:SS Pennsylvanian

In September 1911, the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company placed an order with the Maryland Steel Company of Sparrows Point, Maryland, for four new cargo ships—{{SS|Minnesotan||2}}, {{SS|Dakotan||2}}, {{SS|Montanan||2}}, and Pennsylvanian.Maryland Steel had built three ships—{{SS|Kentuckian||2}}, Georgian, and Honolulan—for American-Hawaiian in 1909 in what proved to be a satisfactory arrangement for both companies. The contract cost of the ships was set at the construction cost plus an 8% profit for Maryland Steel, with a maximum cost of $640,000 each. The construction was financed by Maryland Steel with a credit plan that called for a 5% down payment in cash with nine monthly installments for the balance. Provisions of the deal allowed that some of the nine installments could be converted into longer-term notes or mortgages. The final cost of Pennsylvanian, including financing costs, was $70.35 per deadweight ton, which came out to just under $716,000.

Pennsylvanian (Maryland Steel yard no. 127) was the final ship built under the original contract.Further contracts on similar terms were signed in November 1911 and May 1912 to build four additional ships: {{SS|Panaman||2}}, {{SS|Washingtonian||2}}, {{SS|Iowan||2}}, {{SS|Ohioan|1914|2}}. See: Cochran and Ginger, p. 358, and Colton. She was launched on 29 March 1913, and delivered to American-Hawaiian in June. Pennsylvanian was {{GRT|6,547|disp=long}}, and was {{convert|429|ft|2|in|m}} in length and {{convert|53|ft|6|in|m}} abeam. She had a deadweight tonnage of {{DWT|10,175|long}} and a storage capacity of {{convert|491084|cuft}}. Pennsylvanian had a single quadruple expansion steam engine powered by oil-fired boilers that drove a single screw propeller. It could propel the ship at a speed of {{convert|15|knots|km/h}}. The engine had cylinders of 25½ inches (65 cm), {{convert|37|in|cm}}, 53½ inches (136 cm) and {{convert|78|in|cm}} diameter by {{convert|54|in|cm}} stroke. It was built by the Maryland Steel Company, Sparrows Point, Maryland.

When Pennsylvanian began sailing for American-Hawaiian, the company shipped cargo from East Coast ports via the Tehuantepec Route to West Coast ports and Hawaii, and vice versa. Shipments on the Tehuantepec Route would arrive at Mexican ports—Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, for eastbound cargo, and Coatzacoalcos for westbound cargo—and would traverse the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on the Tehuantepec National Railway.Hovey, p. 78. Eastbound shipments were primarily sugar and pineapple from Hawaii, while westbound cargoes were more general in nature.Cochran and Ginger, p. 355–56. Pennsylvanian sailed in this service on the west side of North America.{{cite news | title = American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. | type = display ad | work = Los Angeles Times | date = 13 April 1914 | page = I–4 }}{{cite news | title = American-Hawaiian new steamships | work = The Wall Street Journal | date = 6 May 1912 | page = 6 }}{{cite news | last = Barrett | first = John | url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/08/20/101431944.pdf | title = Greet first canal ships | work = The New York Times | date = 20 August 1914 | access-date = 12 August 2008 | page = 7 }}

After the United States occupation of Veracruz on 21 April 1914 (which found six American-Hawaiian ships in Mexican ports), the Huerta-led Mexican government closed the Tehuantepec National Railway to American shipping. This loss of access, coupled with the fact that the Panama Canal was not yet open, caused American-Hawaii to return in late April to its historic route of sailing around South America via the Straits of Magellan.Cochran and Ginger, p. 360. With the opening of the Panama Canal on 15 August, American-Hawaiian ships switched to taking that route. Pennsylvanian, on the west side of the canal when it opened, was one of the first two eastbound steamers to traverse the canal during her trip to New York.Though the canal transit was part of an eastbound journey, the actual compass heading of the passage through the canal is actually closer to north.The Luckenbach Line ship Pleiades was the other steamship to make the eastbound transit of the canal at the same time. Contemporary sources refer to the pair as the first two, making no distinction between which was first. See: {{cite news | last = Barrett | first = John | url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/08/20/101431944.pdf | title = Greet first canal ships | work = The New York Times | date = 20 August 1914 | access-date = 12 August 2008 | page = 7 }} Also see: {{cite news | title = All astounded by war news | work = Los Angeles Times | date = 15 August 1914 | page = II– 8 }} In late August, American-Hawaiian announced that Pennsylvanian would sail on a San Francisco – Panama Canal – Boston route, sailing opposite of {{SS|Mexican||2}}, Honolulan, and sister ship Washingtonian.{{cite news | title = Pacific-Boston sailings begun | work = The Christian Science Monitor | date = 29 August 1914 | page = 19 }} When landslides closed the canal in October 1915, all American-Hawaiian ships, including Pennsylvanian, returned to the Straits of Magellan route again.Cochran and Ginger, p. 361.

Pennsylvanian{{'}}s exact movements during 1916 and 1917 are unclear. She may have been in the half of the American-Hawaiian fleet that was chartered for transatlantic service. She may also have been in the group of American-Hawaiian ships chartered for service to South America, delivering coal, gasoline, and steel in exchange for coffee, nitrates, cocoa, rubber, and manganese ore.Cochran and Ginger, p. 362. However, when the United States entered World War I in April 1917, the entire American-Hawaiian fleet, including Pennsylvanian, was requisitioned by the United States Shipping Board (USSB), which then returned the ships for operation by American-Hawaiian.Cochran and Ginger, p. 363.

On 13 September 1918, Pennsylvanian was transferred to the U.S. Navy at New York and commissioned USS Pennsylvanian (ID-3511) the same day. Assigned to the Navy's Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS), Pennsylvanian loaded a general cargo and sailed for Brest, France, on 30 September. She arrived there on 15 October and sailed for La Pallice the next day, where she unloaded her cargo before departing for New York on 5 November.

Image:USS El Sol with boat, 1919.jpg from Scranton. Three of Scranton{{'}}s men in the launch died when it capsized after this photograph was taken.]]

Arriving at New York on 15 November, four days after the Armistice, Pennsylvanian was refitted as an animal transport ship, which, among other things, required the building of ramps and stalls for the animals. Sometime in November, probably during her refit, she was renamed USS Scranton, becoming the first U.S. Navy ship named in honor of the Pennsylvania city. Scranton sailed for France on 12 December, arriving at Saint-Nazaire on 29 December, and returning to New York on 29 January 1919.

On 5 February, Scranton was transferred from the NOTS to the Navy's Cruiser and Transport Force, and began conversion to a troop transport to carry American personnel home from France. While sailing to France to begin her first troop-carrying duties in late March, Scranton suffered damage to her rudder and was disabled {{convert|900|nmi|km}} east of New York.{{cite news | title = Troop ship Scranton reported disabled | work = The Atlanta Constitution | date = 30 March 1919 | page = 2 }} Navy transport {{USS|El Sol|ID-4505|2}} responded to Scranton{{'}}s distress call,{{cite DANFS | author = Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command | title = El Sol | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/e2/el_sol.htm | short = on | access-date = 12 August 2008 }} and attempted to take Scranton under tow. During the day on 28 March,{{cite web | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h99000/h99449c.htm | title = Photo #: NH 99449 picture data | work = Online Library of Selected Images | publisher = Navy Department, Naval Historical Center | date = 5 July 2004 | access-date = 12 August 2008 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070911120445/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h99000/h99449c.htm | archive-date = 11 September 2007 }} Scranton attempted to run a towline to El Sol by sending a launch in the rolling seas, but it capsized, drowning three men.{{cite news | title = 82 Nurses return; served under fire | work = The Washington Post | date = 4 April 1919 | page = 5 }} El Sol stood by Scranton for over 40 hours until minesweeper {{USS|Penguin|AM-33|2}} arrived and took Scranton under tow.{{cite web | author = Naval Historical Center | author-link = Naval Historical Center | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/albums/s583/s583.htm | title = USS Scranton (ID # 3511) Photo Album, 1919 | work = Online Library of Selected Images: Photo Albums | publisher = Navy Department, Naval Historical Center | date = 11 July 2004 | access-date = 12 August 2008 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080928192851/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/albums/s583/s583.htm | archive-date = 28 September 2008 }} Penguin and Scranton arrived in New York on 3 April, where Scranton entered drydock to undergo repairs.

Image:HaleTelescope-MountPalomar.jpg then under construction at Palomar Observatory outside of San Diego.]]

After repairs, Scranton made three roundtrips to France and carried some 6,000 troops and passengers home to the United States before she was decommissioned on 19 July. The ship was handed over to the USSB for return to American-Hawaiian, who restored her original name.

Pennsylvanian resumed cargo service with American-Hawaiian after her return from World War I service. Though the company had abandoned its original Hawaiian sugar routes by this time, Pennsylvanian continued inter-coastal service through the Panama Canal in a relatively uneventful career. One incident of note occurred on 28 November 1930, when Pennsylvanian hit a Southern Pacific ferry near Goat Island (present-day Yerba Buena Island) in a dense fog in San Francisco Bay. Pennsylvanian hit the stern of the ferry and caused damage to the ferry's superstructure and destroyed about {{convert|15|ft|m}} of the ferry's railing. No one on either ship was injured.{{cite news | title = Fog causes two ferry smash-ups | work = Los Angeles Times | date = 29 November 1930 | page = 1 }}

Other hints of Pennsylvanian{{'}}s activities throughout the rest of her career can be found from contemporary newspaper reports. In October 1929, the Los Angeles Times reported on a shipment that included 2,500 to 3,000 radio sets among Pennsylvanian{{'}}s {{convert|2300|LT|MT|sigfig=3}} of cargo.{{cite news | last = Cave | first = Wayne B. | title = Shipping News and Activities at Los Angeles Harbor | type = column | work = Los Angeles Times | date = 7 October 1929 | page = 13 }} In March 1938, The Christian Science Monitor reported that Pennsylvanian{{'}}s captain, C. M. Bamforth, had temporarily turned the deck of the cargo ship into a boatyard to build a {{convert|15|ft|m|adj=on}} catboat for his son in Swampscott, Massachusetts. Bamforth laid the keel while in San Francisco, bought copper rivets for the hull planking in Portland, Oregon, and began painting the boat after Pennsylvanian had traversed the Panama Canal. He expected to have the boat finished when Pennsylvanian arrived in Boston on 22 April.{{cite news | title = Boat built aboard ship; B. & M. reports for 1937 | work = The Christian Science Monitor | date = 28 March 1938 | page = 9 }}

Image:MulberryA - wrecked pontoon causeway after storm.jpg Mulberry harbor from the 19–22 June 1944 storm. SS Pennsylvanian was one of several ships scuttled about a month later to help form a breakwater to shelter the harbor.]]

In October the same year, Pennsylvanian delivered {{convert|325|LT|t}} of steel parts for the Hale Telescope then under construction at the Palomar Observatory outside San Diego. The ship had picked up the $375,000 cargo in Philadelphia before sailing for San Diego.{{cite news | title = Mt. Palomar Observatory's steel parts taken off ship | work = Los Angeles Times | date = 26 October 1938 | page = 9 }}

At some point after the United States entered World War II, Pennsylvanian was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration (WSA), and, as with her pre-U.S. Navy service in World War I, she continued to be operated by American-Hawaiian.{{cite news | last = Stone | first = Leon | title = U.S. awards $7,247,637 to Hawaiian ship firm | work = The Christian Science Monitor | date = 31 March 1945 | page = 4 }} From July to September 1942, Pennsylvanian sailed between New York and Caribbean ports, calling at Trinidad, Key West, Hampton Roads, Guantánamo Bay, and Cristóbal. In January 1943, Pennsylvanian called at Bandar Abbas, Iran, on the Persian Gulf, and returned to Caribbean sailings again by March 1943.{{cite web | title = Port Arrivals/Departures: Pennsylvanian | url = http://convoyweb.org.uk/ports/index.html?search.php?vessel=PENNSYLVANIAN~armain | work = Arnold Hague's Ports Database | publisher = Convoy Web | access-date = 12 August 2008 }}

Between May and September 1943, Pennsylvanian made four transatlantic crossings between New York and Liverpool, making intermediate stops in Loch Ewe and Methil while in the United Kingdom. The cargo ship made two New York – Guantánamo Bay roundtrips between September and December before resuming transatlantic sailings. After two New York – Liverpool roundtrips between late December 1943 and April 1944, Pennsylvanian left the United States for the final time on 19 May 1944, arriving in Liverpool on 2 June. She called at the British ports of Methil, Loch Ewe, Clyde, and Milford Haven in late June and early July, and, sailing from Barry in mid July, Pennsylvanian arrived at Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer, France. There she was scuttled as part of the breakwater for the Mulberry artificial harbor built to support the Normandy Invasion.The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) and Radigan both give the scuttling date as 16 July. Arnold Hague's Ports Database has Pennsylvanian sailing from Clyde on that date, and lists Pennsylvanian{{'}}s arrival at Seine Bay on 20 July.

In March 1945, the WSA offered a payment of $565,910 to American-Hawaiian for Pennsylvanian as part of a $7.2 million settlement for eleven requisitioned American-Hawaiian ships that had either been sunk, scuttled, or were to be retained by the government.

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• {{cite journal | last = Cochran | first = Thomas C. | author-link = Thomas C. Cochran (historian) |author2=Ray Ginger |author2-link=Ray Ginger | title = The American-Hawaiian Steamship Company, 1899–1919 | journal = The Business History Review | volume = 28 | issue = 4 |date=December 1954 | pages = 343–365 | location = Boston | publisher = The President and Fellows of Harvard College | issn = 0007-6805 | oclc = 216113867 | doi = 10.2307/3111801 | jstor = 3111801 }}
• {{cite book|last=Crowell|first=Benedict|author-link= Benedict Crowell |author2=Robert Forrest Wilson | title = The Road to France: The Transportation of Troops and Military Supplies, 1917–1918 |url=https://archive.org/details/roadtofrancetra02wilsgoog| series = How America Went to War: An Account From Official Sources of the Nation's War Activities, 1917–1920 | location = New Haven|publisher = Yale University Press | year = 1921 | oclc = 18696066 }}
• {{cite journal | last = Hovey | first = Edmund Otis | title = The Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Tehuantepec National Railway | journal = Bulletin of the American Geographical Society | volume = 39 | issue = 2 | year = 1907 | pages = 78–91 | location = New York | publisher = American Geographical Society | issn = 0190-5929 | oclc = 2097765 | doi = 10.2307/198380 | jstor = 198380 }}
• {{cite DANFS | author = Naval History & Heritage Command | author-link = Naval History & Heritage Command | title = El Sol | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/e2/el_sol.htm | access-date = 12 August 2008 }}
• {{cite DANFS | author = Naval History & Heritage Command | title = Scranton | url = http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s7/scranton.htm | access-date = 12 August 2008 | link = off }}
• {{cite web|author=Naval History & Heritage Command|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/albums/s583/s583.htm|title=USS Scranton (ID # 3511) Photo Album, 1919|work=Online Library of Selected Images: Photo Albums|publisher=Navy Department, Naval Historical Center|date=11 July 2004|access-date=2008-08-12|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928192851/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/albums/s583/s583.htm|archive-date=28 September 2008}}

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• {{navsource|12/173511|Scranton (ID-3511)}}

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Category:1913 ships

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Category:Shipwrecks of France

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