SS Dorchester

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USAT Dorchester.jpg
SS Dorchester
History
NameDorchester
Namesake Dorchester, Boston
Operator Merchants and Miners Transportation Company
RouteMiami–Boston
Builder Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company
Yard number289
Laid downSeptember 10, 1925 [1]
LaunchedMarch 20, 1926 [1]
AcquiredDelivered July 17, 1926. [2]
US flag 48 stars.svg
NameSS Dorchester (troop transport)
OwnerControl: War Shipping Administration
Operator Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Steamship Lines (Agwilines)
AcquiredJanuary 24, 1942
FateSunk by torpedo, February 3, 1943
General characteristics
Type Passenger ship / Troopship
Tonnage5,649  gross register tons  (GRT) [3]
Length368 ft (112 m) [3]
Beam52 ft (16 m) [3]
Draft19 ft (5.8 m) [3]
Propulsion Reciprocating engines [3]
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) [3]
Capacity
  • SS Dorchester : 314 passengers
  • as troop ship Dorchester : 751 troops
Complement
Armament

Dorchester was a coastal passenger steamship requisitioned and operated by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) in January 1942 for wartime use as a troop ship allocated to United States Army requirements. The ship was operated for WSA by its agent Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Steamship Lines (Agwilines). The ship was in convoy SG 19 from New York to Greenland transiting the Labrador Sea when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat on February 3, 1943. The ship sank with loss of 674 of the 904 on board with one of the 230 survivors lost after rescue. The story of four Army chaplains, known as the "Four Chaplains" or the "Immortal Chaplains," who all gave away their life jackets to save others before they died, gained fame and led to many memorials.

Contents

Commercial service

Dorchester, one of three identical ships, the first being Chatham (torpedoed and sunk August 27, 1942) and the last being Fairfax, was built for the Merchants and Miners Transportation Company by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. [4] Keel laying was September 10, 1925 with launching on March 20, 1926, and delivery on July 17, 1926. [1] [2] The ship was designed for the coastwise trade with a capacity for 302 first class and 12 steerage passengers for a total of 314 with a crew of 90 along the East coast between Miami and Boston. [4] [5] Propulsion was by a 3,000 horsepower, triple expansion steam engine supplied by four oil fired Scotch boilers with steam at 220 pounds pressure driving a single propeller for a speed of 13.5 knots (15.5 mph; 25.0 km/h). [6]

Passengers were provided three decks, two promenade decks and the boat deck, with four suites having private baths and thirty rooms with beds, ninety-eight with double berths and eight with single berths with most opening onto both the corridor and deck and all had "European style" telephones with receiver and transmitter in one handset. [6] Public spaces included a dance pavilion and sun parlor in addition to the typical lounge and smoking rooms. [6] Cargo of about 3,300 tons was all handled through side ports rather than deck hatches. [6] Refrigerated spaces of 1,873 cubic feet (53.0 m3) for provisions, including ice cream storage, was provided to six compartments cooled by a 4-ton Brunswick compressor. A separate chilled pantry had 210 cubic feet (5.9 m3) of storage. [6]

World War II

The ship was delivered by Merchants and Miners Transportation Company to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) at Baltimore on January 24, 1942, for operation by Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Steamship Lines (Agwilines) as agent for WSA and allocated to United States Army requirements. [7] [8] Dorchester was converted to a troopship by Agwilines in New York, and fitted with additional lifeboats and life rafts, as well as four 20 mm guns, a 3"/50 caliber gun fore, and a 4"/50 caliber gun aft. [5]

Dorchester entered service in February 1942, crewed by many of her former officers, including her master initially, and a contingent of Navy Armed Guards to man the guns and to handle communications. [5] The ship was neither owned nor bareboat chartered by the Army and thus not officially designated a United States Army Transport (USAT). [9] The allocation to Army requirements, transport of Army personnel and presence of the Army administrative staff under the Transport Commander in command of embarked troops, led some to assume the ship was an Army transport.

Loss

Coast Guard cutter Escanaba rescues Dorchester survivors, February 3, 1943. Escanaba-Dorchester rescue.jpg
Coast Guard cutter Escanaba rescues Dorchester survivors, February 3, 1943.

On January 23, 1943, Dorchester left New York harbor, bound for the Army Command Base at Narsarsuaq in southern Greenland. SG-19 consisted of six ships: SS Dorchester, two merchant ships (SS Lutz and SS Biscaya) that were leased by the United States from the Norwegian government-in-exile, and their escorts, the small United States Coast Guard cutters Comanche, Escanaba (both 165 feet), and Tampa (240 feet). [10]

During the early morning hours of February 3, 1943, at 12:55, Dorchester was torpedoed by German submarine U-223. The damage was severe, boiler power was lost, and there was inadequate steam to sound the full 6-whistle signal to abandon ship, and Dorchester sank by the bow in about 20 minutes. Loss of power prevented the crew from sending a radio distress signal, and no rockets or flares were launched to alert the escorts. A severe list prevented launch of some port side lifeboats, and some lifeboats capsized through overcrowding. Survivors in the water were so stiff from cold they could not even grasp the cargo nets on rescue vessels. The crew of Escanaba employed a new "retriever" rescue technique whereby swimmers clad in wet suits swam to victims in the water and secured a line to them so they could be hauled onto the ship. By this method, Escanaba saved 133 men (one died later) and Comanche saved 97 men of the 904 aboard Dorchester. [11] The sinking of Dorchester was the worst single loss of American personnel of any American convoy during World War II. [12]

Life jackets offered little protection from hypothermia, which killed most men in the water. Water temperature was 34 °F (1 °C) and air temperature was 36 °F (2 °C). When additional rescue ships arrived on February 4 "hundreds of dead bodies were seen floating on the water, kept up by their life jackets." [13]

The Four Chaplains

Dorchester is best remembered today for the actions of four of the Army officers among the military personnel being transported overseas for duty: the Four Chaplains who died because they gave up their life jackets to save others. These chaplains included Methodist minister George L. Fox, Reformed Church in America minister Clark V. Poling, Catholic Church priest John P. Washington and Rabbi Alexander B. Goode. [14] Congress established February 3 as "Four Chaplains Day" to commemorate this act of heroism, and on July 14, 1960, created the Chaplain's Medal for Heroism, presented posthumously to the next of kin of each of the chaplains by Secretary of the Army Wilber M. Brucker at Fort Myer, Virginia on January 18, 1961. [14] [15]

Commemoration on US postage

The Immortal Chaplains Issue of 1948 Immortal Chaplains-3c.jpg
The Immortal Chaplains
Issue of 1948

In 1948 the U.S. Post Office issued a commemorative stamp in honor of the heroism and sacrifice of the chaplains. [16] It was designed by Louis Schwimmer, the head of the Art Department of the New York branch of the Post Office. [17] This stamp was highly unusual, because until 2011, [18] U.S. stamps were not normally issued in honor of someone other than a President of the United States until at least ten years after his or her death. [19]

The stamp went through three revisions before the final design was chosen. [20] None of the names of the chaplains were included on the stamp, nor were their faiths (although the faiths had been listed on one of the earlier designs): instead, the words on the stamp were "These Immortal Chaplains...Interfaith in Action." [20] Another phrase included in an earlier design that was not part of the final stamp was "died to save men of all faiths." [20] By the omission of their names, the stamp commemorated the event, rather than the individuals per se, thus obfuscating the ten-year rule in the same way as later did stamps honoring Neil Armstrong in 1969 [21] and Buzz Aldrin in 1994, [22] both of whom were still alive.

Notable passengers and crew

The American writer Jack Kerouac served on Dorchester, where he befriended an African-American cook named "Old Glory," who died when the ship sank after the torpedo attack. Kerouac would have also been on the ship during the attack, but for a telegram he received from coach Lou Little, asking him to return to Columbia University to play football. [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Chaplains</span> American military chaplains who gave up their lives to save others in WWII

The Four Chaplains, also referred to as the Immortal Chaplains or the Dorchester Chaplains, were four World War II chaplains who died rescuing civilian and military personnel as the American troop ship SS Dorchester sank on February 3, 1943, in what has been referred to as the second-worst sea disaster of World War II. The Dorchester was a civilian liner converted for military service in World War II as a War Shipping Administration troop transport. She was able to carry slightly more than 900 military passengers and crew.

SS <i>Absaroka</i>

SS Absaroka was a steamer, named after the Absaroka Range of mountains in Montana and Wyoming, completed in February 1918 for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) which briefly operated the ship. From 17 September 1918 to 4 March 1919 the ship was commissioned as USS Absaroka with the identification number IX-2581 in United States Navy and operated by the Naval Overseas Transportation Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Chaplains' Medal</span> Award

The Four Chaplains' Medal was a decoration approved by an Act of Congress on July 14, 1960. The decoration recognizes the heroic actions of four Army Chaplains during World War II.

<i>Borinquen</i> (1930) Passenger liner and troop transport ship during WWII

SS Borinquen, the Taino language name for Puerto Rico, was a passenger liner launched 24 September 1930 and delivered to the Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Steamship Lines (AGWI) in 1931 for operation by its subsidiary the New York & Porto Rico Line. The line operated the ship until it was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) the last day of 1941 for service as a troop transport. The line then operated the ship as agent for the WSA until 6 May 1944 when operation was transferred to the United States Army for support of the Normandy landings with the ship arriving off the beaches on 7 June 1944. Borinquen continued service post war until redelivered to the owners 14 June 1946. The ship was sold in 1949 and became the Arosa Star. After further sales and change in the cruise ship regulations the ship was again sold and grounded as La Jenelle on the California coast in 1970.

SS <i>Manhattan</i> (1931) American Ocean Liner Built By United States Lines

SS Manhattan was a 24,189 GRT luxury ocean liner of the United States Lines, named after the Manhattan borough of New York City. On 15 June 1941 she was commissioned as USS Wakefield and became the largest ship ever operated by the US Coast Guard. In 1942 she caught fire and was rebuilt as a troop ship. Manhattan never saw commercial service again.

USS <i>Euryale</i> Tender of the United States Navy

USS Euryale (AS-22) was built as the Hawaiian Merchant by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in Kearny, New Jersey for the Matson Navigation Company. Hawaiian Merchant was launched 12 April 1941, minutes after sister ship Hawaiian Shipper, and was completed April 1941. Matson intended the ship to join Hawaiian Planter and Hawaiian Shipper in the U.S. Pacific Coast—Australia route. The ship was under United States Army Transportation Corps charter when the United States went to war and came under the control of the War Shipping Administration which allocated the ship to the Army's continued charter until the ship was purchased 15 April 1943 by the United States Navy and commissioned 2 December 1943 as USS Euryale (AS-22), serving as a submarine tender through the war. Euryale was decommissioned 7 October 1946, going into reserve until 9 August 1972 when she was delivered to the Maritime Administration with immediate sale to American Ship Dismantler, Inc. for disposal.

SS <i>President Cleveland</i> (1920) An American passenger vessel

SS President Cleveland was originally built as Golden State for the United States Shipping Board (USSB), one of the planned World War I troop transports converted before construction into passenger and cargo vessels launched as Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1029 ships first known, along with the smaller Design 1095 versions, in the trade as "State" ships due to names assigned for the nicknames of states and later as "535s" for their length overall. Almost all ships of both designs were renamed for United States presidents by May 1921, with Golden State being renamed President Cleveland. As one of the USSB-owned ships operated by agents of the board, President Cleveland was allocated to and operated by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company until sold by the USSB to the Dollar Steamship Line in 1925. After the demise of that line and creation of a new, replacement line, American President Lines, the ship remained with that line until government acquisition for the Second World War.

USS <i>Mizar</i> (AF-12) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Mizar (AF-12) was the United Fruit Company fruit, mail and passenger liner Quirigua that served as a United States Navy Mizar-class stores ship in World War II.

USS <i>Talamanca</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Talamanca (AF-15) was the United Fruit Company cargo and passenger liner Talamanca that served as a United States Navy Mizar-class stores ship in World War II.

USS <i>Merak</i> (AF-21) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

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USS <i>Leedstown</i> (AP-73)

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USS <i>Henry T. Allen</i>

USS Henry T. Allen was a Harris class attack transport in service with the United States Army from 1940 to 1941. She was then transferred to the United States Navy where she served until 1946. She was scrapped in 1948. The ship was originally built as an Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1029 ship in 1919 and operated in commercial service as Wenatchee and President Jefferson until being laid up in 1938.

SS <i>Manchuria</i> (1903) Passenger and cargo liner

SS Manchuria was a passenger and cargo liner launched 1903 for the San Francisco-trans Pacific service of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. During World War I the ship was commissioned 25 April 1918–11 September 1919 for United States Navy service as USS Manchuria (ID-1633). After return to civilian service the ship was acquired by the Dollar Steamship Line in 1928 until that line suffered financial difficulties in 1938 and ownership of Manchuria was taken over by the United States Maritime Commission which chartered the ship to American President Lines which operated her as President Johnson. During World War II she operated as a War Shipping Administration transport with American President Lines its agent allocated to United States Army requirements. After World War II, she was returned to American President Lines, sold and renamed Santa Cruz. The liner was scrapped in Italy in 1952.

SS <i>Catalina</i> Passenger ship

SS Catalina, also known as The Great White Steamer, was a 301-foot steamship built in 1924 that provided passenger service on the 26-mile passage between Los Angeles and Santa Catalina Island from 1924 to 1975. According to the Steamship Historical Society of America, Catalina has carried more passengers than any other vessel anywhere. From August 25, 1942 until April 22, 1946 the ship served as the Army troop ferry U.S. Army FS-99 at the San Francisco Port of Embarkation transporting more than 800,000 troops and other military personnel between embarkation camps and the departure piers. After a period of service as a floating discothèque, the ship ran aground on a sandbar in Ensenada Harbor in 1997 and partially sank on the spot. It was scrapped in 2009.

SS <i>President Taylor</i>

President Taylor was a cargo-liner, ex President Polk, ex Granite State, requisitioned for war service in December 1941 and allocated by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) to the U.S. Army and operating as a troopship in the Pacific Ocean in World War II when grounded and eventually lost on 14 February 1942.

SS <i>Santa Rosa</i> (1932) Passenger and cargo ocean liner

SS Santa Rosa was a passenger and cargo ocean liner built for the Grace Line for operation by its subsidiary Panama Mail Steamship Company of San Francisco. She was the first to be launched and operating of four sister ships, the others in order of launch being Santa Paula, Santa Lucia and Santa Elena. All four ships, dubbed "The Four Sisters" and "The Big Four" were noted as the finest serving the West Coast and were of advanced technology. All served in World War II as War Shipping Administration (WSA) troop ships. Both Santa Lucia and Santa Elena were lost in air and torpedo attacks off North Africa.

USAHS <i>Marigold</i> U.S. Army hospital ship

USAHS Marigold was a United States Army hospital ship during World War II. The ship was built as Old North State in 1920 for the United States Shipping Board as a civilian passenger/cargo liner. The ship changed ownership and operating companies several times with name changes to President Van Buren and President Fillmore before being acquired for military transport service in 1941. After government acquisition during World War II President Fillmore served as a War Shipping Administration troop transport before conversion to hospital ship service.

SS <i>Santa Paula</i> (1932)

SS Santa Paula was a passenger and cargo ocean liner built for the Grace Line. She was the second of four sister ships ordered in 1930 from the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Kearny, NJ. Her regular service route included inter-coastal service between the east coast and the west coast of the US via the Caribbean and the Panama Canal. She later sailed on cruises from New York to the Caribbean and South America. She was the second of three vessels to bear the name Santa Paula for Grace Line service.

SS <i>Antigua</i>

SS Antigua was a United Fruit Company passenger and refrigerated cargo liner completed as one of six nearly identical vessels, three built by Newport News Shipbuilding and three by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, for operation by the company's subsidiary the United Mail Steamship Company. The ship was the first of the ships built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts.

SS <i>President Taft</i> American ship

SS President Taft was launched as one of the "state" ships, Buckeye State, completed by the United States Shipping Board as cargo passenger ships after originally being laid down as troop transports. Buckeye State had been laid down as Bertrice but was converted and renamed before launching. Originally assigned to the Matson Navigation Company as the Shipping Board's agent, the ship was later renamed President Taft and assigned to Pacific Mail Steamship Company for operation. In 1925 the Shipping Board sold the ship to Dollar Steamship Company. President Taft was operated by Dollar and then its successor American President Lines until requisitioned by the War Department on 17 June 1941.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (1926). "Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco: J.S. Hines (May): 20. Retrieved April 19, 2015.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (1926). "Steamer Dorchester Delivered by Newport News". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco: J.S. Hines (August): 378. Retrieved April 19, 2015.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "S.S. Dorchester Memorial Marker". hmdb.org. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  4. 1 2 Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (1926). "Steamer Chatham Completes Successful Trials". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco: J.S. Hines (June): 285–286. Retrieved April 19, 2015.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 3 Stanley Brewer. "S.S. Dorchester". greatships.net. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (1927). "Seventy-five Years of Service". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco: J.S. Hines (February): 8–8A. Retrieved April 19, 2015.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ Maritime Administration. "Dorchester". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  8. ↑ Grover, David (1987). U.S. Army Ships and Watercraft of World War II. Naval Institute Press. pp. 17, 20, 61. ISBN   0-87021-766-6. LCCN   87015514.
  9. ↑ War Department (September 25, 1944). "FM 55-105, Water Transportation: Ocean Going Vessels". War Department. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  10. ↑ "USAT Dorchester Files". World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Top Ten Coast Guard Rescues". U.S. Coast Guard. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
  12. ↑ Headquarters of the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet; Commander, Tenth Fleet. "United States Naval Administration in World War II History of Convoy and Routing". Naval History & Heritage Command. United States Navy. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  13. ↑ Morison, Samuel Eliot (1975). History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Volume I The Battle of the Atlantic 1939-1943. Little, Brown and Company.
  14. 1 2 FourChaplains.org, retrieved February 6, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Federal Military Medals and Decorations". Foxfall Medals. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
  16. ↑ Scott Specialized Catalogue of US Postage Stamps.
  17. ↑ StampCenter.com, "A sweet tribute to Four Chaplains on a Postage Stamp," Pt III of III, retrieved February 6, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee". USPS. September 2011. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
  19. ↑ Four Chaplains Stamp
  20. 1 2 3 StampCenter.com, "A sweet tribute to Four Chaplains on a postage stamp, part II of III" Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine , retrieved February 6, 2011.
  21. ↑ "First Man on the Moon" 10₵ United States Air Mail stamp
  22. ↑ "First Moon Landing, 1969" 29¢ United States postage stamp, based on a photograph of Aldrin captured by Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969 (July 21, UTC). Aldrin, conversely, captured no photographs of Armstrong.
  23. ↑ Julian Guthrie (August 15, 2009). "Kerouac's unintended legacy? A legal limbo". San Francisco Chronicle.

59°22′N48°42′W / 59.367°N 48.700°W / 59.367; -48.700

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