USS Matsonia
.png) Matsonia in commercial service
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name | SS Matsonia |
| Owner | Matson Navigation Company |
| Builder |
|
| Launched | 1913 |
| Fate | acquired by U.S. Navy, 22 January 1918 |
.jpg) Arriving in New York Harbor at the end of a voyage from Europe, 1919 with troops
| |
| History | |
| United States | |
| Name | USS Matsonia (ID-1589) |
| Acquired | 22 January 1918 |
| Commissioned | 1 March 1918 |
| Decommissioned | 12 September 1919 |
| Fate | returned to her former owner, 17 September 1919 |
| History | |
| |
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Fate | chartered to the United States Army , August 1940 |
| History | |
| United States | |
| Name | USAT Matsonia |
| Acquired | August 1940 |
| In service | August 1940 |
| Out of service | 28 April 1946 |
| Fate | transferred to James River Reserve Fleet , 28 April 1946; scrapped, 1957 |
| General characteristics (as USS Matsonia, 1918–1919) | |
| Displacement | 16,800 tons (normal) |
| Length | 501 ft 4 in (152.81 m) |
| Beam | 58 ft 1 in (17.70 m) |
| Draft | 29 ft (8.8 m) (mean) |
| Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h) |
| Armament |
|
USS Matsonia (ID-1589) was a
James River Reserve Fleet
and ultimately scrapped in 1957.
History
Matsonia, built by the
Matson Navigation Company until taken over by the U.S. Shipping Board and turned over to the Navy at New York by way of the Panama Canal,[1] 22 January 1918, for use as a troop transport. She was commissioned 1 March 1918, Captain John M. Luby in command.[2]
Beginning 14 March, when she sailed for France with troops and Army cargo, Matsonia completed six round trips to Europe prior to the
Armistice. The preparation to turn the Matsonia into a troop carrier involved ripping out mahogany staircases "as if they were worth nothing" and using every bit of space by rigging up 3,000 soldier bunks wherever they could be rigged. During her second France-bound trip during World War I the convoy was attacked by a German U-boat that was sunk about 800 meters from the Matsonia.[1] During that time she transferred 13,329 passengers to Europe, and carried back only 10. After the Armistice she continued her transatlantic crossings to return over 23,000 troops in 8 voyages, ending such crossings at New York on 20 August 1919. She was decommissioned on 12 September 1919 and returned to her former owner on 17 September.[2]
On 26 March 1937 S.S. Matsonia sailed from San Francisco to Honolulu with Captain F.A. Johnson, USNR, Commanding. In 1937, Matsonia was sold to Alaskan interests and renamed Etolin. The U.S. Army chartered her for troopship service in August 1940 and kept her through
Okinawa. During early 1946, she served between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Panama, before being turned over to the War Shipping Administration in late April 1946 for layup in the James River (Virginia) Reserve Fleet. Etolin was scrapped at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1957.[3]
Notes
- ^ a b "Quartermaster Lester H. Smith's personal log of Matsonia and his second of three trips crossing the Atlantic April 30th, 1918". Christmas Whistler. c. 1918.
- ^ Matloff & Snell 1953–59, p. 72.
- ^ Matloff & Snell 1953–59, fn p. 73.
References
- Matloff, Maurice; Snell, Edwin M. (1953–59). The War Department: Strategic Planning For Coalition Warfare 1941–1942. United States Army in World War II. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. LCCN 53061477.
- Naval History & Heritage Command. "Matsonia". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- Naval History & Heritage Command (2002). "Matsonia (Passenger Steamship, 1913)". Online Image Library: Civilian Ships. Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
External links
- USS Matsonia (ID # 1589), 1918–1919 – On Board and Close Up Views (Naval History & Heritage Command: Online Library of Selected Images)
- USS Matsonia (ID # 1589), 1918–1919 (Naval History & Heritage Command: Online Library of Selected Images)
- Photo gallery of Matsonia at NavSource Naval History