SS West Eldara
Encyclopedia
SS West Eldara was a steel
-hulled
cargo ship
built in 1918 as part of the United States Shipping Board
s emergency World War I
shipbuilding program.
West Eldara briefly served with the U.S. Navy in the immediate postwar period as the auxiliary ship
USS West Eldara (ID-3704), completing two relief missions to Europe
before decommissioning. Between the wars, West Eldara operated as a merchant ship in transatlantic service. In 1936 she was renamed SS Mae.
In September 1942 Mae was intercepted by U-515 off British Guiana
and sunk with torpedo
es and gunfire.
in 1918 at the No. 2 Plant of the Skinner & Eddy Corporation—the last in a series of 24 Design 1013
cargo ship
s built by Skinner & Eddy for the USSB
s emergency wartime shipbuilding program.
West Eldara had a design deadweight tonnage
of 8,800 tons and gross register tonnage
of 5,600. She had an overall length of 423 feet 9 inches, a beam of 54 feet and a draft of 24 feet 2 inches. The ship was powered by a Curtis geared turbine
, driving a single screw propeller and delivering a speed of 11.5 knots.
West Eldara sailed on 8 December for San Francisco, California
, entering the Mare Island Navy Yard six days later for repairs to her steering gear. Four days after Christmas, the ship got underway from the west coast
, bound via the Panama Canal
for New York
, where she arrived on 14 January 1919. With a cargo of flour
and lard
, West Eldara departed for Europe
on the 24th. Upon her arrival at Gibraltar
, the ship was routed on to the Near East
, and on 12 February, headed for Constantinople
, arriving on the 22nd.
After discharging her cargo, West Eldara returned via Gibraltar to the United States
, arriving at New York on 7 April. On 16 April the ship departed NY with a cargo of Army supplies destined for Antwerp and Plymouth, England. The vessel departed the British Isles on 12 May bound once more for New York, where she arrived on the 29th. On 4 June, West Eldara was decommissioned and returned the same day to the stewardship of the USSB.
from Yokohama, Japan to Savannah, Georgia
, as a result of which the peanuts were not delivered until March 1921. The Southern Cotton Oil Company subsequently sued the USSB for $198,000 for damages. The claim was dismissed in 1936.
Through the mid-1920s, West Eldara seems to have been engaged mostly in transporting cargo and sometimes passengers between the United States and various European destinations. Repeat ports of call for the ship in this period included Bordeaux
, Le Havre
and Dunkirk, France
; Rotterdam
in the Netherlands
and Liverpool
, England
. The ship also made several voyages to Seattle on the west coast of the U.S. and at least one voyage to the Philippines
.
In 1926, customs officials in the United States searching West Eldara for contraband made the unlikely discovery in the ship's icebox
of an Arctic Owl. By 1928, the ship was sailing under the flag of the American Diamond Line (later known as the Black Diamond Line). In July of that year, West Eldaras Second Assistant Engineer was arrested in the United States in connection with the shooting death aboard ship of another crew member at Antwerp. The accused pleaded self-defence and was later cleared by a Grand Jury
.
In 1933, West Eldara participated in two rescue missions at sea. In February, she was the first ship to come to the aid of the fishing trawler Newton, which had been gutted by a fire at sea off the coast of Boston
. West Eldara stood by until a Coast Guard
cutter, Mojave, arrived on the scene to tow the stricken vessel to safety. Most of Newtons crew of fourteen were rescued, but a search for two crew members who had earlier taken to one of the lifeboats was later called off. The second incident occurred in November, when the British freighter Saxilby foundered off the coast of Ireland
during a storm. West Eldara was one of five vessels which raced to the scene, but a search in stormy seas the following day failed to find any trace of Saxilbys 27 crew.
In 1936, West Eldara was sold to A. H. Bull & Company, who renamed the ship SS Mae and homeported her in New York. The ship was still operating under that name when the U.S. entered World War II in December 1941.
to Georgetown, British Guiana when at 6:25 am she was struck by a torpedo
from U-515 about 45 miles north of the Georgetown Beacon. The crew abandoned ship in three lifeboats over the next ten minutes, but Mae remained afloat so U-515 surfaced and sank the ship at 7:50 am with 16 shells fired from a distance of 200 yards, killing one of the ship's crew in the process.
The rest of the ship's personnel, including 32 officers and crew and nine gunners, were rescued six hours later by the Norwegian
steamer Sørvangen and later transferred to the British steamer Gypsum King, who took the wounded by motor launch
to Georgetown and landed the rest some time later.
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
-hulled
Hull (watercraft)
A hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and/or deckhouse, where present. The line where the hull meets the water surface is called the waterline.The structure of the hull varies depending on the vessel type...
cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
built in 1918 as part of the United States Shipping Board
United States Shipping Board
The United States Shipping Board was established as an emergency agency by the Shipping Act , 7 September 1916. It was formally organized 30 January 1917. It was sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board.http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Hurley/bridgeTC.htm | The Bridge To France by Edward N....
s emergency World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
shipbuilding program.
West Eldara briefly served with the U.S. Navy in the immediate postwar period as the auxiliary ship
Auxiliary ship
An auxiliary ship is a naval ship which is designed to operate in any number of roles supporting combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliaries are not primary combatants, although they may have some limited combat capacity, usually of a self defensive nature.Auxiliaries are extremely...
USS West Eldara (ID-3704), completing two relief missions to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
before decommissioning. Between the wars, West Eldara operated as a merchant ship in transatlantic service. In 1936 she was renamed SS Mae.
In September 1942 Mae was intercepted by U-515 off British Guiana
British Guiana
British Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
and sunk with torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es and gunfire.
Design and construction
West Eldara was built in Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
in 1918 at the No. 2 Plant of the Skinner & Eddy Corporation—the last in a series of 24 Design 1013
Design 1013 ship
The Design 1013 ship , also known as the Robert Dollar type, was a steel-hulled cargo ship design approved for mass production by the United States Shipping Boards Emergency Fleet Corporation in World War I...
cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
s built by Skinner & Eddy for the USSB
USSB
USSB might stand for:*United States Satellite Broadcasting*United States Shipping Board*Upper Single-sideband...
s emergency wartime shipbuilding program.
West Eldara had a design deadweight tonnage
Deadweight tonnage
Deadweight tonnage is a measure of how much weight a ship is carrying or can safely carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provisions, passengers, and crew...
of 8,800 tons and gross register tonnage
Gross Register Tonnage
Gross register tonnage a ship's total internal volume expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated from the total permanently enclosed capacity of the vessel. The ship's net register tonnage is obtained by reducing the volume of non-revenue-earning spaces i.e...
of 5,600. She had an overall length of 423 feet 9 inches, a beam of 54 feet and a draft of 24 feet 2 inches. The ship was powered by a Curtis geared turbine
Steam turbine
A steam turbine is a mechanical device that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam, and converts it into rotary motion. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Parsons in 1884....
, driving a single screw propeller and delivering a speed of 11.5 knots.
U.S. Navy service, 1918-1919
West Eldara was launched on 14 October 1918, and completed over the next few weeks. Delivered just too late to see service in the war, she was commissioned into the Navy on 23 November at the Puget Sound Navy Yard for operation with the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) as USS West Eldara (ID-3704). Lt Comdr. John P. Tibbets, USNRF, was placed in command.West Eldara sailed on 8 December for 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...
, entering the Mare Island Navy Yard six days later for repairs to her steering gear. Four days after Christmas, the ship got underway from the west coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
, bound via the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
for New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where she arrived on 14 January 1919. With a cargo of flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
and lard
Lard
Lard is pig fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening, or as a spread similar to butter. Its use in contemporary cuisine has diminished because of health concerns posed by its saturated-fat content and its often negative...
, West Eldara departed for Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
on the 24th. Upon her arrival at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, the ship was routed on to the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
, and on 12 February, headed for Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, arriving on the 22nd.
After discharging her cargo, West Eldara returned via Gibraltar to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, arriving at New York on 7 April. On 16 April the ship departed NY with a cargo of Army supplies destined for Antwerp and Plymouth, England. The vessel departed the British Isles on 12 May bound once more for New York, where she arrived on the 29th. On 4 June, West Eldara was decommissioned and returned the same day to the stewardship of the USSB.
Merchant service
Following her decommission from the Navy, the USSB placed the vessel into merchant service as SS West Eldara. In May 1920, West Eldara ran aground off Honolulu while transporting a cargo of peanutsPeanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
from Yokohama, Japan to Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, as a result of which the peanuts were not delivered until March 1921. The Southern Cotton Oil Company subsequently sued the USSB for $198,000 for damages. The claim was dismissed in 1936.
Through the mid-1920s, West Eldara seems to have been engaged mostly in transporting cargo and sometimes passengers between the United States and various European destinations. Repeat ports of call for the ship in this period included Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
and Dunkirk, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
; Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The ship also made several voyages to Seattle on the west coast of the U.S. and at least one voyage to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
In 1926, customs officials in the United States searching West Eldara for contraband made the unlikely discovery in the ship's icebox
Icebox
An icebox is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common kitchen appliance before the development of safe powered refrigeration devices.- Design :...
of an Arctic Owl. By 1928, the ship was sailing under the flag of the American Diamond Line (later known as the Black Diamond Line). In July of that year, West Eldaras Second Assistant Engineer was arrested in the United States in connection with the shooting death aboard ship of another crew member at Antwerp. The accused pleaded self-defence and was later cleared by a Grand Jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
.
In 1933, West Eldara participated in two rescue missions at sea. In February, she was the first ship to come to the aid of the fishing trawler Newton, which had been gutted by a fire at sea off the coast of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. West Eldara stood by until a Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
cutter, Mojave, arrived on the scene to tow the stricken vessel to safety. Most of Newtons crew of fourteen were rescued, but a search for two crew members who had earlier taken to one of the lifeboats was later called off. The second incident occurred in November, when the British freighter Saxilby foundered off the coast of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
during a storm. West Eldara was one of five vessels which raced to the scene, but a search in stormy seas the following day failed to find any trace of Saxilbys 27 crew.
In 1936, West Eldara was sold to A. H. Bull & Company, who renamed the ship SS Mae and homeported her in New York. The ship was still operating under that name when the U.S. entered World War II in December 1941.
Loss
After America's entry into the war, SS Mae continued to operate independently. On 17 September 1942, Mae was proceeding unescorted from TrinidadTrinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
to Georgetown, British Guiana when at 6:25 am she was struck by a torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
from U-515 about 45 miles north of the Georgetown Beacon. The crew abandoned ship in three lifeboats over the next ten minutes, but Mae remained afloat so U-515 surfaced and sank the ship at 7:50 am with 16 shells fired from a distance of 200 yards, killing one of the ship's crew in the process.
The rest of the ship's personnel, including 32 officers and crew and nine gunners, were rescued six hours later by the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
steamer Sørvangen and later transferred to the British steamer Gypsum King, who took the wounded by motor launch
Motor Launch
A Motor Launch is a small military vessel in British navy service. It was designed for harbour defence and submarine chasing or for armed high speed air-sea rescue....
to Georgetown and landed the rest some time later.