 Aerial starboard side view of the U.S. cargo vessel Admiral Halstead. (Australian War Memorial)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry | New York, New York |
| Builder | Submarine Boat Corporation, Newark, New Jersey |
| Yard number | 142 |
| Launched | 22 October 1920 |
| Completed | November 1920 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Broken up 1949 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | EFC Design 1023, postwar commercial completion |
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | 7,615 tons |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 46 ft (14.0 m) |
| Draft | 23 ft (7.0 m) |
| Depth | 28 ft 6 in (8.7 m) molded |
| Installed power | 2 Babcock & Wilcox water tube boilers |
| Propulsion | Westinghouse steam turbine |
| Speed | 10.5 kn (12.1 mph; 19.4 km/h) |
SS Admiral Halstead was a merchant ship built in 1920 by the Submarine Boat Corporation, Newark, New Jersey, and operating originally as Suwordenco. The ship's history illustrates the state of the industry as the massive World War I shipbuilding program transitioned to an effort to sell and operate hulls in a market glutted by wartime shipbuilding. By the outbreak of World War II Suwordenco was one of the few ships operating as its owners went bankrupt. The ship was bought for operation from the Puget Sound to California ports until it was caught up in the prelude to the United States' entry into the war.[1]
The ship played a role in the effort to support the Philippines, finding itself in the Pensacola Convoy that was diverted to Australia. The convoy reached Brisbane on 22 December 1941 with Admiral Halstead being placed under U.S. Army charter that day to be operated by its company, the Pacific Lighterage Company. The convoy provided the base for the United States Army buildup in Australia. Admiral Halstead was sent to northern Australia arriving at Darwin to be present when the port was bombed on 19 February 1942. The ship came under attack along with the transports of the Timor Convoy escorted by USS Houston and other ships in port. Admiral Halstead was damaged and the crew abandoned but returned and over the next five days, working at night and moving to an anchorage by day, unloaded some 8,000 drums of the cargo of aviation gasoline.