USS Samaritan in San Francisco Bay, late 1945 or early 1946
| |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Builders | American International Shipbuilding |
Subclasses |
|
Built | 5 August 1918 – 29 January 1921 |
Planned | 180 |
Completed | 122 |
Cancelled | 58 |
Lost | 58 |
General characteristics | |
Type |
|
Tonnage | 7,825 DWT (1022) |
Displacement |
|
Installed power | Oil-fired geared turbine 2,500 shp (1,900 kW) |
Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Hog Islanders is the slang for ships built to Emergency Fleet Corporation designs number 1022 and 1024. These vessels were cargo and troop transport ships, respectively, built under government direction and subsidy to address a shortage of ships in the United States Merchant Marine during World War I.[1] American International Shipbuilding, subsidized by the United States Shipping Board, built an emergency shipyard on Hog Island at the site of the present-day Philadelphia International Airport.
No ships were produced in time to participate in World War I, but many ships were active in World War II, with roughly half of those produced at Hog Island being sunk in that conflict. During the planning stage, 120 ship names based on the "aboriginal inhabitants of the United States" were selected by First Lady Edith Wilson (Mrs. Woodrow Wilson), although most were changed before completion.[2]