SS Washington
Encyclopedia
SS Washington was a 24,189-ton luxury liner
of the United States Lines
, named after the US capital city.
She was ordered by Transatlantic Steamship Company and laid down on 20 January 1931 in Shipway O at New York Shipbuilding
in Camden, New Jersey
. By the time she was launched on 20 August 1932, Transatlantic Steamship's assets had been acquired by International Mercantile Marine, and SS Washington went into service for the United States Lines following delivery on 2 May 1933.
At the time of their construction, Washington and her sister ship , also built by New York Shipbuilding, were the largest liners ever built in the United States, a status they held until the 1939 launch of SS America
. Washington and Manhattan were two of the few pure liners built by New York Shipbuilding, which had previously built a large number of cargo liner
s. Accommodations were 580 in Cabin class, 400 in Tourist, and 150 Third class. Both ships were to garner a reputation for a very high standard of service and luxury.
United States Lines sign contracts in 1931 for the Manhattan and Washington for a cost approximately $21 million dollars for each ship. An extreme cost in a depression era and considered a gamble by man in the passenger liner business.
Washington joined her sister ship Manhattan on the New York-Hamburg
route, a route she would continue to serve with only one short break until December 1939, when Roosevelt invoked the 1939 Neutrality Act against Germany. Both ships then moved to the New York-Naples-Genoa run until Italy declared war on Great Britain and France in June 1940. With the increasing danger from German submarines, Washington and Manhattan were shifted to the New York-San Francisco service, via the Panama Canal.
on 16 June, 1941. The conversion was performed by the Philadelphia Navy Yard. In Navy service, Mount Vernon frequently sailed in company with the other United States Lines fast liners Manhattan (USS Wakefield
) and America (USS West Point), most notably on a secret assignment carrying British troops to Singapore
--a convoy mission which began a month before Pearl Harbor
.
In January 1946, Mount Vernon was decommissioned and returned to the U.S. Maritime Commission, regaining the name Washington at that time. Her luxurious appointments had been carefully removed and stored, and she returned to commercial service in February 1948. Only one deck was restored to its pre-war standards, however, providing accommodations for 1106 passengers in a single class. United States Lines returned her to the U.S. government in October 1951, and the final phase of her career found her transporting soldiers and their families between New York and Bremerhaven
. Laid up in reserve in the Hudson River
in 1953, she was ultimately scrapped at Kearny, New Jersey
in 1965.
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
of the United States Lines
United States Lines
United States Lines was a transatlantic shipping company that operated cargo services from 1921 to 1989, and ocean liners until 1969—most famously the SS United States.-1920s:...
, named after the US capital city.
Construction
New York Shipbuilding
The New York Shipbuilding Corporation was founded in 1899 and opened its first shipyard in 1900. Located in Camden, New Jersey on the east shore of the Delaware River, New York Ship built more than 500 vessels for the U.S...
in Camden, New Jersey
Camden, New Jersey
The city of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey. It is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 77,344...
. By the time she was launched on 20 August 1932, Transatlantic Steamship's assets had been acquired by International Mercantile Marine, and SS Washington went into service for the United States Lines following delivery on 2 May 1933.
At the time of their construction, Washington and her sister ship , also built by New York Shipbuilding, were the largest liners ever built in the United States, a status they held until the 1939 launch of SS America
SS America (1940)
SS America was an ocean liner built in 1940 for the United States Lines and designed by the noted naval architect William Francis Gibbs. She carried many names in the 54 years between her construction and her 1994 wrecking, as she served as the SS America , the USS West Point, the SS Australis, the...
. Washington and Manhattan were two of the few pure liners built by New York Shipbuilding, which had previously built a large number of cargo liner
Cargo liner
A Cargo liner is a type of merchant ship which carried general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the nineteenth century, and eventually gave way to container ships and other more specialized carriers in the latter half of the twentieth...
s. Accommodations were 580 in Cabin class, 400 in Tourist, and 150 Third class. Both ships were to garner a reputation for a very high standard of service and luxury.
United States Lines sign contracts in 1931 for the Manhattan and Washington for a cost approximately $21 million dollars for each ship. An extreme cost in a depression era and considered a gamble by man in the passenger liner business.
Commercial career
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
route, a route she would continue to serve with only one short break until December 1939, when Roosevelt invoked the 1939 Neutrality Act against Germany. Both ships then moved to the New York-Naples-Genoa run until Italy declared war on Great Britain and France in June 1940. With the increasing danger from German submarines, Washington and Manhattan were shifted to the New York-San Francisco service, via the Panama Canal.
Military career
On 6 June, 1941, Washington was requisitioned and leased by the US Navy, and was subsequently commissioned as the troopship USS Mount VernonUSS Mount Vernon (AP-22)
USS Mount Vernon was a troop transport that served with the United States Navy during World War II. Prior to her military service, she was a luxury ocean liner named SS Washington....
on 16 June, 1941. The conversion was performed by the Philadelphia Navy Yard. In Navy service, Mount Vernon frequently sailed in company with the other United States Lines fast liners Manhattan (USS Wakefield
USS Wakefield (AP-21)
USS Wakefield was a troop transport that served with the US Navy during World War II. Prior to her war service, she operated as the luxury ocean liner ....
) and America (USS West Point), most notably on a secret assignment carrying British troops to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
--a convoy mission which began a month before Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
.
In January 1946, Mount Vernon was decommissioned and returned to the U.S. Maritime Commission, regaining the name Washington at that time. Her luxurious appointments had been carefully removed and stored, and she returned to commercial service in February 1948. Only one deck was restored to its pre-war standards, however, providing accommodations for 1106 passengers in a single class. United States Lines returned her to the U.S. government in October 1951, and the final phase of her career found her transporting soldiers and their families between New York and Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
. Laid up in reserve in the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
in 1953, she was ultimately scrapped at Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny, New Jersey
Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. It was named after Civil War general Philip Kearny. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 40,684. The town is a suburb of the nearby city of Newark....
in 1965.