USS Housatonic (SP-1697)

Last updated

USS Housatonic (SP-1697) in The Boston Harbor.jpg
History
US flag 35 stars.svg
Name
  • El Rio (1899—1918)
  • Housatonic (1918—1919)
  • El Rio (1919—1925)
  • Brazos (1925—1945))
Namesake(Navy) Housatonic River
Owner
  • Morgan Steamship Co./Southern Pacific Co. (1899-1917)
  • U.S. Navy (1917—1919)
  • Morgan Steamship Co./Southern Pacific Co. (1919-1925)
  • Clyde-Mallory Line (1925-1935)
  • Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Lines (Agwilines) (1935-1942)
Builder Newport News Shipbuilding, Norfolk, Virginia.
Yard number24
Launched24 June 1899
Completed19 October 1899
Commissioned(Navy) 25 January 1918
Decommissioned(Navy) 5 August 1919
In service1899
Out of service1942
HomeportNew York, New York
Identification
  • U.S. Official Number: 136761
  • Signal: KPJW
  • Signal: WHCB (1935—1942)
FateLost as Brazos in collision 1942.
General characteristics
Type
Tonnage
Displacement7,620 tons
Length
  • 405 ft 1 in (123.5 m) overall
  • 379 ft 9 in (115.7 m) on water line
  • 391.9 ft (119.5 m) registry [2]
Beam48.3 ft (14.7 m) [2]
Draft22 ft 6 in (6.9 m)
Depth15.8 ft (4.8 m) [2]
Depth of hold26 ft (7.9 m)
PropulsionVertical, triple expansion steam
Speed15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h)
Capacity(Navy) 830 mines (900 max) [5]
Complement(Navy) 18 officers, 20 chief petty officers, 400 men [1]
Crew49 [2]
Armament

The second USS Housatonic was the Southern Pacific Steamship Company freighter El Rio. The ship was one of four company ships temporarily converted for planting the World War I North Sea Mine Barrage.

Contents

El Rio was built for the Morgan Line in 1899 and served as a freighter until the United States Shipping Board took control of the vessel in 1917 for conversion to wartime naval use. After return to commercial service the ship resumed normal freight operations. In 1925 the ship was sold to the Clyde-Mallory Lines and renamed Brazos. In 1945 the vessel was sold to Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Lines (Agwilines) continuing freight service until sunk in a collision in 1942.

El Rio

El Rio was launched as hull number 24 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company at Newport News, Virginia on 24 June 1899 and completed 19 October 1899 for the Morgan Line. [note 1] The 4,604  GRT ship was assigned U.S. Official Number 136761, signal KPJW with home port of New York, New York. [6] [2] El Rio was intended for service between New York City and Gulf of Mexico seaports of New Orleans and Galveston, Texas. The Morgan Line was incorporated into the Southern Pacific system. [7]

Big Four minelayers

The United States converted eight civilian steamships as minelayers for the 100,000 mines manufactured for the barrage. British Rear Admiral Lewis Clinton-Baker described the North Sea mine barrage as the "biggest mine planting stunt in the world's history." [5]

The largest of the converted minelayers were four freighters owned by Southern Pacific Steamship Company. Southern Pacific Transportation Company had evolved from the First transcontinental railroad to become the dominant transportation provider in California. Owners of the original Central Pacific Railroad were known as the Big Four. Sailors similarly referred to these former Southern Pacific ships as the Big Four. [5]

Conversion

The United States Shipping Board took control of the ship from Southern Pacific Steamship Company in 1917. Housatonic was fitted out for United States Navy service at Tietjen & Lang's shipyard at Hoboken, New Jersey. Work began on 25 November 1917. Gun platforms were added for two anti-aircraft guns forward and a 5"/51 caliber gun aft. The minelaying conversion enabled her to carry mines on three decks, and included six Otis elevators individually capable of transferring two mines every 20 seconds from the storage decks to the launching deck. Stern ports were cut for launching the mines and the rudder quadrant was raised to give adequate clearance. Watertight subdivision was improved by strengthening existing bulkheads and building two new bulkheads to divide the largest compartments so the ship might stay afloat if only one compartment were flooded. Quarters were enlarged to accommodate messing and berthing arrangements for a crew of about 400. The main machinery was overhauled and auxiliary machinery was added for the elevators, for heating the berthing spaces, for refrigerated food storage, for additional fresh water distilling capacity, for magazine sprinklers and galley and washroom plumbing, and enlarged electric generators for lighting and radio communications. Existing coal bunkers on the third deck were replaced with a bunker in the hold forward of the boiler room with chutes to load coal over the mines. Larger boats and heavier anchors required larger davits and anchor windlass, and the mines required specialized handling machinery. [8]

1918 Navy data after conversion show the ship as being 405 ft 1 in (123.5 m) length overall, 379 ft 9 in (115.7 m) length on water line, beam of 48 ft 3 in (14.7 m), depth of hold 26 ft (7.9 m), mean draft of 22 ft 6 in (6.9 m) and displacement of 7,620 tons. Gross and net tonnage are identical to the merchant vessel registry with 4,604  GRT and 2,918  NRT. Propulsion was by a vertical, triple expansion steam engine with three double ended boilers providing steam with 4,000 ihp giving a speed of 15 kn (17 mph; 28 km/h). Bunker capacity was 943 tons. Electric power was by four 15 kW 110 V direct current General Electric generating sets. Crew is shown as 18 officers, 20 chief petty officers and 400 men. [1]

Wartime service

USS Housatonic was commissioned on 25 January 1918 with Captain John Greenslade, USN, in command . While operating as part of Mine Squadron 1 out of Inverness, Scotland, from 7 June until the close of the war on 11 November 1918, Housatonic laid a total of 9,339 mines: [5]

Housatonic then made three trips returning soldiers of the American Expeditionary Forces to the United States.

John Greenslade was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal while aboard Housatonic. [9]

Return to Southern Pacific

Housatonic decommissioned 5 August 1919 and was returned to the Southern Pacific Steamship Company. [10] El Rio was renamed Brazos in 1925 for operation with Clyde-Mallory Lines. [11] Brazos on 21 December 1932 had been involved in a collision determined to have been caused by mutual fault in fog off Galveston with Eglantine, a vessel owned by the United States, resulting in a lawsuit by Clyde-Mallory Lines regarding a two-year limitation period for such suits resulting in an appellate court ruling that the two year limitation should have applied. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that decision. [12] [13]

In 1935 the ship began operations with Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Lines (Agwilines) with a signal letter change to WHCB. [14] [15] Brazos continued operating until lost in a collision 13 January 1942. [6] [11] [16] The collision with HMS Archer, an escort carrier transporting aircraft from Norfolk, Virginia to Kingston, Jamaica and suffering from steering and gyrocompass failures, occurred about two and a half hours before midnight. Archer spotted the freighter and put engines in reverse but too late to avoid a collision. Both ships suffered damage with Brazos sinking and Archer eventually requiring tow and repairs in Charleston. All the freighter's crew was taken aboard Archer, two having suffered injury. [11] [16] [17] [18] [note 2]

Footnotes

  1. Five ships for the Morgan Line had been built as hulls 2 through 6 between 1891 and 1893 with hull number 5 being an earlier El Rio. That ship was one of the three converted to become an auxiliary cruiser, USS Dixie (1893).
  2. The reference, "A history of HMS Archer" incorrectly states that Brazos was a "Peruvian merchantman."

See also

History of the Southern Pacific

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Baltimore</i> (C-3) Protected cruiser

The fourth USS Baltimore (C-3) was a United States Navy cruiser, the fifth protected cruiser to be built by an American yard. Like the previous one, Charleston, the design was commissioned from the British company of W. Armstrong, Mitchell, and Company of Newcastle. Baltimore was an all-around improvement on Charleston, somewhat larger with more guns, thicker armor, and better machinery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minelayer</span> Act of deploying explosive mines

A Minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controlled mines at predetermined positions in connection with coastal fortifications or harbor approaches that would be detonated by shore control when a ship was fixed as being within the mine's effective range.

HMS <i>Archer</i> (D78) Long Island-class escort carrier

HMS Archer was a Long Island-class escort carrier built by the United States in 1939–1940 and operated by the Royal Navy during World War II. She was built as the cargo ship Mormacland, but was converted to an escort carrier and renamed HMS Archer. Her transmission was a constant cause of problems which led to her being withdrawn from front-line service. She was used as a stores ship and then as an accommodation ship before a refit and subsequent use as a merchant aircraft ferry ship, Empire Lagan.

USS <i>Oglala</i> US minelayer sunk in 1941 at Pearl Harbor

USS Oglala (ID-1255/CM-4/ARG-1) was a minelayer in the United States Navy. Commissioned as Massachusetts, she was renamed Shawmut a month later, and in 1928, was renamed after the Oglala, a sub-tribe of the Lakota, residing in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

USS <i>San Francisco</i> (C-5)

The first USS San Francisco (C-5) was a steel protected cruiser in the United States Navy. She was later named Tahoe and then Yosemite, becoming the third US Navy ship to bear the name Yosemite. She generally resembled her predecessor Newark, with a main armament of twelve 6-inch guns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Sea Mine Barrage</span>

The North Sea Mine Barrage, also known as the Northern Barrage, was a large minefield laid easterly from the Orkney Islands to Norway by the United States Navy during World War I. The objective was to inhibit the movement of U-boats from bases in Germany to the Atlantic shipping lanes bringing supplies to the British Isles. Rear Admiral Lewis Clinton-Baker, commanding the Royal Navy minelaying force at the time, described the barrage as the "biggest mine planting stunt in the world's history." Larger fields with greater numbers of mines were laid during World War II.

USS <i>Aroostook</i> (CM-3) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Aroostook (ID-1256/CM-3/AK-44) was the Eastern Steamship Company's Bunker Hill converted for planting the World War I North Sea Mine Barrage. Bunker Hill was built in 1907 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for passenger service between Boston and New York City. Bunker Hill was one of three sister ships, the others being Massachusetts and Old Colony, delivered as passenger/cargo ships by William Cramp & Sons in 1907. They were among the eight ships acquired by the U.S. Navy in November 1917. Bunker Hill and Massachusetts were converted to minelayers at the Boston Navy Yard. Old Colony was used as a district scout until sent across the Atlantic and turned over to the British in 1919.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Barrage</span>

The Northern Barrage was the name given to minefields laid by the British during World War II to restrict German access to the Atlantic Ocean. The barrage stretched from the Orkney to the Faroe Islands and on toward Iceland. Mines were also laid in the Denmark Strait, north of Iceland.

USS <i>Canonicus</i> (ID-1696)

The second USS Canonicus was the Southern Pacific freighter El Cid temporarily converted for planting the World War I North Sea Mine Barrage. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company launched El Cid at Newport News, Virginia on 7 October 1899 for service between New York City and Gulf of Mexico seaports of New Orleans and Galveston, Texas. The United States Shipping Board took control of the ship from Southern Pacific Steamship Company in 1917.

SS <i>El Capitan</i> (1917)

El Capitan, United States Official Number 285587, was built in 1917 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company at Newport News, Virginia for the Southern Pacific Company's Atlantic Steamship Lines. In 1915 the line operated from the North River piers 49–52 at the foot of 11th Street in New York to New Orleans under the flag and name of Morgan Line, which combined with the Southern Pacific's rail service from the Pacific Coast was known as the Sunset Gulf Route. During World War I the ship was purchased from the builder before delivery to the owner by the United States Shipping Board (USSB) which later turned the ship over to the United States Navy which placed her in commission as USS El Capitan (ID-1407) from 1918 to 1919. El Capitan was returned to commercial service by the Southern Pacific Company until just before the United States entry into World War II when the United States War Shipping Administration (WSA) acquired the ship, changed her registry to Panama and placed her in operation under its agent, United States Lines. El Capitan was in the Arctic convoy PQ 17 to the Soviet Union when she came under air attack on 9 July 1942, was damaged and abandoned to be sunk by torpedo just after midnight on 10 July.

The Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works, was a major late-19th-century American shipyard located on the Delaware River in Chester, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the industrialist John Roach and is often referred to by its parent company name of John Roach & Sons, or just known as the Roach shipyard. For the first fifteen years of its existence, the shipyard was by far the largest and most productive in the United States, building more tonnage of ships than its next two major competitors combined, in addition to being the U.S. Navy's largest contractor. The yard specialized in the production of large passenger freighters, but built every kind of vessel from warships to cargo ships, oil tankers, ferries, barges, tugs and yachts.

USS Ozama was a naval mine carrier that served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1919.

USS <i>Kiowa</i> (ID-1842) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

The second USS Kiowa (ID-1842) was a cargo ship that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.

The third USS Roanoke was the Southern Pacific freighter El Dia temporarily converted for planting the World War I North Sea Mine Barrage. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company launched El Dia at Newport News, Virginia on 30 August 1911 for service between New York City and Gulf of Mexico seaports of New Orleans and Galveston, Texas. The United States Shipping Board took control of the ship from Southern Pacific Steamship Company in 1917.

The second USS Canandaigua was the Southern Pacific freighter El Siglo temporarily converted for planting the World War I North Sea Mine Barrage. Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company launched El Siglo at Newport News, Virginia in May 1901 for service between New York City and Gulf of Mexico seaports of New Orleans and Galveston, Texas. The United States Shipping Board took control of the ship from Southern Pacific Steamship Company in 1917.

USS <i>Quinnebaug</i> (SP-1687)

The third USS Quinnebaug was originally the Old Dominion Steamship Company Jefferson built by the Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works, Chester, Pennsylvania. She was launched on 14 October 1898 and completed during June, 1899. The ship was acquired for World War I naval service and, as USS Quinnebaug, participated in planting the North Sea Mine Barrage. In March 1919 the ship returned to service as Jefferson with the Old Dominion Line.

USS <i>Saranac</i> (1899)

The third USS Saranac was the Old Dominion Steamship Company Hamilton temporarily converted for planting the World War I North Sea Mine Barrage. John Roach & Sons launched Hamilton at Chester, Pennsylvania in 1899. Hamilton steamed between Norfolk, Virginia and New York City until The United States Shipping Board took control of the ship from Old Dominion Steamship Company in 1917. She was fitted out for United States Navy service by James Shewan & Sons at Brooklyn, New York. The minelaying conversion enabled her to carry mines on two decks, and included four Otis elevators individually capable of transferring two mines every 20 seconds from the storage deck to the launching deck. USS Saranac was commissioned on 9 April 1918. While operating as part of Mine Squadron 1 out of Inverness, Scotland, from 14 July until the close of the war on 11 November 1918, Saranac laid a total of 4,782 mines:

The following index is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Wikipedia's articles on recreational dive sites. The level of coverage may vary:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of recreational dive sites</span> Hierarchical outline list of articles about rereational dive sites

Recreational dive sites are specific places that recreational scuba divers go to enjoy the underwater environment or for training purposes. They include technical diving sites beyond the range generally accepted for recreational diving. In this context all diving done for recreational purposes is included. Professional diving tends to be done where the job is, and with the exception of diver training and leading groups of recreational divers, does not generally occur at specific sites chosen for their easy access, pleasant conditions or interesting features.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Construction & Repair Bureau (Navy) (1 November 1918). Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 454–459. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Thirty-Third Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, Year ended June 30, 1901. Washington, D.C.: Treasury Department, Bureau of Navigation. 1901. p. 327. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  3. Merchant Vessels of the United States, Year ended June 30, 1927. Washington, D.C.: Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation. 1927. p. 28. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  4. Lloyds. "Lloyd's Register 1942-43". Lloyd's Register. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Belknap, Reginald Rowan The Yankee mining squadron; or, Laying the North Sea mining barrage (1920) United States Naval Institute pp.46–47,74&110
  6. 1 2 Colton, Tim (15 December 2020). "Newport News Shipbuilding". ShipbuildingHistory. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  7. Luce, G. W. (February 1921). "Sunset Gulf—The 100 Per Cent Route". Southern Pacific Bulletin. San Francisco: Southern Pacific. 10 (2): 16–18. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  8. Navy Department, Office Of Naval Records And Library, Historical Section (1920). The Northern Barrage and Other Mining Activities (Report). Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. pp. 70–71. Retrieved 26 April 2021.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. "Navy Distinguished Service Medal to Captain Greenslade". MilitaryTimes.
  10. Naval History And Heritage Command (20 July 2015). "Housatonic II (SP-1697)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 "Brazos SS (1925~1935) Brazos SS (+1942)". The Wrecksite. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  12. "Clyde-Mallory Lines v. Eglantine, 317 U.S. 395 (1943)". Circuit Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. 2 June 1942. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  13. "Clyde-Mallory Lines v. The Eglantine, 317 U.S. 395 (1943)". U.S. Supreme Court. 4 January 1943. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  14. Lloyds. "Lloyd's Register 1933-34". Lloyd's Register. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  15. Lloyds. "Lloyd's Register 1935-36". Lloyd's Register. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  16. 1 2 "U.S. FRIGHTERS SUNK IN COLLISION JAN. 13; Brazos, a 4,497-Ton Vessel, and Unidentified Ship Struck 150 Miles From Hatteras 35 IN THE CREW ALL SAVED Master of Brazilian Rescue Craft Tells of Trying to Salvage the Ciltvaira". The New York Times. New York, N.Y.: 10 23 January 1942. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  17. "Three N.E. Men on Ship Sunk in Crash". The Boston Globe: 12. 23 January 1942. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  18. Drury, Tony (16 February 2021). "A history of HMS Archer". The Royal Navy Research Archive. Retrieved 27 April 2021.