USS Euryale

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For other ships with the same name, see list of ships named Euryale.

USS Euryale (AS-22) At Sasebo, Japan, in November 1945. She has three large Japanese submarines alongside. They are (from inboard to outboard): I-401, I-14 and I-400.
History
United States
Name
  • Hawaiian Merchant
  • USS Euryale (AS-22)
NamesakeEuryale
BuilderFederal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
Launched12 April 1941[1]
Sponsored byMrs. Richard A. Cooke[1]
Acquiredpurchased by Navy 15 April 1943[2]
Commissioned2 December 1943[3]
Decommissioned7 October 1946[3]
FateSold for scrap 9 August 1972
NotesUnited States Official number: 240536[2]
General characteristics
Class and typeEuryale-class submarine tender
Tonnage7,775 GRT 12,430 DWT[2]
Displacement7,600 tons[3]
Length492 ft 6 in (150.11 m)[3]
Beam69 ft 6 in (21.18 m)[3]
Draft21 ft (6.4 m)[3]
Speed17 knots[3]
Complement
  • Matson: 43[1]
  • Navy: 1,403[3]
Armament1 x
3 in (76 mm)[3]

USS Euryale (AS-22) was built as the Hawaiian Merchant by the

Maritime Administration
with immediate sale to American Ship Dismantler, Inc. for disposal.

Construction and design

Hawaiian Merchant was one of four

Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock) with custom variants for interior and structure fitted for the intended route and service.[1][5] In particular, passenger accommodations were eliminated shortening the deck house, there was no raised forecastle and cargo handling increased by addition of two king posts and four winches.[6]

As designed the hull was 492 ft (150 m) length overall, 69 ft 6 in (21.18 m) molded beam, 42 ft 6 in (12.95 m) depth molded to the shelter deck, 33 ft 6 in (10.21 m) depth molded to the freeboard deck with a loaded draft of 28 ft 7.4375 in (8.723313 m).[1] There were seven watertight bulkheads providing for eight compartments, five of which were holds forward of the engine room:

  • #1 with a hatch of 20 ft (6.1 m) X 36 ft (11 m) of 115,435 cubic feet (3,268.8 m3)
  • #2 with a hatch of 24 ft (7.3 m) X 30 ft (9.1 m) of 87,348 cubic feet (2,473.4 m3)
  • #3 with a hatch of 24 ft (7.3 m) X 37 ft 6 in (11.43 m) of 189,845 cubic feet (5,375.8 m3)

and two holds aft of the engine room:

  • #4 with a hatch of 24 ft (7.3 m) X 30 ft (9.1 m) of 152,807 cubic feet (4,327.0 m3)
  • #5 with a hatch of 24 ft (7.3 m) X 40 ft (12 m) of 112,110 cubic feet (3,174.6 m3)[1]

There were no refrigerated cargo spaces but deep tanks under #2 and #5 holds had a combined bulk liquid cargo capacity of 1,871 tons.[1]

Steam was provided by two Foster Wheeler "D" type marine water tube boilers at 465 psi delivered to a De Laval steam turbine with 11 high- and 7 low-pressure stages, double reduction geared for a rating of 8,500 shaft horsepower at 85 rpm to a four-bladed bronze propeller of 21 ft 8 in (6.60 m) diameter with 21 ft 8 in (6.60 m) pitch. Two 300-kilowatt 120/240 volt direct current generators driven by steam turbines provided electric power.[7] A diesel 12-kilowatt generator on the shelter deck level provided emergency power.[8]

The ship's fuel capacity was 1,672 tons for a cruising radius of 12,000 miles (19,312.1 km) at 16.5 knots. Water capacities were 68 tons of fresh, 18 tons of distilled and 314 tons of boiler feed water.[1]

Matson service

Hawaiian Merchant was launched 12 April 1941, second in a dual launching and minutes after sister ship Hawaiian Shipper had been launched, with the wife of the head of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association, Richard A Cooke, as sponsor.

Japanese Mandated Islands in the Central Pacific.[9][10] Upon the attack on Pearl Harbor Matson's commercial role essentially stopped as it went on a war footing, becoming the War Shipping Administration (WSA) agent for port operations between from the West Coast to Australia, New Zealand and, as the Japanese were pushed back the bases of the Southwest Pacific and Pacific theaters and as agent for WSA ships throughout the world.[11]

War Shipping Administration/Transportation Corps

The ship, already under Army charter, was delivered by Matson to the WSA at San Francisco on 24 January 1942 with allocation to the United States Army under a Transportation Corps charter agreement with Matson acting as agent operator of the ship.[2][note 1]

Completion of runway construction at

Apia, Samoa.[13]

United States Navy

Hawaiian Merchant was purchased by the Navy on 15 April 1943 at New York.[2] The ship commissioned 2 December 1943 as USS Euryale (AS-22).[3]

Euryale reached

Milne Bay, New Guinea. There between 14 March and 26 May, Euryale refitted submarines and repaired surface ships. At Manus from 28 May to 11 August, she established a forward base and rest camp for submariners, clearing the island, constructing buildings and at the same time refitting 26 submarines.[3]

USS Euryale (AS-22) flying her long "homeward bound" pennant, as she arrives off San Francisco, California, c. 22 February 1946

The

Sasebo. Until 12 January 1946, Euryale worked with Japanese submarines, maintaining them and preparing them for disposal. She crossed the Pacific to Pearl Harbor with a salvage ship and two Japanese submarines, one of which she towed for the last leg of the passage, then continued on alone to San Francisco, where she arrived 22 February.[3]

Reserve and scrapping

Euryale was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 7 October 1946.[3] On 9 August 1972 the ship was delivered to the Maritime Administration at Bremerton, Washington and purchased the same day by American Ship Dismantler, Inc., for "non transportation use" with physical delivery to the company on 30 August.[2]

Footnotes

  1. ^ WSA was given control of all oceangoing shipping not owned by one of the services. The Vessel Status Card shows the ship coming under WSA control on 1-24-42 at San Francisco from "Matson Navigation Co. TC" at 8:00 a.m. PST and coming under a "TCA" or Transportation Corps agreement "1-24-42 8'00 AM". In essence it appears WSA simply ratified the TC charter at that time.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pacific Marine Review (May 1941), p. 50.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g MARAD Vessel Status Card: Hawaiian Merchant.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
  4. ^ Cairns Post 10 July 1941, p. 5.
  5. ^ a b Pacific Marine Review (June 1941), p. 38.
  6. ^ Pacific Marine Review (June 1941), p. 39.
  7. ^ Pacific Marine Review (May 1941), pp. 50–51.
  8. ^ Pacific Marine Review (May 1941), p. 51.
  9. ^ Pacific Marine Review (June 1949), p. 100.
  10. ^ Dod 1966, p. 45.
  11. ^ Pacific Marine Review (June 1949), pp. 100–101.
  12. ^ Nimitz & Steele: v. 1, pp. 52, 59, 73.
  13. ^ Rill 2003, p. 56.

Bibliography

  • Australian Associated Press (1941). "Five Ships—America to Australia". Cairns Post. No. 10 July 1941. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  • Dod, Karl C. (1966). The Corps Of Engineers: The War Against Japan. United States Army In World War II. Washington, DC: Center Of Military History, United States Army.
    LCCN 66060004
    .
  • Maritime Administration. "Hawaiian Merchant". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  • Naval History And Heritage Command. "Euryale". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  • Nimitz, Chester W., Admiral (USN); Steele, James M., Captain (USN) (1942). 'Gray Book' — War Plans and Files of the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet; Running Estimate and Summary maintained by Captain James M. Steele, USN, CINCPAC staff at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, covering the period 7 December 1941–31 August 1942. (8 volumes). Operational Archives, Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington Navy Yard, Washington D.C. Retrieved 12 March 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Rill, James C. (2003). A Narrative History of the 1st Battalion, 11th Marines. Military Monograph Series. Merriam Press.
    ISBN 978-1-57638-317-9
    . Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  • Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (1941). "Hawaiian Merchant—Hawaiian Shipper: Federal Stages Dual Launching for Matson Cargo Liners". Pacific Marine Review. 38 (May 1941). San Francisco: J.S. Hines. Retrieved 12 March 2015.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (1941). "Matson Navigation Company Cargo Liners". Pacific Marine Review. 38 (June 1941). San Francisco: J.S. Hines. Retrieved 12 March 2015.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (1949). "The Matson Lines". Pacific Marine Review. 46 (June 1949). San Francisco: J.S. Hines. Retrieved 13 March 2015.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

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