SS Robin Doncaster

History
Name
  • Robin Doncaster (1940-41)
  • Empire Curlew (1941-42)
  • Robin Doncaster (1942-57)
  • Flying Gull (1957-68)
Owner
  • United States Maritime Commission (1940-41)
  • Ministry of War Transport (1941-42)
  • United States Maritime Commission (1942-48)
  • Seas Shipping Co Inc (1948-57)
  • Flying Gull Inc (1957-62)
  • American Export Isbrandtsen Lines Inc (1962-68)
Operator
  • Ministry of War Transport (1941-42) (1941-42)
  • War Shipping Administration (1942-46)
  • United States Maritime Commission (1946-48)
  • Seas Shipping Co Inc (1948-57)
  • Isbrandtsen & Co Inc (1957-62)
  • American Export Isbrandtsen Lines Inc (1962-68)
Port of registry
  • United States New York (1940-41)
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom (1941-42)
  • United States New York (1942-68)
BuilderBethlehem Steel Co
Cost$2,250,000
Yard number4342
Launched7 December 1940
Completed16 April 1941
CommissionedJanuary 1944
DecommissionedApril 1946
Maiden voyage14 April 1941
Out of serviceApril 1942 - January 1944
Identification
FateScrapped in 1968
General characteristics
Class and type
  • Type C2-S cargo ship (1940-41)
  • Cargo liner (1944-68)
Tonnage
Length
  • 479 ft 8 in (146.20 m)overall
  • 450 ft 0 in (137.16 m) between perpendiculars
Beam66 ft 0 in (20.12 m) maximum
Draft27 ft 0 in (8.23 m)
Depth43 ft 0 in (13.11 m)
PropulsionTwo steam turbines, single screw propeller
Speed
  • 18.17 knots (33.65 km/h) maximum
  • 15.5 knots (28.7 km/h) service speed
Range18,500 nautical miles (34,300 km)
Capacity
  • 593,655 cubic feet (16,810.4 m3) bale capacity
  • 659,215 cubic feet (18,666.9 m3) grain capacity
  • 11,530 cubic feet (326 m3) refrigerated cargo space
  • 3,485 cubic feet (98.7 m3) special cargo space
  • 612 long tons (622 t) water
  • 2,012 long tons (2,044 t) coal
  • 12 passengers
Crew43

SS Robin Doncaster was a 7,101 GRT cargo liner that was built in 1940 as a Type C2-S cargo ship by Bethlehem Steel Co, Sparrows Point, Maryland, United States for the United States Maritime Commission (USMC). On completion in April 1941, she was transferred to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) and renamed Empire Curlew. In 1942, she was transferred to the USMC, regaining her former name Robin Doncaster. She was rebuilt as a troop transport, and entered service with the War Shipping Administration in January 1944. She was returned to the USMC in April 1946 and was sold to Seas Shipping Co Inc in 1948. In 1957, she was sold to Isbrandtsen Lines and was renamed Flying Gull. Sold to American Export Lines in 1962, she served until she was scrapped in 1968.