.jpg) San Francisco in 1917 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Namesake |
|
| Owner |
|
| Operator | 1918:United States Navy |
| Port of registry |
|
| Builder | North of Ireland SB Co |
| Yard number | 57 |
| Launched | 14 February 1914 |
| Completed | May 1914 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | sunk by torpedo, 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 5,102 GRT, 3,164 NRT |
| Displacement | 11,528 tons |
| Length | 405.0 ft (123.4 m) |
| Beam | 52.0 ft (15.8 m) |
| Draft | 25 ft9+1⁄2 in (7.86 m) |
| Depth | 28.1 ft (8.6 m) |
| Decks | 2 |
| Installed power | 525NHP |
| Propulsion | triple-expansion engine |
| Speed | 12+1⁄2 knots (23.2 km/h) |
| Complement | 1918: 62 |
| Crew |
|
| Sensors & processing systems | by 1934:gyrocompass |
| Armament |
|
USSSt. Francis (ID-1557) was acargosteamship. She was built inIreland in 1914 asSan Francisco, and renamedSt. Francis in 1918 when she wascommissioned into theUnited States Navy. In 1933 she was renamedLammot du Pont. In 1942 she was sunk by aU-boat, and 19 of her crew were lost.
The North of Ireland Ship Building Co builtSan Francisco inDerry, Ireland. She was launched on 14 February 1914[1] and completed that May. Her registered length was 405.0 ft (123.4 m), her beam was 52.0 ft (15.8 m) and her depth was 28.1 ft (8.6 m). Hertonnages were 5,102 GRT and 3,164 NRT.[2]
She had a singlescrew, driven by a three-cylindertriple-expansion steam engine built byRichardsons Westgarth & Company ofHartlepool,England. It was rated at 525NHP[2] or 2,250ihp and gave her a speed of12+1⁄2 knots (23.2 km/h).[3]
San Francisco's first owner was theIsthmian Steamship Company, a British company owned by theUnited States Steel Products Company. At first she wasregistered inLondon. HerUnited Kingdomofficial number was 136675.[4] From newSan Francisco was equipped forwireless telegraphy.[2] In 1914 her UKcall sign was MIB.[5]
When theFirst World War started at the end of July, all of Isthmian's ships were transferred to the direct ownership of the US parent company, and re-registered in New York.San Francisco's US official number was 212786 and hercode letters were LDPV. By 1918 her US call sign was KRT.[6]
In 1918 theUnited States Shipping Boardchartered the ship from the US Steel Products Co on behalf of the US Navy. The Navy acquired the ship atBaltimore on 19 June and commissioned her there on 25 June. The Navy already had aUSS San Francisco, so the ship was commissioned as USSSt.Francis. The Navy gave her the Identification Number (ID) 1557.[7]
USSSt. Francis made three voyages for theNaval Overseas Transportation Service: two toFrance before theArmistice of 11 November 1918 and one toLatin America afterwards. For her first voyage she loadedUS Army supplies at Baltimore, sailed to New York, and there joined a convoy which left on 4 July. The convoy reachedBrest, France on 19 July, from whereSt. Francis continued to England to discharge her cargo.[a] She left England on 15 August and got back to Baltimore on 27 August.
In BaltimoreSt. Francis was again loaded with Army supplies. She left on 18 September, again went via New York, reachedLa Pallice on 13 October and continued toSaint-Nazaire, where she arrived on 14 October to discharge her cargo. From there she returned to the US, reaching Baltimore on 14 November, three days after the Armistice.[7]
St. Francis was then transferred from an Army to a US Shipping Board Account.[clarification needed] On 26 January 1919 she left the US forCristóbal. She passed through thePanama Canal, and on 17 February reachedValparaíso,Chile. She returned through the canal, loaded a commercial cargo of sugar atCienfuegos,Cuba, and on 8 April arrived in New York. The Navy decommissioned her at New York on 28 April 1919, and returned her via the US Shipping Board to her owners,[7] who restored her name toSan Francisco.
In 1933 theInternational Freighting Corporation, Inc. boughtSan Francisco, renamed herLammot du Pont and registered her inWilmington,Delaware.Lammot du Pont (1831–1884) was an industrial chemist and member of thedu Pont family, whoseDuPont company had a business relationship with the International Freighting Corp. By 1934 her navigation equipment included agyrocompass, and her four-letter call sign was WDCY.[8]
After the US joined the Second World War in December 1941,Lammot du Pont wasdefensively armed with one4-inch/50-caliber gun and twoM1919 Browning machine guns, and she carried nine US Navy armed guards to crew them.[9]
On the evening of 23 April 1942 she was steaming unescorted at9+1⁄2 knots (17.6 km/h) about 500 nautical miles (930 km) southeast of Bermuda. At 20:53 hrsU-125 attacked her, hitting her with one torpedo between her number 4 hold andengine room.Lammot du Pont rapidly listed to port, and within five minutes rolled completely on her side. She sank at position27°10′N57°10′W / 27.167°N 57.167°W /27.167; -57.167. Six members of her crew were killed, but the remainder got clear on one lifeboat and three rafts.[9]
One of the rafts was broken and drifted away. Heavy seas prevented the other survivors from reaching it, and the two men aboard the broken raft were lost. There were eight crewmen and seven armed guards in the remaining two rafts. Two days later the Swedishmotor cargo shipAstri found and rescued them. On 8 May she transferred them to the cruiserUSS Omaha, which on 11 May landed them inRecife,Brazil.[9]
_underway_in_Charleston_harbour%2c_17_December_1942.jpg)
The remaining lifeboat initially contained 31 crewmen and two armed guards. It drifted for 23 days, in which time seven crewmen and one of the guards died of fever. Then an aircraft sighted it about 40 nautical miles (74 km) fromSan Juan, Puerto Rico. The destroyerUSS Tarbell rescued them and landed them at San Juan, where a further three crewmen died in hospital. In total 19 men died and 35 survived.[9]
