The ship as Wasgenwald | |
History | |
---|---|
Name |
|
Namesake | |
Owner |
|
Operator |
|
Port of registry | |
Builder | Bremer Vulkan, Vegesack |
Yard number | 552 |
Launched | 30 December 1911 |
Completed | February 1912 |
Commissioned | into US Navy, 19 Feb 1919 |
Decommissioned | from US Navy, 5 Aug 1919 |
Identification |
|
Fate | scrapped 1932 or 1933 |
General characteristics | |
Type | cargo liner |
Tonnage | 4,708 GRT, 2,880 NRT |
Displacement | 4,707 tons |
Length |
|
Beam | 48.7 ft (14.8 m) |
Draft | 34 ft 2 in (10.4 m) |
Depth | 25.0 ft (7.6 m) |
Decks | 2 |
Installed power | 400 NHP; 3,200 ihp |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 13 knots (24 km/h) |
Capacity | passengers: 50 1st class |
Complement | In US Navy: 41 |
Armament |
|
Notes | sister ships: Grunewald , Schwarzwald, Steigerwald |
USS Shoshone (ID-1760) was a German-built cargo liner that the United States Navy chartered during the First World War. She was launched in 1911 for the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) as Wasgenwald. The Kerr Steamship Company bought her in 1917 and renamed her Shoshone. In 1919 she spent six months in the United States Navy, in which she made two round trips to and from France to repatriate US troops.
American Interlake Line bought her in 1920 and renamed her Manoa. Canada Steamship Lines bought her in 1921. In 1926 the Boston Iron & Metal Company bought her and sold her back to HAPAG, who renamed her Grunewald. She was scrapped in Germany in 1932 or 1933.
This was the first of two steamships that HAPAG named Wasgnenwald. The second was completed in 1922, seized and renamed in 1940, and sunk in 1943. [1] She was the also second of three steamships that HAPAG named Grunewald. The first was her sister ship, which the US seized and renamed General G. W. Goethals in 1917. [2] The third was a ship that was built in 1940, and HAPAG bought and renamed in 1951. [3]
In 1907 and 1908 Furness, Withy & Co in England built a class of three single-screw ships for HAPAG: Westerwald , Spreewald , and Frankenwald. [4] In 1911 HAPAG ordered a class of four sister ships for the "–wald" class that were similar, but with a beam about 3.6 feet (1.1 m) wider; a quadruple-expansion engine instead of a triple-expansion engine; and built in Germany instead of in England. Bremer Vulkan in Bremen-Vegesack built two of the ships: Grunewald and Schwarzwald. Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft in Flensburg built Steigerwald, and Schichau-Werke in Danzig (now Gdańsk in Poland) built Wasgenwald. [5]
Bremer Vulkan built Wasgenwald as yard number 552. [6] She was launched on 30 December 1911 and completed her in 1912. [7] Her lengths were 367 ft 11 in (112.14 m) overall and 353.1 ft (107.6 m) registered. Her beam was 48.7 ft (14.8 m), her depth was 25.0 ft (7.6 m) and her draft was 34 ft 2 in (10.4 m). Her tonnages were 4,708 GRT, 2,880 NRT, and 4,707 tons displacement. She had berths for 50 first class passengers. [8] [9]
HAPAG registered Wasgenwald in Hamburg. Her code letters were RSDV. [8] She was equipped with wireless telegraphy, and by 1914 her call sign was DWG. [10]
Wasgenwald traded to the Caribbean and the East Coast of the United States. On 3 January 1913 she was slightly damaged in port in Newport News, Virginia when a "terrific windstorm" caused a coal barge to crash into her. [11] On 16 May that year she was delayed in Philadelphia by a longshoremen's strike. [12] In August 1913 the wife and family of former President of Venezuela Cipriano Castro crossed the Atlantic on Wasgenwald. They embarked in Tenerife on 6 August [13] and disembarked in Havana on 20 August. [14]
At 11:00 hrs on 1 August 1914, with the First World War imminent, HAPAG announced the suspension of its services. [15] Germany ordered its merchant ships to take refuge in the nearest German or neutral port. Wasgenwald took refuge in Saint Thomas in the Danish West Indies, where the Danish authorities sealed her wireless telegraph apparatus. On 26 September the Norwegian steamship Falk arrived from Brazil to take Wasgenwald's cargo, which was bound for Colón, Panama and ports in the Pacific. [16]
On 10 October 1914 a hurricane hit the Danish West Indies. It sank or drove ashore several ships in Saint Thomas. [17] [18] Wasgenwald and another HAPAG ship, Calabria, dragged their anchors and were driven ashore. [19] Wasgenwald was refloated by 13 October. [20]
In August 1916 Denmark and the United States signed the Treaty of the Danish West Indies, under which the US was to buy the islands. The treaty was ratified in January 1917, and the territory became the United States Virgin Islands on 31 March. Also on 31 March, the Kerr Steamship Company bought Wasgenwald, renamed her Shoshone, and registered her in New York. [9] She was owned via the "Shoshone Navigation Corporation", which was a one-ship company. Her manager was listed as one "EF Geer". [21]
In mid-October 1917 the United States Army chartered her. Later that month the 5th Naval District inspected her for possible naval use, and gave her the Naval Registry ID-1760. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships says she was "probably" operated by the United States Shipping Board on Army account with a civilian crew for the remainder of the war. [9] Another source says the Army used her as a collier. [7] She was defensively armed with one 5-inch/51-caliber gun and one 3-inch/50-caliber gun. [22]
On 18 February 1919 Shoshone was commissioned into the US Navy at Shooters Island, New York, as USS Shoshone. [9] Her US Navy code letters were LHWB. [22] On 11 April she moved to Bush Terminal, Brooklyn, where she was dry docked. On 1 May she left New York on her first of two round trips to France. She reached Saint-Nazaire on 14 May, embarked members of the American Expeditionary Forces on 15 and 16 May, and left on 17 May. On 1 June she reached Philadelphia and disembarked her troops. On 5 June she left Philadelphia on the second of her two round trips. She reached Saint-Nazaire on 17 June, but waited until 1 July to embark her troops. She left on 2 July, and reached Bush Bluffs Army base in Virginia on 16 July. On 5 August she was decommissioned at Bush Bluffs, and returned to the Kerr Steamship Company. [9]
In 1920 the American Interlake Line bought Shoshone and renamed her Manoa. [6] In 1921 Canada Steamship Lines bought her and registered her in London. Her UK official number was 143208, but neither Lloyd's Register nor the Mercantile Navy List records a set of code letters for her when she was registered in the UK. [23] [24]
In 1926 the Boston Iron and Metal Company of Baltimore, Maryland bought Manoa, and sold her back to HAPAG. [6] A new HAPAG ship called Wasgenwald had been built in 1922, [1] so HAPAG gave Manoa the name of her sister ship Grunewald. HAPAG registered her in Hamburg, and her code letters were RFVW. [25] Deutsche Werft in Hamburg scrapped her in December 1932 [2] or the first quarter of 1933. [6]
SS Sangola was a steam cargo liner that was launched in Scotland in 1901, renamed Goshu Maru in 1923, and scrapped in Japan in 1933. She was one of a class of seven steamships that were built for the British India Steam Navigation Company (BI) in 1901 and 1902. From 1908 until 1910 she took Indian indentured labourers to Fiji.
SS Vadala was a cargo steamship that was launched in Scotland in 1890, renamed Kenkon Maru No. 12 in 1913, and sank as the result of a collision in 1928. She was built for the British India Steam Navigation Company (BI). In 1895 she took Indian indentured labourers to Fiji. In 1899 was a troop ship in the Second Boer War. From 1913 she was in Japanese ownership.
SS Fürst Bismarck was a Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) ocean liner. She was launched in Scotland in 1905. In 1914 she was renamed Friedrichsruh. In 1919 the United Kingdom seized her as World War I reparations. In 1921 Messageries Maritimes acquired her and renamed her Amboise. She was scrapped in Italy in 1935.
Kulmerland was a Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) cargo liner that was launched in 1928. She worked HAPAG's route between Hamburg and the Far East until 1939. In the Second World War she was a supply ship for German auxiliary cruisers in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. In 1942 she became a successful blockade runner to German-occupied Europe. An Allied air raid on German-occupied France in 1943 put her out of action. German forces sank her as a blockship in 1944. She was raised in 1945 after the Liberation of France, and scrapped in 1950.
MV Spreewald was a Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) cargo motor ship that was launched in 1922 and sunk in a friendly fire incident in 1942. She was renamed Anubis in 1935, and reverted to her original name Spreewald in 1939.
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SS Ypiranga was a cargo liner that was launched in Germany in 1908 for the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG). In 1919 the United Kingdom seized her for World War I reparations. In 1921 Anchor Line acquired her and renamed her Assyria. In 1929 the Companhia Colonial de Navegação (CCN) bought her and renamed her Colonial. In 1950 she was sold for scrap, but she sank off the coast of Scotland while being towed to a scrapyard.
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USS General G. W. Goethals (ID-1443) was a German cargo liner that the United States seized during the First World War. She was launched in 1911 for the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) as Grunewald. In 1917 the US seized her in Panama, and the Panama Canal Railway (PCR) operated her for the United States Shipping Board (USSB). In 1919 she spent six months in the United States Navy, in which she made three round trips to and from France to repatriate US troops. In 1920 the PRC bought her from the USSB. In 1925 the Black Star Line owned her. In 1926 the Munson Steamship Line bought her and renamed her Munorleans. She was scrapped in Scotland in 1937.
SS Ebani was a cargo steamship that was built in England in 1912 and scrapped in Belgium in 1950. She was renamed Maristella in 1938, Rio Atuel in 1941, and reverted to Maristella in 1946.
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SS Lima was a passenger and cargo steamship that was launched in England in 1907 as Westerwald for Hamburg America Line (HAPAG)'s Caribbean services. Portugal seized her in 1916, renamed her Lima, and used her as a troopship. By 1926 the Empresa Insulana de Navegação (EIN) had bought her for its service to Madeira and the Azores. She was scrapped in Portugal in 1969.
HMS Lucia was a steamship that was launched in England in 1907 as the passenger and cargo ship Spreewald for Hamburg America Line (HAPAG)'s Caribbean services. The Royal Navy captured her in 1914, and renamed her Lucia. Elder Dempster Lines managed her until 1916, when she was converted into the submarine depôt ship HMS Lucia.
SS Frankenwald was a passenger and cargo steamship that was launched in England in 1908 for Hamburg America Line. In 1919 France seized her as part of Germany's World War I reparations. In 1920 the Compagnie de Navigation Paquet bought her and renamed her Tadla. A Turkish shipowner bought her in 1934 and renamed her Tari. She passed through a succession of Turkish owners, and was scrapped in 1967.
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