SS Iowa (1920)
Encyclopedia
The SS Iowa was a steamship built by the Western Pipe and Steel Company
of San Francisco, California
in 1920 for the U.S. government and was known as the SS West Cadron. It served in the Quaker Line subsidiary of the States Steamship Co. from 1928—when it was renamed the Iowa—until January 12, 1936, when it encountered a gale and ran aground on Peacock Spit, Washington, part of the Columbia Bar
at the mouth of the Columbia River
. The Coast Guard cutter Onondaga
was dispatched after an SOS was received at the Coast Guard station in Astoria, Oregon
, but no survivors were found. All 34 people aboard the ship died, and only six bodies were recovered from the wreckage that dotted local shorelines for days.
Western Pipe and Steel Company
The Western Pipe and Steel Company was an American manufacturing company that is best remembered today for its construction of ships for the Maritime Commission in World War II. It also built ships for the U.S...
of San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
in 1920 for the U.S. government and was known as the SS West Cadron. It served in the Quaker Line subsidiary of the States Steamship Co. from 1928—when it was renamed the Iowa—until January 12, 1936, when it encountered a gale and ran aground on Peacock Spit, Washington, part of the Columbia Bar
Columbia Bar
The Columbia Bar is a system of bars and shoals at the mouth of the Columbia River spanning the US states of Oregon and Washington. The bar is about wide and long....
at the mouth of the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
. The Coast Guard cutter Onondaga
USCGC Onondaga (WPG-79)
USCGC Onondaga , a United States Coast Guard cutter, was built by Defoe Boat Works in Bay City, Michigan, commissioned on 11 September 1934. From her commissioning until 1941, Onondaga was stationed at Astoria, Oregon, where she performed important law enforcement duties and rendered much...
was dispatched after an SOS was received at the Coast Guard station in Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
, but no survivors were found. All 34 people aboard the ship died, and only six bodies were recovered from the wreckage that dotted local shorelines for days.