Type N3-S ships were aMaritime Commission small coastalcargo ship design to meet urgentWorld War II shipping needs, with the first of the 109 N3, both steam and diesel, type hulls delivered in December 1942.[i]
The N3-S, with "S" designating "steam," came in two versions patterned on and sometimes themselves termed Baltic Coasters.[2] One, the N3-S-A1 was coal fired reciprocating steam powered at British request with the N3-S-A2 variant being oil fired and both types intended largely for wartimelend lease.[3]
Normal sea speed (average sea conditions)—10½ knots.
Cruising radius (nautical miles)—4,500.
Machinery—reciprocating steam.
However, as the built dimensions and tonnage of the two N3-S types varied somewhat from the basic design and each other.[1] The fourteen Penn-Jersey N3-M-A1 vessels had a different profile in addition to being diesel powered.
All of the 36 N3-S-A1 vessels, 2,800 DWT, delivered from December 1942 through May 1945, went to Britain and those surviving the war tended to be sold commercial but one; built as theFreeman Hatch and lastly namedHouston, gaining some notoriety being sunk during the failedBay of Pigs invasion in 1961. Nine built byLeathem D. Smith Ship Building & Coal Company in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Nine built by Pacific Bridge Company of San Francisco, California.Walter Butler Shipbuilders Inc. ofSuperior, Wisconsin built 18.[1][5][6]
TheRovigo in Malta, which was originally the N3-S-A2 shipGeorge W. Brown
Of the 76 proposed N3-S-A2, 2,757 DWT, vessels 59 were built with the first delivered March 1944 and the last after the war in November 1945 with 17 scheduled ships canceled. All were operated by commercial firms with some going to Poland, Greece and Britain.[1] Twenty-three were allocated by theWar Shipping Administration to the Army for use as transports.[7] Of those, 19 were operated in theSouthwest Pacific Area as part of the Army's permanent local fleet with the first arriving 5 September 1944 and the last in December 1945.[8] A few found their way into non-commissioned U.S. Naval service by way of Army as postwar auxiliaries with at least some leased to Korea:Alchiba (AK-261),Algorab (AK-262),Aquarius (AK-263),Centaurus (AK-264),Cepheus (AK-265) andSerpens (AK-266).Avondale Marine Ways Inc. of Westwego, Louisiana built 14.Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation ofDecatur, Alabama built 9.McCloskey & Company Shipyard of Tampa, Florida built 15. Pendleton ShipYard Company of New Orleans, Louisiana built 4. Pennsylvania ShipYard Inc. of Beaumont, Texas built 9. Walter Butler ShipYeard Inc. of Duluth, Minnesota built 2. Walter Butler ShipYard Inc. built 6.[9][1]
N3-M-A1 as USSEnceladus (AK-80), August 1943 in original Navy configuration. Note Whirley crane, a part of the original N3-M-A1 design.USAPRSThomas F. Farrel, Jr. underway off the East Coast of the United States, 26 August 1944
A third variant, the N3-M-A1, at 2,900 DWT, was a very limited design with diesel-powered ships with superstructure aft instead of amidships. Fourteen built at Penn-Jersey Shipbuilding Co. of Camden, New Jersey.Barnes-Duluth shipyard built 12. The N3-M-A1 were 2,483 gross tons with a length of 291 feet by beam of 42 feet. Number one and two holds were 56 feet long with number three being 28 feet in length. An example is theJunior N. Van Noy.[1][10]
The ships were constructed under U.S. Navy supervision as Navy had assumed the Maritime Commission contracts for the Penn-Jersey yard and was allocating vessels of this type for its own and British use.[11] Four of the fourteen ships of this type retained the original form and were transferred to Britain as BAK-1, BAK-2, BAK-3 and BAK-4 and operated byCurrie Line for theMinistry of War Transport asAsa Lothrop,Lauchlan McKay,John L. Manson andNathaniel Mathews.[12] One was retained by the U.S. Navy as theUSS Enceladus (AK-80) with the remaining nine transferred to the U.S. Army to be converted toU.S. Army Engineer Port Repair ships. The conversion placed machine, welding and carpenter shops in number two hold along with generators and air compressors supporting engineering work. Number one hold was reserved for construction machinery with number three containing repair stock, portable generators, refrigerated stores and quarters. The ships also carried portable salvage equipment, including diver support, five ton capacity crawler crane, other lifting equipment and a pontoon barge. The most notable feature was addition of a forty-ton cathead derrick for heavy salvage.
Arthur C. Ely exTucana (AK-88)[13] ex MVSymmes Potter
Glenn Gerald Griswold exMedia (AK-83)[14] ex MVOliver R. Mumford
Henry Wright Hurley exNorma (AK-86)[15] ex MVSumner Pierce
Joe C. Specker exVela (AK-89)[16] ex MVCharles A. Ranlett
Madison Jordan Manchester ex USSHydra (AK-82)[17] ex MVEben H. Linnell
Marvin Lyle Thomas ex MVMoses Pike later USNSSagitta (T-AK-87)[18]
Richard R. Arnold exNashira (AK-85)[19] ex MVJosiah Paul
Robert M. Emery exMira (AK-84)[20] ex MVWilliam Nott
Thomas F. Farrel Jr. exEuropa (AT-81)[21] ex MVWilliam Lester
John W. Arey a N3-S-A1, renamedSilver Coast was on a trip from Canabayon Island, Philippines toLuzon, Philippines she sank on 12 Jan. 1971.[23]
Tully Crosby a N3-S-A1, renamedCapetan Vassilis caught fire and sank on 14 April 1965 at 35.07N 26.52E full of sunflower seed off the eastern coast of the island ofCrete.[24]
Justin Doane a N3-S-A1, sank after gunfire near Chienchow in 1950.
Gurden Gates a N3-S-A1, On 24 July 1944 theNazi Dover Strait big guns damaged theGurden Gates, she was repaired. Later sold and renamedThree Stars, caught fire and was abandoned on 17 Feb 1967 atEpiskopi Bay.[25]
Alden Gifford a N3-S-A1, sank in a gale off the West of England, four miles NNW ofLongships on 2 September 1944. Four crewmen died.[27]
Josiah P. Cressey a N3-S-A1, sunk by gunfire in theYangtze River in 1949.
Ashbel Hubbard a N3-S-A1, renamedSolidarity" sank on 4 March 1951. She was traveling with a crew of 24 and a cargo of 2,300 tons of wetmechanical wood pulp in bales fromHommelvik toLondon. Some hatch covers were washed over board and she fill with water in a storm. The life-saving shipLarvik was able to get the crew.[28]
Cyrus Sears a N3-S-A1, renamedGiannis. In 1964 she caught fire in the engine room on a trip fromConstanța,Romania toSkikda,Algeria with timber. The fire spread to the cargo holds and the superstructure. The crew abandoned ship to the life boats and were taken aboard BritishMV Sir Andrew Duncan.Sir Andrew Duncan took her under tow toValletta, Malta. The salvage vesselThames took her out to sea and she sank at 21 nm NE ofMalta at 36.04N-14.42E.[29]
Reuben Snow(Beechland, Teresa Cosulich) a N3-S-A1. exploded and sank in 1968
Nathaniel Matthews a N3-M-A1, sank in 1974.
Edgar Wakeman a N3-S-A2, renamedKielce, collided with another ship and sank in 1946. She was loaded with munitions. The crew abandoned the ship and were saved.Kielce sank about four miles offFolkestone in theEnglish Channel, inKent, southeastEngland. In 1967 the Folkestone Salvage Company was hired to remove the wreck and used explosive charges to dismantle part of the hull. One of these charges detonated her cargo, causing an explosion that was recorded byseismometers up to 5,000 miles (8,000 km) away. It made a crater 153 feet (47 m) long, 67 feet (20 m) wide and 20 feet (6 m) deep and caused minor property damage in Folkestone.[30]
Otis White a N3-S-A2, renamedBeny, broke in two and sank in 1969 after running a ground off theBrazilian coast.[31]
David R. Le Craw a N3-S-A2, renamedLos Caribes was in a collision with the MSSchauenburg, then exploded and sank on 20 April 1958 inMexico,Coatzacoalcos harbor channel. She was going toNew York City with a load of sulphur.[32]
Samuel Samuels a N3-S-A2 renamedMilonga and sank in February 1965. She had an engine fire and started to leak off easternSardinia. She was on her way fromSfax forGenoa, in Gulf ofOrosei. The crew abandoned ship, but lost three crewmen.[33]
Northern Adventurer a N3-S-A2, sank in 1964.
Samuel S. Curwen a N3-S-A2, renamedNorthern Master thenHsuan Huai exploded and sank on 3 December 1948.Hsuan Huai was a Chinesetroop ship. She had 6,000 men from the province of Mantsjoekwo, in northwest China onboard. She sank nearYingkou in theYellow Sea.[34]
John Leckie a N3-S-A2, renamedPensacola, sank on 5 Feb. 1966. She started leaking in rough sea after dry dock work. She had a full cargo of grain. The crew abandoned ship and she sank2+1⁄2 hours later. She sank in theCaribbean Sea off the southeast shore ofHispaniola, while on a voyage fromMobile, Alabama, toPort of Spain,Trinidad.[35][36]
^While essentially built for the same purpose they were not the sectional pre-fabricated and assembly-line produced (Chrysler) "Liberty Ships" as they are sometimes, if improperly, confused with.
^David H. Grover (2004)."Lakers: The Ships That Bought Time"(PDF).Lake Huron Lore. "The Anchor Light" with copy published in "The Lightship-Lake Huron Lore. Retrieved12 January 2012.
^Masterson, James R. (1949).U. S. Army Transportation In The Southwest Pacific Area 1941-1947. Transportation Unit, Historical Division, Special Staff, United States Army. p. 351.
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