 October 1918 when the German submarine SM U-155 attacked with gunfire in the Atlantic Ocean at 36°06′N 62°59′W / 36.100°N 62.983°W / 36.100; -62.983. The first shot disabled Amphion's wireless, and the submarine fired about two hundred more rounds as Amphion fled, firing about seventy-two rounds in return, with one believed aboard to be a hit. The German fire riddled the upper works and destroyed five lifeboats before Amphion outran the submarine. Two of the ship's crew were killed, one lasting until landed at Bermuda, with the more seriously of the six surviving wounded, including two of the gunners, were landed for treatment.[7][11]

U.S.S. Amphion (April—September 1919)

World War I ended on 11 November 1918. With the war over, Amphion was transferred to and

St. Nazaire and once to Brest – bringing home 6,410 American troops.[6]

Amphion was

Brooklyn, New York, on 27 September 1919 and turned over to the United States Shipping Board (USSB) for disposition. Her name was simultaneously stricken from the Naval list.[6] The USSB solicited bids for the extensive reconditioning work that would be required to make the vessel fit for civilian work as exclusively a cargo ship and let the contract to the lowest bidder in Providence, Rhode Island. Unforeseen work was found to be necessary, delaying the ship's return to fitness until 14 March 1920, when the ship left Providence and was returned to New York awaiting allocation.[12] In January 1924, the USSB sold her to Boston Iron and Metal Company for $175,000 for scrapping.[6][13]

Footnotes

  1. ^ The USSB data indicates quadruple expansion, while Lloyd's triple expansion. The USSB then gives dimensions for only three cylinders while in the ship above, America/Amerika, the "4-expansion" is clearly followed by dimensions of four cylinders.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1906–07. London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1907. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  2. ^ Sketches Illustrating the Different Types of Vessels Classed in the Register Book (No. 8). London: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. 1907. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  3. ^ "S/S Köln (2), Norddeutscher Lloyd". Norway Heritage. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  4. ^ a b Swiggum, S.; Kohli, M. "SHIP DESCRIPTIONS – K". TheShipsList. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  5. ^ a b c "Amphion Formerly Köln". Fourth Annual Report of the United States Shipping Board. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office: 240. 30 June 1922. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e Naval History And Heritage Command. "Amphion I (Screw Steamer)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  7. ^
    LCCN 29020137
    . Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  8. ^
    LCCN 21004109
    . Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  9. LCCN 21004109
    . Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  10. LCCN 21004109
    . Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  11. ^ "Amphion". Uboat.net. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  12. ^ "Steamship Amphion". Fourth Annual Report of the United States Shipping Board. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office: 127. 30 June 1922. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  13. ^ "Ships Sold During Fiscal Year 1924". Eighth Annual Report of the United States Shipping Board. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office: 98. 30 June 1922. Retrieved 21 November 2018.

External links

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