As Segovia it was launched on 15 August 1931 the same day as Talamanca, both ships christened by First Lady Lou Henry Hoover using water gathered from Central American rivers. Segovia burned at the fitting out pier and was almost completely destroyed. It was rebuilt under a different hull number and renamed Peten by Mrs. Hoover on the anniversary of the first, 15 August 1932. Peten was delivered to the company's United Mail Steamship Company subsidiary in February 1933. The ship served on the company's Atlantic routes between New York and Panama. In 1937 the ship was transferred to the direct ownership of the parent company and renamed Jamaica.
In March 1942 Jamaica was delivered to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) under bareboat charter and delivered to the Navy under sub bareboat charter to be commissioned Ariel named after the "airy and playful spirit" Ariel in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest. 21 June 1946 Ariel was de-commissioned and returned to WSA for re-conversion as Jamaica to commercial service. The ship was returned to United Fruit in December 1947 and operated for that company until sold to a German company in 1957 to be renamed Blumenthal. The ship was scrapped in 1969.
The basic design, implemented in Talamanca and the Newport News ships and with small modifications in the Bethlehem ships, was a ship of 446ft 9in (136.2m) overall length, 430ft (131.1m) length on 24ft (7.3m) waterline, 415ft (126.5m)length between perpendiculars, 60ft (18.3m) molded beam, 36ft 9in (11.2m) depth molded to upper deck, 24ft 9in (7.5m) molded maximum draft, 11,345 tons displacement at maximum draft, 6,963GRT, 3,183NRT, 196,000cuft (5,550.1m3) cargo capacity, 1,450 tons of fuel oil and 626 tons fresh water capacity.[2]
The prospective name for the ship had been Segovia, keel laid 9 March 1931 as hull #345, with launch on 15 August 1931.[1] The launch was on the same day as Talamanca (hull #344) in a ceremony in which First Lady Lou Henry Hoover christened the ships with water gathered from Central American rivers.[7]Segovia was almost completely destroyed by fire at the outfitting pier as it neared completion in December 1931. In the early morning of 20 December fire in one of the holds spread into the passenger areas. Water fighting the fires caused the ship to roll onto her starboard side.[note 2] The ship was rebuilt as hull #354 and christened 15 August 1932 as Peten, again by First Lady Hoover.[8][9][10][11]Peten was delivered on 24 February 1933.[1] The company's ships were named for mountain ranges, cities and provinces in Central and South America with Petén being a political region in Guatemala.[12]
The ship was registered with U.S. Official Number 232139, signal KDCY at 6,968GRT, 3,152NRT, registry length of 415.4ft (126.6m), 60.2ft (18.3m) beam, 24ft (7.3m) depth, 10,500 horsepower, 113 crew with home port of New York and owner as United Mail Steamship Company.[3]
Commercial service
On 2 March 1933 Peten made her maiden voyage from New York to Caribbean ports.[1]Peten, Quirigua and Veragua operating on a New York, Havana, Kingston, Cristobal, Limón and return to New York omitting Kingston as a port of call. The other three, Antigua, Talamanca and Chiriqui meanwhile operated on a San Francisco to Balboa route with return to San Francisco via Puerto Armuelles and Los Angeles. An intercoastal service for passengers and cargo was formed by the ships connecting in Panama. That schedule remained through 1936. In January 1939 all the ships operated on the New York to Panama route.[13]
In 1937 she was transferred to United Fruit's direct ownership and renamed Jamaica.
US Navy service
Jamaica was delivered to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) on 24 March 1942 at New Orleans under bareboat charter.[14]Todd Pacific Shipyards of Galveston, Texas converted her for Navy use. She was renamed USS Ariel and commissioned at Galveston on 14 May 1942 with Captain E.P. Hylant as her commander.[15]
In 1943 Ariel sailed to Iceland; leaving New York City on 15 August and reaching Reykjavík on 24 August. She returned to the east coast, arrived back at New York City on 7 September, and resumed her supply service to the Caribbean.[15]
On 4 January 1944 the store ship left Norfolk, in convoy to the Mediterranean Sea. She called at Algiers, French Algeria on 24 January and soon sailed for Naples, Italy, where she unloaded supplies. She then sailed east and called at Oran, Algeria, in early February before sailing back across the Atlantic reaching New York City on 13 February.[15]
Ariel sailed for the Caribbean on 20 February and called at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, to unload. She then returned to New York. In late March, she commenced another voyage to Iceland and arrived back at New York on 10 April. After a few weeks of upkeep, Ariel sailed for the United Kingdom. On arrival she provided food and supplies to ships preparing for the cross-channel Invasion of Normandy. She operated from the ports of Clyde, Scotland; Belfast, Northern Ireland; and Plymouth and Portland Harbour, England. She left England on D-Day, 6 June, and returned to the United States.[15]
Ariel reached New York on 16 June. After a fortnight of leave and upkeep she sailed to Norfolk. On 1 July she set out across the Atlantic to resupply Mediterranean ports. She unloaded stores and equipment at Oran and Naples before returning to the United States via a stop in the Azores, reaching New York on 3 August.[15]
After a week in New York, Ariel made a round trip to supply Guantanamo Bay and Trinidad. In September she made a round trip from New York to Bermuda. On 20 September she sailed from Norfolk, VA to Oran and Naples. Her return voyage was to New York, where she arrived on 23 October. From there she took supplies to San Juan and Guantanamo Bay. In early November she returned to Norfolk for servicing. She returned to duty on 10 December, sailing laden for Oran and Naples. She returned to Norfolk on 6 February 1945. Later that month she made another round trip to Oran.[15]
In March Ariel left New York for San Juan, Puerto Rico. She returned to the east coast and put into Boston, Massachusetts, on 12 April. From there she took a cargo to Argentia and arrived back at Boston in late April. She then took a cargo to Bermuda.[15]
She continued her supply runs to Caribbean ports from New York, Norfolk, and Boston until 1946. On 12 May 1946 Ariel left New York for a final voyage to Reykjavík, where she docked on 29 May. She left for New York on 1 June, arrived a week later, and entered New York Naval Shipyard for decommissioning.[15]
On 21 June 1946 Ariel was decommissioned at New York and transferred to the War Shipping Administration. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 3 July 1946 and returned to the United Fruit Company, under charter under her pre-war name Jamaica.[14][15]
Post-war service
Jamaica returned to liner work for United Fruit but later was sold to new owners. In April 1957 the ship was converted to a refrigerator type.[14]Jamaica was sold in December 1957 to Union-Partenreederei T/S of Bremen, Germany, which also acquired her United Fruit sister shipChiriqui. Union-Partenreederei changed Jamaica's name to D/S Blumenthal. She was scrapped in 1969 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
USS Lyon (AP-71) was a type C3 ship of the United States Navy which played an extensive role in naval transportation during World War II. The Lyon was built as Mormactide under a Maritime Commission (MC) contract by the Ingalls Shipbuilding Company of Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was laid down 21 August 1939, and was launched on 12 October 1940; sponsored by Gloria McGehee.
USS Florence Nightingale (AP-70) was a Maritime Commission type C3-M cargo ship built as Mormacsun for Moore-McCormack Lines. Mormacsun operated for Moore-McCormack from May 1941 until December 1941 when she came under the War Shipping Administration (WSA) for the duration of World War II. The ship operated with Moore-McCormack as the WSA agent, playing an important role in early supply of the Southwest Pacific, until transfer to the United States Navy September 1942 and commissioning as Florence Nightingale whereupon she became an Elizabeth C. Stanton-class transport ship. She was named for Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), the nursing pioneer, and is one of the few United States Navy ships named after a woman. The ship was returned to WSA in 1946 and then to Moore-McCormack operating as Mormacsun until sold to operate as Japan Transport and lastly as Texas.
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.
SS Mongolia was a 13,369-ton passenger-and-cargo liner originally built for Pacific Mail Steamship Company in 1904. She later sailed as USS Mongolia (ID-1615) for the U.S. Navy, as SS President Fillmore for the Dollar Line and as SS Panamanian for Cia Transatlantica Centroamericano.
USS Algorab (AKA-8) was laid down as Mormacwren, one of the earliest Maritime Commission-type C2 ships, on 10 August 1938 by the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Chester, Pennsylvania as hull 177 for Moore-McCormack. Mormacwren was acquired by the United States Navy 6 June 1941, commissioned 15 June 1941 as USS Algorab (AK-25) and was redesignated an attack transport on 1 February 1943 with the hull number chanted to AKA-8. Algorab decommissioned on 3 December 1945 and was delivered to the Maritime Commission on 30 June 1946 for disposal, purchased by Wallem & Co. on 4 April 1947 for commercial service.
USS Refuge (AH-11), was a hospital ship of the United States Navy during World War II. The ship was built in 1921 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., of Camden, New Jersey, as SS Blue Hen State, but was renamed President Garfield in 1923 and then SS President Madison in 1940 for service with American President Lines. Acquired by the Navy from the War Shipping Administration on 11 April 1942 the ship was commissioned as the transport USS Kenmore until conversion to a hospital ship.
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 Miantonomah (CM-10/CMc-5) was built as SS Quaker by Pusey & Jones Corporation, Wilmington, Delaware in 1938 as a commercial coastwise ship operating as a fast inland water passenger and freight carrier. Quaker was acquired by the Navy in May 1941 for conversion to a coastal minelayer. Miantonomah operated off the east coast of the United States, Africa and the Mediterranean and took part in the invasion of Europe in 1944. The ship was sunk by a mine 25 September 1944.
SS Munargo was a commercial cargo and passenger ship built for the Munson Steamship Line by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, New Jersey launched 17 September 1921. Munargo operated for the line in the New York-Bahamas-Cuba-Miami service passenger cargo trade. In June 1930 the United States and Mexican soccer teams took passage aboard Munargo from New York to Uruguay for the 1930 FIFA World Cup. The ship was acquired by the War Shipping Administration and immediately purchased by the War Department for service as a troop carrier during World War II. Shortly after acquisition the War Department transferred the ship to the U.S. Navy which commissioned the ship USS Munargo (AP-20). She operated in the Atlantic Ocean for the Navy until returned to the War Department in 1943 for conversion into the Hospital ship USAHS Thistle.
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 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 Tarazed (AF-13) was the United Fruit Company cargo and passenger liner Chiriqui that was acquired by the United States Navy through a sub bareboat charter from the War Shipping Administration (WSA) which acquired the ship by bareboat charter from the company. The ship served as a Mizar-class stores ship in World War II. In peacetime before and after the war she carried fruit and passengers; in war she supplied troops and ships in the field. In 1958 she was sold to a German shipping line and renamed Blexen which was scrapped in 1971 after 39 years' service.
USS Merak (AF-21), the second Navy ship of the name, was the United Fruit Company cargo and passenger liner Veragua that served as a United States Navy Mizar-class stores ship in World War II.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
Hawaiian Shipper was a 7,775 GRT Modified Type C3 cargo ship which was built in 1941 by Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey for the United States War Shipping Administration. She was transferred to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Fulmar. She was transferred to the United States Maritime Commission (USMC) in 1942 and renamed Hawaiian Shipper. Converted in 1943 to a troopship for the United States Navy. To the USMC in 1946 and renamed America Transport. Sold in 1958 to the States Steamship Company and renamed Washington. Renamed Michigan and sold to the United States Maritime Administration in 1960. She was sold to the Waterman Steamship Corporation in 1969 and renamed Morning Light, she was scrapped in 1973 at Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Californian was an early American motor cargo ship which was built in 1921 in Chester, Pennsylvania for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company. She was sold to the British Ministry of War Transport in 1940 and renamed Empire Kite, and renamed Empire Seal later that year. She was torpedoed and sunk in February 1942.
Maritime Administration. "Jamaica". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
Naval History And Heritage Command. "Ariel". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
Pacific Marine Review (1932a). "Burned Liner Being Reconditioned". Pacific Marine Review. 'Official Organ: Pacific American Steamship Association/Shipowners' Association of the Pacific Coast. Consolidated 1932 issues (August 1932). Retrieved 22 June 2014.
Pacific Marine Review (1933). "Pacific Marine Review". Pacific Marine Review. 'Official Organ: Pacific American Steamship Association/Shipowners' Association of the Pacific Coast. Consolidated 1933 issues (February 1933). Retrieved 22 June 2014.
Naval History And Heritage Command (18 June 2015). "Ariel V (AF-22)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
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