USS West Alsek
![]() West Alsek painted in dazzle camouflage during sea trials on 4 June 1918
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History | |
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Name | West Alsek |
Namesake | Alsek River, Alaska |
Owner | United States Shipping Board |
Operator |
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Builder |
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Yard number | 22[2] |
Launched | 4 May 1918 |
Completed | May 1918 |
Commissioned | 4 June 1918 |
Decommissioned | 27 January 1919 |
Identification | Official number: 216415[1] |
Fate | Scrapped, 1933[1] |
General characteristics | |
Type | Design 1013 ship |
Tonnage | 5,637 GRT[1] |
Displacement | 12,226 t[3] |
Length | |
Beam | 54 ft 0 in (16.46 m)[3] |
Draft | 29 ft 9 in (9.07 m)[3] |
Propulsion | 1 triple-expansion steam engine,[1] 2,700 hp (2,000 kW) |
Speed | 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h) (1918)[3] |
Complement | 99[3] |
Armament |
USS West Alsek (ID-3119) was a
West Alsek was selected for a test program by the addition of coal pulverizers—units that crushed coal and mixed it with air for injection into the boilers. She became the first steamship to cross the Atlantic ocean depending solely on pulverized coal. Test results showed that she sailed faster and used less coal than before the conversion. West Alsek was later abandoned by the USSB and scrapped in 1933.
Design and construction
The West ships were
West Alsek (Skinner & Eddy No. 22, USSB No. 87)
The ship was 5,637
Military career
USS West Alsek (ID-3119) was
Escorted by armed yacht Noma, destroyers Burrows and Smith, and French cruiser Marseillaise,[9][10] the convoy was some 500 nautical miles (900 km) west of its destination of Le Verdon-sur-Mer by the end of the day on 15 August.[3][11] At sundown, shortly before 18:00, one of three torpedoes from German submarine U-90 struck Montanan, while another torpedo from U-107 hit West Bridge, which was already adrift with engine trouble.[9][Note 3] Meanwhile, West Alsek and the other surviving ships of the convoy continued on and arrived at Verdon-sur-mer on 18 August.[3]
After unloading her cargo of flour and returning to the United States, West Alsek next sailed on 27 October in convoy to
Civilian career
Little is known about West Alsek's subsequent civilian career until early 1929. In February of that year, West Alsek, still under USSB ownership, was selected for the addition of
Upon completion of the conversion work, West Alsek was taken out for trials over two passes on a 16-nautical-mile (30 km) course on 19 June. Representatives from the USSB, the Navy Department, the United States Coast Guard, the Cunard Line, and Todd and other shipbuilders were on board—some 125 guests in all. The ship cruised at an average of 12.7 knots (23.5 km/h), some 1.5 knots (2.8 km/h) faster than she had ever steamed.[12]
After returning her guests to New York, West Alsek sailed to
No information on West Alsek's career after the coal pulverizing tests is available, but it is known that she was abandoned by the USSB,[3] and scrapped in the fourth quarter of 1933.[1]
Notes
- ^ The other three ships tied for tenth-fastest were West Apaum and West Gotomska—both also constructed by Skinner & Eddy, and Lake Gardner. See: Hurley, p. 93.
- ^ Many West ships, to avoid sailing empty to the East Coast, loaded grain products intended for the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, sailed to Europe without unloading or transferring their cargo, which avoided extra handling of the cargo. The United States Shipping Board, by prior arrangement, received an equivalent amount of cargo space in foreign ships for other American cargos. See: Crowell and Wilson, pp. 358–59.
- The Atlanta Constitution. 22 August 1918. p. 7.
- Atlanticvia pulverized coal, but had crossed with her oil burners available as a backup.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "West Alsek (216415)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ^ a b c Colton, Tim. "Skinner & Eddy, Seattle WA". Shipbuildinghistory.com. The Colton Company. Archived from the original on 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Naval Historical Center. "West Alsek". DANFS.
- ^ Crowell and Wilson, pp. 358–59.
- Naval Historical Center (14 March 2004). "West Alsek (American Freighter, 1918)". Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships. Naval Historical Center, Navy Department. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
- ^ a b Hurley, pp. 92–93.
- ^ Shipping Board Operations, p. 624.
- ^ a b c "West Alsek to get coal pulverizers". The New York Times. 21 February 1929. p. 55.
- ^ a b c Naval Historical Center. "West Bridge". DANFS.
- ^ Mann. "Burrows". DANFS.
- ^ "Montanan". Miramar Ship Index. R.B.Haworth. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
- ^ "Pulverized coal raises ship's speed". The New York Times. 20 June 1929. p. 51.
- ^ a b "Scans ship's test of pulverized coal". The New York Times. 29 September 1929. p. N19.
- ^ "Ship increases speed with pulverized coal". The New York Times. 19 August 1929. p. 39.
Bibliography
- OCLC 18696066.
- OCLC 751444.
- Mann, Raymond A. (21 November 2005). "Burrows". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
- Naval Historical Center. "West Alsek". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
- Naval Historical Center. "West Bridge". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
- OCLC 64558341.
External links
- Photo gallery of West Alsek at NavSource Naval History