Design 1095 ship

Old North State
Class overview
BuildersNew York Shipbuilding Corporation
Planned13 (6 changed to Design 1029 from keel)
Building7
Completed7
Lost3
Scrapped4
General characteristics [1]
Tonnage10,500 GRT 12,000 DWT
Length
  • 522 ft 5 in (159.2 m) LOA
  • 502 ft (153.0 m) LBP
Beam62 ft (18.9 m) (molded)
Draft31 ft 9 in (9.7 m) (summer)
Depth(to "A" deck) 42 ft (12.8 m)
Installed powerSix oil fired, single end Scotch boilers 13 ft 3 in (4.0 m) diameter by 11 ft 6 in (3.5 m) in length each with burners.
PropulsionTwin 16 ft 6 in (5.0 m) diameter screws driven by four cylinder triple expansion inverted, reciprocating engines with cylinders 24 in (0.61 m), 40.5 in (1.03 m), 54 in (1.37 m), and 54 in (1.37 m) with 45 in (1.14 m) stroke.
Speed14 knots (16 mph; 26 km/h)
Capacity
  • Passengers: 78 first class (later modified after going into service)
  • Cargo:
  • Total: 465,940 cubic feet (13,194.0 m3) (bale)
  • Cold storage: 52,300 cubic feet (1,481.0 m3)
Crew115

The Design 1095 ship was an Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) design for a troop transport to be built at New York Shipbuilding Corporation and delivered to the United States Shipping Board (USSB) that, at the end of World War I hostilities, was modified to a combined passenger and cargo vessel.[2][3] The contract was for thirteen ships, EFC hulls 2579 though 2591, but later adjusted to seven ships with the remainder being changed during construction to the slightly larger ships of EFC Design 1029 built from the start as passenger and cargo ships rather than being modified from the troop ship plan.[2][4]

After initial service as USSB owned ships operated by agents, United States Lines in Atlantic service between New York and Europe with five ships and two ships with Swayne and Hoyt with the Pacific Argentine Brazil Line, the ships were sold in 1923 to Robert Dollar Company which initiated the Dollar and successor American President Lines' tradition of naming ships after presidents. The ships inaugurated Dollar's "Round-the-World" service which was continued by American President Lines with additional ships.

During World War II the seven ships were used as troop transports, three being converted to hospital ships (2 Army and 1 Navy) and three were lost. The three ships built as Old North State, Panhandle State and Blue Hen State became hospital ships and survived the war. Creole State served as a transport and began conversion to a hospital ship in the closing days of the war but the conversion stopped with peace upon which she was reconverted to become an Army transport for dependent repatriation. Two, President Taylor, built as Granite State and President Grant, built as Centennial State, became total losses after groundings. The ship built as Wolverine State and President Harrison at the time, was on a second voyage to evacuate Marines and civilians from China sailing after 7 December 1941, was grounded in an attempt to deny use by the Japanese, but salvaged and named Kachidoki Maru. While transporting British prisoners of war Kachidoki Maru was torpedoed and sunk by USS Pampanito on 12 September 1944.

  1. ^ Marine Engineering April 1920, p. 265.
  2. ^ a b McKellar: Steel Shipbuilding under the U. S. Shipping Board, 1917–1921, Part V, p. 399b.
  3. ^ Pacific Marine Review, April 1921, p. 203.
  4. ^ McKellar: Steel Shipbuilding under the U. S. Shipping Board, 1917–1921, Part III, pp. 140a, 140b.