 West Ekonk in dazzle camouflage underway near Seattle in July 1918
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Awarded | 15 January 1918[3] |
| Builder |
|
| Cost | $1,776,468 |
| Yard number | 25 (USSB number 1178)[2] |
| Laid down | 16 April 1918[1] |
| Launched | 22 June 1918[1] |
| Completed | 13 July 1918[1] |
| Acquired | 13 July 1918 |
| Commissioned | 13 July 1918 |
| Decommissioned | 9 April 1919 |
| Stricken | 9 April 1919 |
| Fate | returned to USSB |
| History | |
| Name |
|
| Owner |
|
| Port of registry |
|
| Identification | US official number: 216620[4] |
| Fate | torpedoed and sunk, 1942[5] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Design 1013 ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | 12,225 t[5] |
| Length | |
| Beam | 54 ft 2 in (16.51 m)[4] |
| Draft | 24 ft 2.25 in (7.3724 m) (mean)[5] |
| Depth of hold | 29 ft 9 in (9.07 m)[5] |
| Propulsion | 1 × Curtis geared steam turbine[6] |
| Speed | 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h)[4] |
| Complement | 107 (as USS West Ekonk)[5] |
| Crew | 31 (as SS Empire Wildebeeste)[7] |
| Armament |
|
USS West Ekonk (ID-3313) was a cargo ship for the United States Navy during World War I. She was later known as SS West Ekonk in civilian service under American registry, and as SS Empire Wildebeeste under British registry.
West Ekonk was launched for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) in June 1918 as a part of the West ships, a series of steel-hulled cargo ships built on the West Coast of the United States for the World War I war effort. At one point West Ekonk had the distinction of being the ninth fastest-built ocean-going ship in the world. Pressed into cargo service for the US Navy, USS West Ekonk was commissioned into the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) and completed three round-trip voyages to Europe for the Navy. After decommissioning in mid 1919, she was briefly in cargo service out of Baltimore and New York before being laid up in Norfolk, Virginia.
West Ekonk was reactivated for cargo service out of Los Angeles in early 1924. By 1926, she was sailing out of New York and called at ports such as Liverpool and Hamburg. In 1933, she was sold to the Lykes Brothers Steamship Company and operated for two of its subsidiary shipping lines through the mid-1930s. In late 1940 she was sold to British interests to help fill the United Kingdom's urgent need for merchant ships.
After sailing to the UK as West Ekonk, the ship was renamed Empire Wildebeeste and sailed in transatlantic convoys, making three round-trips between March 1941 and December 1942. On the westbound leg at the beginning of her fourth round-trip, she straggled behind her convoy and was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-106 on 24 January 1942. Nine men died in the attack; the 22 survivors were rescued by American destroyer USS Lang (DD-399) and landed at Bermuda.
- ^ a b c d Skinner & Eddy (October 1918). "Consistent Building Record". Pacific Marine Review (display advertisement). San Francisco: J. S. Hines: 143. OCLC 2449383.
- ^ Colton, Tim. "Skinner & Eddy, Seattle WA". Shipbuilding History. The Colton Company. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008. Retrieved 22 October 2008.
- ^ Shipping Board Operations, p. 413.
- ^ a b c d "West Ekonk (2216620)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 22 October 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f "West Ekonk". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command.
- ^ a b Silverstone, p. 169.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Allied Ships hit by U-boats: Empire Wildebeeste". The U-Boat War 1939–1945. uboat.net. Retrieved 22 October 2008.