SS William Osler

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History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameWilliam Osler
Namesake William Osler
Owner War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator States Marine Corp.
Orderedas type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 954
Awarded30 January 1942
Builder Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland [1]
Cost$1,065,435 [2]
Yard number2104
Way number14
Laid down6 February 1943
Launched6 March 1943
Completed22 March 1943
Identification
FateTransferred to the War Department, 22 November 1943
USAHS Wisteria.jpg
USAHS Wisteria, moored pierside, unknown date and location
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameWisteria
Namesake Wisteria
Builder Bethlehem Steel Co., Brooklyn, New York
Completed15 July 1944
CommissionedJuly 1944
DecommissionedJune 1947
ReclassifiedUSAHS (United States Army Ship)
FateLaid up in the reserve fleet, 24 June 1947, sold for scrapping, 27 March 1968
General characteristics [3]
Class & type
Tonnage
Displacement
Length
  • 441 feet 6 inches (135 m) oa
  • 416 feet (127 m) pp
  • 427 feet (130 m) lwl
Beam57 feet (17 m)
Draft27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m)
Installed power
  • 2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C) boilers, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa)
  • 2,500 hp (1,900 kW)
Propulsion
Speed11.5 knots (21.3  km/h; 13.2  mph)
Capacity
  • 562,608 cubic feet (15,931 m3) (grain)
  • 499,573 cubic feet (14,146 m3) (bale)
Complement
  • 38–62 USMM (cargo ship)
  • 21–40 USNAG (cargo ship)
  • 123 Crewmen (Hospital ship)
  • 17 Army officers (Hospital ship)
  • 39 nurses (Hospital ship)
  • 159 attendants (hospital ship)
Armament

SS William Osler was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after William Osler, a Canadian physician and one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler created the first residency program for specialty training of physicians. He was instrumental in founding the Medical Library Association of Great Britain and Ireland, and the (North American) Association of Medical Librarians (later the Medical Library Association). He left his own large history of medicine library to McGill, where it became the Osler Library.

Contents

Construction

William Osler was laid down on 6 February 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 954, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was launched on 6 March 1943. [1] [2]

History

She was allocated to the Marine Transport Lines, Inc., on 22 March 1943. [4]

Conversion to United States Army Hospital Ship

On 22 November 1943, she was purchased by the War Department for conversion to a hospital ship for the United States Army. She was transferred to the Bethlehem Steel Company's 27th St. Yard, in Brooklyn, New York, on 23 November 1943. [4] [5]

From 23 November 1943 to 15 July 1944, she was converted to a hospital ship. All of her cargo handling gear was removed, with additional ballast added to compensate the removal of superstructure, bulkheads, piping, and insulation. New fresh-water tanks were added in hold #4 and #5, with the addition of several of the double-hull fuel tanks being converted for fresh-water storage. The hull was strengthened by the addition of an 18 in (460 mm) wide, 1 in (25 mm) thick, steel band rivetted around 80% of the hull. There were additional plating added to the upper deck with steel girders installed at points of stress and new bulkheads and partitions built. The hatch openings on the main and second decks were closed. A third deck, in addition to a new superstructure, special top, and bridge decks were built. [6]

Insulation was added for hot and cold climates, with over 400 radiators and 28 separate ventilating units. Distilling equipment was added that could supply 160 t (160 long tons; 180 short tons) of fresh water. There were eight refrigerated spaces, totaling 15,000 cu ft (420 m3). [6]

A "lower deck" was constructed within the hull. The new construction had taken her to a bare shell, then added over 300 new spaces for rooms, wards, clinics, morgues, autopsy rooms, x-ray rooms, laboratories, and operating theaters. [6]

Forty-four wards, capable of handling from 2–108 beds, were built, with an expected capacity of almost 600 patients. Thirty-five rooms were built for the medical staff, with forty-one rooms built for the ships crew. The new construction also included wards that were designated to mental patients, along with cells for violent patients. [6]

A new funnel was constructed to enable a 12 ft (3.7 m) Red Cross symbol to be fitted. [6]

Fate

She was declared surplus and laid up in the Defense Reserve Fleet, in Astoria, Oregon, on 24 June 1947. On 29 February 1968, she was sold, along with 6 other ships, for $356,898.99, to Oregon Shipwreckers, Inc., for scrapping. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 27 March 1968. [4]

References

Bibliography

Further Reading

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