SS Illinois (1873)

Stern view of USS Supply (formerly the SS Illinois), probably taken just after the ship's recommission in August 1902.
History
United States
Name	SS Illinois
Namesake	Illinois, USA
Owner	American Line
Operator	American Steamship Company
Port of registry	United States
Builder	William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia
Cost	$520,000
Yard number	183
Launched	June 1873
Maiden voyage	January 23, 1874
Refit	1891
Fate	Scrapped, 1928
General characteristics
Class and type	Pennsylvania class passenger-cargo ship
Tonnage	3,104 gross
Length	343 ft
Beam	43 ft
Depth of hold	32 ft 2 in
Propulsion	Compound (later triple expansion) steam engine, single screw, auxiliary sails
Speed	11.5 knots
Capacity	46 × 1st-, 132 2nd class and 789 steerage passengers

SS Illinois was an iron passenger-cargo steamship built by William Cramp & Sons in 1873. The last of a series of four Pennsylvania-class vessels, Illinois and her three sister ships—Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana—were the largest iron ships ever built in the United States at the time of their construction, and amongst the first to be fitted with compound steam engines. They were also the first ships to challenge British dominance of the transatlantic trade since the American Civil War.

Though soon outclassed by newer and larger vessels, Illinois was destined to enjoy a long and distinguished career, first as a transatlantic passenger liner and later as the U.S. Navy's auxiliary vessel USS Supply. In the 1870s, Illinois may have been the first ship to successfully transport a shipment of fresh meat from the United States to Europe, twenty years before the introduction of refrigeration. As USS Supply, the ship served in both the Spanish–American War and the First World War, and crew members may have been the first United States personnel to fire a hostile shot in the latter. Illinois was scrapped in 1928.