&sq=&lang=&file=File:SS_Ohioan.jpg) SS Ohioan as she appeared before her U.S. Navy service in World War I
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SS Ohioan |
| Owner | American-Hawaiian Steamship Company |
| Port of registry | New York[1] |
| Ordered | May 1912[2] |
| Builder | |
| Cost | $730,000[3] |
| Yard number | 133[4] |
| Launched | 18 April 1914[5] |
| Completed | 30 June 1914[4] |
| Identification | US official number: 212314[5] |
| Fate | Requisitioned by U.S. Navy |
 United States | |
| Name | USS Ohioan (ID-3280) |
| Acquired | 5 August 1918 |
| Commissioned | 7 August 1918 |
| Decommissioned | 6 October 1919 |
| Fate | Returned to American-Hawaiian |
| Name | SS Ohioan |
| Owner | American-Hawaiian Steamship Company |
| Acquired | 22 September 1919 |
| Fate | Grounded at San Francisco, October 1936 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 6,649 GRT[3] 9,920 LT DWT[3] |
| Length | |
| Beam | 53 ft 8 in (16.36 m)[6] |
| Draft | 29 ft 6 in (8.99 m)[6] |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 12 knots (22 km/h)[6] |
| Capacity | Cargo: 438,154 cubic feet (12,407.1 m3)[3] |
| Crew | 18 officers, 40 crewmen |
| Notes | Sister ships: Dakotan, Montanan, Pennsylvanian, Minnesotan, Washingtonian, Panaman, Iowan[4] |
| General characteristics (as USS Ohioan) | |
| Troops | 1,400[8] |
| Complement | 70[6] |
| Armament |
|
SS Ohioan was a cargo ship built in 1914 for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company. During World War I, she was taken over by the United States Navy and commissioned as USS Ohioan (ID-3280).
Ohioan was built by the Maryland Steel Company as one of eight sister ships ordered by the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company for inter-coastal service cargo via the Panama Canal. When the canal was temporarily closed by landslides in late 1915, Ohioan sailed via the Straits of Magellan until the canal reopened in mid 1916. During World War I, USS Ohioan carried cargo, animals, and a limited number of passengers to France, and returned over 8,000 American troops after the Armistice, including the highly decorated American soldier Alvin York. After Ohioan's naval service ended in 1919, she was returned to her original owners.
Ohioan's post-war career was relatively uneventful until 8 October 1936, when she ran aground near Seal Rock at the Golden Gate, the entrance to San Francisco Bay. Attempts to free the ship were unsuccessful and, because of the close proximity of the wreck to San Francisco, the grounded Ohioan drew large crowds to watch salvage operations. Angelo J. Rossi, the mayor of San Francisco, toured the wreck on 19 October. Ohioan's hulk caught fire in March 1937, and the wreck broke into two pieces in a storm in December. As late as 1939, some of Ohioan's rusty steel beams were still visible on the rocks.
- ^ "San Francisco rocks trap New York ship". The New York Times. Associated Press. 9 October 1936. p. 51.
- ^ Cochran and Ginger, p. 358.
- ^ a b c d Cochran and Ginger, p. 365.
- ^ a b c Colton, Tim. "Bethlehem Steel Company, Sparrows Point MD". Shipbuildinghistory.com. The Colton Company. Archived from the original on 8 October 2008. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ a b c d "Ohioan". Miramar Ship Index. R.B.Haworth. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f Naval Historical Center. "Ohioan". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
- ^ a b Cochran and Ginger, p. 357.
- ^ Gleaves, pp. 258–59