SS Philadelphia

Last updated February 20, 2019

SS Philadelphia may refer to:

SS Philadelphia, a small steamship of 2,499 tons built by William Cramp & Sons for the Red D Line in 1885; service was between Venezuela and Caribbean ports and the Port of New York.
SS Philadelphia (1888), the name from 1901 to 1918 and 1919 to 1923 for an ocean liner originally named SS Paris; served as USS Yale in Spanish–American War (1898) and as USS Harrisburg (ID-1633) during World War I (1918–19) for the United States Navy
SS Philadelphia (1945), a container ship of Sea-Land Service; rebuilt from the former USS General A. W. Brewster (AP-155), a World War II transport ship of the United States Navy

A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships came into practical usage during the early 1800s; however, there were exceptions that came before. Steamships usually use the prefix designations of "PS" for paddle steamer or "SS" for screw steamer. As paddle steamers became less common, "SS" is assumed by many to stand for "steam ship". Ships powered by internal combustion engines use a prefix such as "MV" for motor vessel, so it is not correct to use "SS" for most modern vessels.

William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1830 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder of the late 19th century. In 1890 the company built the battleships USS Indiana and USS Massachusetts, armored cruiser USS New York, and protected cruiser USS Columbia. Three of these ships took a part in the battle with the Spanish fleet in 1898 at Santiago de Cuba. The victory in this battle heralded America's emergence as a great power.The American Shipping and Commercial Corporation bought the yard in 1919 but closed it in 1927 as fewer ships were ordered by the U.S. Navy after passage of the Naval Limitations Treaty in 1923.

An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes.

This article includes a list of ships with the same or similar names. If an internal link for a specific ship led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended ship article, if one exists.

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