SS Panama (1939)

Last updated

SS Panama
SS Panama (1939 ship) in Panama Canal.jpg
SS Panama in the Panama Canal, probably on her maiden voyage in 1939
History
US flag 48 stars.svg United States
Name
  • Panama (1939–1941)
  • James Parker (1941–1946)
  • Panama (1946–1957)
  • President Hoover (1957–1965)
  • Regina (1965–1973)
  • Regina Prima (1973–1985)
Namesake Panama
Builder Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation (Quincy, MA)
Yard number1467
Laid down25 October 1937
Launched24 September 1938
Acquired22 April 1939 (delivered)
Refit
  • —as troop transport: 1941
  • —as passenger-cargo ship: 1946
IdentificationOfficial number: 238343
FateScrapped, 1985
NotesShip had prospective U.S. Navy designation AP-46, never implemented as ship never transferred to Navy.
General characteristics
TypePassenger-cargo steamship
Tonnage
Displacement10,002 t.(lt) 14206 t.(fl)
Length493 ft 6 in (150.42 m)
Beam64 ft 0 in (19.51 m)
Draft26 ft 3 in (8.00 m)
Installed power2 × steam turbines, designed shp 10,000
PropulsionTwin screw
Speed17 knots (20  mph; 31  km/h)
Range13,000 miles (21,000 km)
Capacity
  • Prewar and postwar:
  • —passengers 216
  • —cargo 6,000 tons
  • US Army:
  • —troops 2,324
Crew
  • Original: 116
  • US Army: Unknown
  • Postwar: 128
ArmamentUS Army: 1–4"/50 4-3"/50
NotesSpecial design for Panama Railroad Co.

SS Panama was laid down 25 October 1937 as hull number 1467, launched on 24 September 1938 and completed 22 April 1939 at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in Quincy Massachusetts. [1] [2] The ship was given the official number 238343 and was owned and operated by the Panama Railroad Company. [2] The ship was built for 202 single class passengers with a crew of 124. [3] Panama was sister ship to USS Ancon (AP-66, later AGC-4) and SS Cristobal.

Contents

The Army took over the ship in 1941 and it made trips as the unconverted USAT Panama. It was converted to a troop ship and renamed the USAT James Parker. The Navy designated the ship AP-46 and the armament was manned by Navy personnel but it was never transferred to the Navy. After being transferred back to the original owner the ship ultimately was sold several times being re-flagged to other countries.

Army acquisitions

The Panama was ordered by the United States Maritime Commission to be transferred to the Army on 13 June 1941. After making voyages unaltered the ship was converted at the Atlantic Basin Iron Works at New York in August 1941 and renamed James Parker after Medal of Honor recipient major general James Parker. [4] [2] The Army was quartered on the ship, Merchant Marine seamen operated the ship, and the United States Navy Armed Guard manned the guns. [5]

On one trip, on 28 Dec 1943, the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment embarked from New York on board the USAT Parker. [6]

USAT James Parker at New Orleans, October 1942 USAT James Parker at New Orleans, Oct 1942.jpg
USAT James Parker at New Orleans, October 1942

On 17 September 1941 the Navy, under Presidential directive, informed the Army to convert ten of its ships to combat unit loaded transports as soon as possible. These were to be assigned hull numbers AP-30, 34–35, 42–44, and 46–49. On 29 September 1941 it was declared that six of the seven Army vessels, along with two under construction by the Maritime Commission, were to be assigned hull numbers and taken over by the Navy. The ships were designated AP 42–49 by the end of October 1941. The President Coolidge was on the initial list but was never listed for Navy manning so never received a Navy hull number. The Navy only manned AP 42–43. The James Parker remained in Army service throughout the war instead of entering Navy service as AP-46. Her Navy manning was officially cancelled on 30 Mar 42. [7]

Final voyages

In January 1946 the James Parker was delivered to Bethlehem Steel Company (56th St. Yard) and converted for carrying military dependents until 15 May 1946 when she was redelivered to the Panama Railroad Company, at New York. Also in January 1946 sister ship Cristobal was delivered to Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Company and converted. She continued carrying dependents until 14 June 1946. [8]

Decommissioning and disposal

James Parker was decommissioned on 25 February 1946 and transferred to the Maritime Administration, which returned the ship to her original owner. Her name was struck from the Navy List on 17 April 1946.

Later civilian service

SS Panama at Cristobal, date unknown SS Panama (1939 ship) at Pier 8, Cristobal, Canal Zone.jpg
SS Panama at Cristóbal, date unknown

The James Parker was returned to the Panama Railroad Company in 1946, returning to service under her original name, and on her pre-war route of New York to Panama, on 20 September. [9] On 9 January 1957 the liner was sold to American President Lines and renamed SS President Hoover. On 12 February 1964 the ship was sold to the Greek shipping company International Cruises S. A a Chandris Group Company, re-flagged under Greece, and renamed SS Regina. On 24 November 1964 the ship was re-flagged under Panama with the ownership unchanged and renamed SS Regina Prima. The ship was laid up at Piraeus, Greece in 1979 for final disposition and in 1985 towed to Aliağa a town of İzmir Province, Turkey to be broken up and scrapped. [10]

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Comfort</i> (AH-3)

USS Comfort (AH-3) was a hospital ship for the United States Navy in World War I. She was the sister ship of USS Mercy (AH-4) but the two ships were not of a ship class. Comfort was known as SS Havana in passenger service for the Ward Line, and as USAT Havana in United States Army service before her Navy service. Her name was restored to Havana in 1927, and she was renamed SS Yucatán in 1935, and SS Agwileon in 1941. In World War II, she was known as USAT Agwileon and USAHS Shamrock in service for the United States Army.

USS <i>General J. H. McRae</i>

USS General J. H. McRae (AP-149) was a General G. O. Squier-class transport ship built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. In 1946 she was transferred to the US Army and operated as USAT General J. H. McRae. On 1 March 1950 she was transferred to Military Sea Transportation Service and operated as USNS General J. H. McRae (T-AP-149). She was named for US Army Major General James H. McRae.

USS <i>Siboney</i> (ID-2999) United States Navy troop transport

USS Siboney (ID-2999) was a United States Navy troopship in World War I. She was the sister ship of USS Orizaba (ID-1536). Launched as SS Oriente, she was soon renamed after Siboney, Cuba, a landing site of United States forces during the Spanish–American War. After her navy service ended, she was SS Siboney for the New York & Cuba Mail Steamship Co.. The ship was operated under charter by American Export Lines beginning in late 1940. During World War II she served the U.S. Army as transport USAT Siboney and as hospital ship USAHS Charles A. Stafford.

USS <i>Monadnock</i> (ACM-10) Minesweeper of the United States Navy

USS Monadnock (ACM-10) was a coastal minelayer in the U.S. Navy, the third vessel named after Mount Monadnock, a solitary mountain (monadnock) of more than 3,100 feet in southern New Hampshire close to the border of Massachusetts. The ship was built as the cargo vessel Cavalier for the Philadelphia and Norfolk Steamship Company by Pusey and Jones Corporation, Wilmington, Delaware in 1938. The Navy purchased the ship 9 June 1941 for wartime use. After decommissioning the ship was sold in June 1947 for commercial use then sold to a Panamanian company in 1949 to be renamed Karukara. In 1952 the ship became Monte de la Esperanza for a company in Bilbao, Spain transporting bananas to the United Kingdom from the Canary Islands for more than 20 years. She was later sold to the Marine Institute of Spain for operation as a hospital ship for more than 10 years serving the fishing fleet of the Canary Islands as Esperanza del Mar until becoming an artificial reef off Spain in 2000.

USS <i>Hugh L. Scott</i> US Passenger and Cargo Liner & Naval troopship

USS Hugh L. Scott (AP-43) was a Hugh L. Scott-class transport ship. She was built in 1921 and spent 20 years in merchant service as a passenger and cargo liner. In July 1941 the ship was delivered to the United States Department of War for Army service as the United States Army Transport Hugh L. Scott operating in the Pacific. In August 1942 the ship was transferred to the United States Navy for conversion to an attack transport, served as a troopship in Operation Torch in November 1942, and was sunk by a U-boat four days later. 59 crewmen and soldiers died during the sinking.

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>General Omar Bundy</i>

USS General Omar Bundy (AP-152) was a General G. O. Squier-class transport ship for the U.S. Navy in World War II.

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

USS Leedstown (AP-73), built as the Grace Line passenger and cargo ocean liner SS Santa Lucia, served as a United States Navy amphibious assault ship in World War II. The ship had first been turned over to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) and operated by Grace Line as the WSA agent from February to August 1942 in the Pacific. In August the ship, at New York, was turned over to the Navy under sub-bareboat charter from WSA. She was sunk 9 November 1942 off the Algerian coast by a German submarine after German bombers caused damage the day before.

SS <i>Monterey</i> 1931 ocean liner

SS Monterey was a luxury ocean liner launched on 10 October 1931. The ship was completed April 1932 and is shown in registers as a 1932 ship. Monterey was the third of the four ships of the Matson Lines "White Fleet", which were designed by William Francis Gibbs and also included SS Malolo, SS Mariposa and SS Lurline. Monterey was identical to Mariposa and very similar to Lurline. During World War II Monterey was used as a troopship operated by Matson as agents of the War Shipping Administration (WSA). Monterey was a large, fast transport capable of sailing independently and was allocated to serving Army troop transport requirements. The ship was involved in an attack on a convoy near Cape Bougaroun.

USS <i>Crescent City</i>

USS Crescent City (AP-40/APA-21) was the lead ship of the Crescent City-class attack transports that served with the US Navy during World War II. The ship was built as the cargo and passenger liner Delorleans for the Mississippi Shipping Company's Delta Line. After brief commercial operation the ship was among 28 vessels requisitioned in June 1941 for the Navy and the Army. The Navy renamed the ship Crescent City, a popular nickname for New Orleans, Louisiana, upon commissioning 10 October 1941. The ship was decommissioned and laid up in 1948 before being loaned to the California Maritime Academy to serve as a training ship 1971–1995 and then transferred to a foundation in a failed art colony project. The ship left California for Texas scrapping in 2012.

USS <i>Leonard Wood</i> American steamship and WWII troop transport

USS Leonard Wood (APA-12) was built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation and launched 17 September 1921 at Sparrows Point, Maryland as Nutmeg State, an Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1029 ship intended as a World War I troop transport, but redesigned upon the armistice as a passenger and cargo ship and completed as Western World for delivery to the United States Shipping Board. The ship's acceptance on 5 May 1922 and delivery on 9 May 1922 marked the completion of the wartime shipbuilding program of the Emergency Fleet Corporation and the Shipping Board.

SS <i>Santa Teresa</i>

Built in 1918, the SS Santa Teresa was originally a passenger liner. In World War I she was requisitioned by the U.S. Navy and served under the title USS Santa Teresa. She served as a commercial vessel between the wars, first under her original name, and later as the SS Kent. During World War II she served first with the U.S. Army as the USAT Ernest Hinds, named for Major General Ernest Hinds. She was later part of the Navy as USS Kent (AP-28). She spent the final part of the war as an Army hospital ship, once more under the name USAT Ernest Hinds.

USAT <i>Thomas H. Barry</i>

USAT Thomas H. Barry, formerly SS Oriente, was a Ward Line ocean liner that became a United States Army troopship in the Second World War. She was intended for transfer to the United States Navy and assigned the hull number AP-45, but was not transferred and remained with the Army.

USS <i>Matsonia</i>

USS Matsonia (ID-1589) was a troopship used by the United States Navy during World War I. Before and after her Navy service she was ocean liner SS Matsonia for the Matson Navigation Company. The liner was sold in 1937 to the Alaska Packers Association and renamed SS Etolin. Shortly before World War II, the ship was chartered by the United States Army as USAT Etolin. Transferred to the War Shipping Administration in 1946, Etolin was placed in the James River Reserve Fleet and ultimately scrapped in 1957.

Type C4-class ship Cargo ships built by the United States Maritime Commission

The Type C4-class ship were the largest cargo ships built by the United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) during World War II. The design was originally developed for the American-Hawaiian Lines in 1941, but in late 1941 the plans were taken over by the MARCOM.

USAT J. W. McAndrew was a Type C3-P&C troop ship for the United States Army during World War II.

<i>SS Shawnee</i> US and Yugoslav ship

Shawnee was a passenger steam turbine-powered ship built in 1926-1927 by Newport News Ship Building & Drydock Co. of Newport News for Clyde Steamship Company, a subsidiary of Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Steamship Lines with intention of operating between New York and southern ports of the United States. During the World War II the liner was requisitioned by the US Government, and served as the United States Army Transport from September 1942 to March 1946 in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pacific. Following the end of the war, the ship was sold to a Portuguese company and renamed City of Lisbon, and subsequently resold to Yugoslavia, becoming Partizanka operating with the shipping company Jugoslavenska Linijska Plovidba until 1949 when the steamer burned while in drydock and was declared a total loss.

SS <i>Hagerstown Victory</i> Victory ship of the United States

SS Hagerstown Victory was a Victory ship-based troop transport built for the U.S. Army Transportation Corps (USAT) late in World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. It saw service in the European Theater of Operations during 1945 and in the immediate post-war period repatriating U.S. troops. Hagerstown Victory was one of 97 cargo Victory ships converted to a troopship.

SS <i>Rushville Victory</i> Victory ship of the United States

SS Rushville Victory was a Victory ship-based troop transport built for the US Army Transportation Corps (USAT) late in World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. It saw service in the European Theater of Operations in 1945, 1946 and in the immediate post-war period repatriating US troops.

SS St. Olaf was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after St. Olaf, the King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised at Nidaros, by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the Battle of Stiklestad.

References

  1. ↑ Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (June 1939). "Bethlehem Steel Company, Inc". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco: J.S. Hines: 68. Retrieved 22 July 2019.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 3 Maritime Administration. "Panama". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration.
  3. ↑ Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (May 1939). "SS Panama — First of Three Twin Screw Geared Turbine Drive Cargo and Passenger Liners". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco: J.S. Hines: 32–39, plan. Retrieved 22 July 2019.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ Charles, Roland W. (1947). Troopships of World War II (PDF). Washington: The Army Transportation Association. p. 40. LCCN   47004779 . Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  5. ↑ "The SS Panama Undergoes Refitting and Renaming". 508th PIR Association. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  6. ↑ "508th Parachute Infantry Regiment". Family and Friends of the 508th PIR Association. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  7. ↑ Roberts, Stephen S. "James Parker (AP-46)" . Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  8. ↑ Charles, Roland W. Troopships of WWII (PDF). The Army Transportation Association. p. 16 & 40. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  9. ↑ "The End of the Line". Panama Canal Review: 66. October 1981.
  10. ↑ Priolo, Gary P.zz. "USAT James Parker" . Retrieved 19 July 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.