USAT Arcata

For ships of the US Navy named Arcata, see USS Arcata.

SS Glymont
History
United States
Name	Glymont (1919—1937) Arcata (1937–1942)
Owner	United States Shipping Board (1919—1923) Cook C. W. (1923–1925) Nelson Charles Co. (1925—1937) Hammond Shipping Company (1937–1942)
Builder	Albina Engine & Machine Works, Portland, Oregon
Cost	$821,751.56
Launched	23 April 1919
Completed	1919
Acquired	Chartered by the US Army as USAT Arcata
Identification	U.S. Official Number: 217972
Fate	Sank in 1942 off Alaska
General characteristics [1] [2] [3]
Type	Design 1049 "Albinia Type" cargo ship
Tonnage	2,254  GRT, 1,353  NRT, 3,700  DWT
Displacement	5,070 tons
Length	300 ft (91.4 m) length overall 289 ft (88.1 m) in registry
Beam	44.1 ft (13.4 m)
Draft	17 ft 11 in (5.5 m)
Depth	19.2 ft (5.9 m)
Propulsion	Triple expansion steam, single propeller
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried	2

SS Arcata's sister ship, SS Point Bonita in 1918

USAT Arcata, was built in 1919 as SS Glymont for the United States Shipping Board as a merchant ship by the Albina Engine & Machine Works in Portland, Oregon. The 2,722-ton cargo ship Glymont was operated by the Matson Navigation until 1923 in post World War I work. ^[4] In 1923 she was sold to Cook C. W. of San Francisco. In 1925 she was sold to Nelson Charles Company of San Francisco. In 1937 the ship was sold to the Hammond Lumber Company of Fairhaven, California and renamed Arcata. For World War II, in 1941, she was converted to the United States Army troopship USAT Arcata. She took supplies and troops to Guam. ^[5] On July 14, 1942, she was attacked by the Japanese submarine I-7 and sank. Arcata was operating as a coastal resupply in the Gulf of Alaska, south of the Aleutian Islands at ( 53°41′N157°45′W / 53.683°N 157.750°W / 53.683; -157.750 (USAT Arcata) ), approximately 165 nautical miles (306 km; 190 mi) southeast of Sand Point, when she sank. She was returning after taking supplies to US troops fighting in the Aleutian Islands campaign. ^[6]

Construction

Glymont was built in 1919 by Albina Engine & Machine Works, Portland, Oregon. The designation Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) Design 1049 "Albinia Type" ship was applied to an existing Albina design after the United States Shipping Board (USSB) requisitioned the ships. The hull was Albina's yard number 14, USSB/EFC hull number 1691. ^{[1] [2] [7] [8]}

The type was 2,254  GRT, 1,353  NRT, 3,700  DWT, 289 ft (88.1 m) in registry length, 44.1 ft (13.4 m) beam and 19.2 ft (5.9 m) draft. The ship was oil fired with triple expansion steam engines. ^{[1] [2]}

Career

The ship was delivered in May 1919 to the United States Shipping Board. From 1920 to 1930 as Glymont, the vessel traveled to ports in China, Hawaii, San Pedro, Seattle, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Ichang, Chungking, Tientsin, Manila, Kobe, and Singapore. In 1921 she was sold to the Robert Dollar Company and used on the same routes. ^[9]

Sinking

On July 14, 1942, USAT Arcata was attacked with the deck gun and machine guns of the Japanese submarine I-7. Arcata was not carrying any troops when attacked. She had a crew of 29 and four passengers. The four passengers were three United States Navy personnel and one civilian. When attacked she was traveling from Bethel, Alaska to Seattle, Washington. One of the submarine's deck gun shells hit the bridge and killed one sailor. The captain gave the abandon ship order, the ship was unarmed. The crew and passengers loaded into lifeboats. The submarine machine gunned the lifeboats, injuring more crew. The lifeboat drifted in the Bering Sea. Some of the crew died of exposure and hypothermia. ^{[2] [10] [11] [12] [13]} USS Kane found one of the lifeboats and rescued eleven survivors. The Alaskan fishing boat Yukon found and picked up the other lifeboat with fourteen survivors. Eight sailors died, two crew killed from the attack, six from exposure and four passengers survived. ^{[14] [15]}

References

1. Fifty-Third Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, Year ended June 30, 1921. Washington, D.C.: Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of Navigation. 1921. p. 137. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
2. McKellar, Norman L. "Steel Shipbuilding under the U. S. Shipping Board, 1917-1921, Requisitioned Steel Ships, Part VII" (PDF). Steel Shipbuilding under the U. S. Shipping Board, 1917-1921. ShipScribe. p. 320a. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
3. Naval History And Heritage Command (March 11, 2018). "Majaba (AG-43)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
4. Baltimore, Volumes 13-14, page 22, October 1919
5. Submerged Cultural Resources Assessment of Micronesia, By Toni Carrell
6. wrecksite.eu SS Arcata
7. "EFC Design 1049: Illustrations". ShipScribe. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
8. Colton, Tim (October 7, 2020). "Albina Engine & Machine Works, Portland OR". ShipbuildingHistory. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
9. "General Cargo Ships Built in Pacific Coast Shipyards".
10. "EFC Design 1049: Illustrations". ShipScribe. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
11. Maritime Administration. "Arcata". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
12. alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (A)
13. "SS Albertolite". Ian Ferguson. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
14. Hocking, Charles, Dictionary of Disasters at Sea during the Age of Steam
15. "The Thousand Mile War" by Brian Garfield, page 131