USS West Hobomac
SS West Hobomac in dazzle camouflage paint, on trials 17 August 1918
| |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | West Hobomac |
Operator |
|
Builder | Skinner & Eddy |
Laid down | 29 May 1918 |
Launched | 27 July 1918 |
Completed | 17 August 1918 |
Commissioned | 17 August 1918 |
Decommissioned | 10 June 1919 |
Renamed | Ile de Batz |
Stricken | 10 June 1918 |
Fate | Sunk off West Africa by U-68, 17 March 1942 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Design 1013 cargo ship |
Tonnage |
|
Displacement | 12,225 tons |
Length |
|
Beam | 54 ft (16 m) |
Draft | 24 ft 2 in (7.37 m) |
Depth of hold | 29 ft 9 in (9.07 m) |
Installed power | 1 × Curtis geared turbine |
Propulsion | Single screw |
Speed | 11 kn (20 km/h) |
Complement |
|
USS West Hobomac was a steel–
Commissioned into the Navy just three months before the end of World War I, West Hobomac completed three voyages during the war, and made several more on the Navy's behalf in the immediate postwar period prior to decommission in 1919. Between the wars, the ship operated as the merchant vessel SS West Hobomac.
With the outbreak of World War II, West Hobomac was acquired by French interests and renamed SS Ile de Batz. After the
Construction and design
West Hobomac was built in
West Hobomac had a designed deadweight tonnage of 8,800 and gross register tonnage of 5,600. The ship had an overall length of 423 feet 9 inches, a beam of 54 feet and a draft of about 24 feet. The vessel was powered by a Curtis geared turbine driving a single screw propeller, delivering a service speed of 11 knots.[4][5]
Service history
West Hobomac was delivered to the U.S. Navy on 17 August 1918 and commissioned the same day for operation with the
After taking on a cargo of 7,928 tons of coal, West Hobomac departed
West Hobomac departed New York on 30 November, bound for France with a cargo of Army supplies, and arrived at
Reaching Rotterdam on 11 March, West Hobomac unloaded and departed that port, in ballast, on the 23rd, bound for the United States. At New York, she loaded 5,252 tons of foodstuffs and relief supplies and sailed on 23 April for Belgium, arriving at Antwerp on 12 May where she discharged her cargo.[4]
Departing for the United States on 16 May, West Hobomac arrived at Newport News, Virginia on 5 June. On 10 June, the ship was decommissioned, struck from the Navy List, and returned to control of the United States Shipping Board.[4]
Interwar years
In the interwar period, the USSB placed West Hobomac into commercial service. Little information is available concerning the ship's movements in this period, but it is known that the vessel was active in trade between the United States and Europe[6] as well as ports in the Mediterranean.[4] In 1933, the ship was acquired by the Lykes Brothers-Ripley Steamship Company consortium (later known as the Lykes Brothers Steamship Company.[4]
World War II
On 28 March 1940, West Hobomac was acquired at
By early 1942 Ile de Batz—now mostly manned by a
References
- ^ "General Cargo Ships Built in Pacific Coast Shipyards" Archived 22 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine, shipbuildinghistory.com.
- ^ Pacific Ports Annual, pp. 64–65.
- ^ Hurley, p. 93.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "West Hobomac", Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval History and Heritage Command website.
- ^ Silverstone, p. 169.
- ^ The Ellis Island Ship Database – West Hobomac[permanent dead link], ellisislandrecords.org.
- ^ a b Cargo Ile de Batz Archived 6 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, frenchlines.com.
- ^ a b Allied Ships Hit by U-boats – Ile de Batz, uboat.net.
Bibliography
- 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, 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.