USS West Lianga

USS West Lianga (ID-2758)
SS West Lianga underway in May 1918
SS West Lianga underway in May 1918
History
OwnerUnited States Shipping Board
Port of registryUnited States United States
Builder
Yard number21 (USSB number 1176)[2]
Laid down14 February 1918[3]
Launched20 April 1918[3]
Sponsored byMrs A. E. Knoff[1]
Completed4 May 1918[3]
IdentificationUS official number: 216274[4]
History
United States
NameUSS West Lianga
Acquired19 August 1918
Commissioned19 August 1918
Decommissioned24 June 1919
Stricken24 June 1919
Fatereturned to USSB
Name
  • 1919: West Lianga
  • 1929: Helen Whittier
  • 1938: Kalani
  • 1940: Empire Cheetah
  • 1942: Hobbema
Owner
Operator
  • 1940: Sir R. Ropner & Co
  • 1942: British & Continental Shipping Agency Ltd
Port of registry
Identification
  • United States Official Number: 216274 (1919-40)
  • United Kingdom Official Number 168041 (1940–42)
  • Code Letters LKQR (1919–35)
  • Code Letters KJAO (1935–40)
  • Code Letters GMJT (1940–42)
Fatetorpedoed and sunk, 1942[4]
General characteristics
TypeDesign 1013 ship
Tonnage
Displacement12,191 t[7]
Length
  • 409 ft 5 in (124.79 m) (LPP)[4]
  • 423 ft 9 in (129.16 m) (LOA)[7]
Beam54 ft 2 in (16.51 m)[4]
Draft24 ft 1.5 in (7.353 m) (mean)[7]
Depth of hold29 ft 9 in (9.07 m)[7]
Propulsion1 × steam turbine[4]
Speed11.5 knots (21.3 km/h)[4]
Complement113 (as USS West Lianga)[7]
Armament

USS West Lianga (ID-2758) was a cargo ship for the United States Navy during World War I. She was later known as SS Helen Whittier and SS Kalani in civilian service under American registry, as SS Empire Cheetah under British registry, and as SS Hobbema under Dutch registry.

West Lianga was launched for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) in May 1918 as a part of the West boats, a series of steel-hulled cargo ships built on the West Coast of the United States for the World War I war effort. West Lianga briefly had the distinction of being the fastest-launched and fastest-completed ocean-going ship in the world. Pressed into cargo service for the US Navy, USS West Lianga was commissioned into the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) and completed four round-trip voyages to France for the Navy. After decommissioning in mid 1919, she was briefly in cargo service out of Seattle before being laid up in late 1921.

West Lianga was sold to the Los Angeles Steamship Company (LASSCO) in early 1929, refurbished, and renamed Helen Whittier for intercoastal cargo service. When Matson Navigation Company purchased LASSCO in 1931, Helen Whittier frequently sailed on Matson's Hawaiian sugar routes. She was renamed Kalani in 1938 and continued in Hawaiian service until 1940 when she was sold to British interests to help fill the United Kingdom's urgent need for merchant ships.

After sailing to the UK as Kalani, the ship was renamed Empire Cheetah and sailed in transatlantic convoys, making three round trips between February 1941 and May 1942. At that time, Empire Cheetah was transferred to Dutch interests and renamed Hobbema. She successfully completed one transatlantic roundtrip under Dutch registry and was on the homeward leg of her second in Convoy SC 107, when that convoy was attacked by a wolf pack of German submarines. Shortly after midnight on 4 November 1942, Hobbema was struck in the engine room by a single torpedo fired by German submarine U-132. Of Hobbema's complement of 44 men and British gunners aboard, only 16 survived the attack. Hobbema was one of 19 Allied ships in the convoy sunk by German submarines. The sinking of Hobbema (or possibly Hatimura, also sunk by U-132 at the same time) resulted in one of the largest non-nuclear man-made explosions in history, with the German submarine also destroyed by the ensuing explosion.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference nyt_21apr18 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Colton, Tim. "Skinner & Eddy, Seattle WA". Shipbuilding History. The Colton Company. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d Skinner & Eddy (October 1918). "Consistent Building Record". Pacific Marine Review (display advertisement). San Francisco: J. S. Hines: 143. OCLC 2449383.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "West Lianga (2216274)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 20 October 2008.[clarification needed]
  5. ^ Arnold Hague Ports Database. "Port Arrivals/Departures: Kalani". Convoy Web. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  6. ^ Arnold Hague Ports Database. "Port Arrivals/Departures: Empire Cheetah". Convoy Web. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  7. ^ a b c d e "West Lianga". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command.
  8. ^ Silverstone, p. 169.