 USSWest Haven under way, circa December 1917 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSWest Haven |
| Owner |
|
| Builder | Skinner & Eddy, Seattle |
| Yard number | 10 |
| Laid down | 13 August 1917 |
| Launched | 1 November 1917 |
| Acquired | 24 December 1917 |
| Commissioned | 18 June 1918 – 21 January 1920 |
| In service | 18 June 1918 – 2 November 1942 |
| Renamed |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Cargo ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | 12,191 tons |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 54 ft (16 m) |
| Draft | 24 ft 2 in (7.37 m) |
| Depth of hold | 29 ft 9 in (9.07 m) |
| Installed power | 1 × 3-cylinder 2,800IHP Puget Sound Machinerytriple expansion |
| Propulsion | Single screw |
| Speed | 11 kn (20 km/h) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament | (World War I): 1 × 6", 1 ×6-pounder |
USSWest Haven (ID-2159) was a steel–hulledfreighter that served theUnited States Navy in World War I, and later servedin convoys in theBattle of the Atlantic in World War II.
Originally namedWar Flame,West Haven completed two supply voyages for the Navy in World War I, and two relief missions in the immediate postwar period before being decommissioned. Between the wars,West Haven was in commercial service asWest Haven and operated for several different companies. In 1929 her name was changed toMarian Otis Chandler and in 1938 toOnomea.
Following the outbreak of World War II,Onomea was acquired by the BritishMinistry of War Transport, renamedEmpire Leopard and placed into convoy service on the North Atlantic, delivering vital supplies from the United States to Britain. In November 1942, while operating withConvoy SC-107,Empire Leopard was torpedoed and sunk byU-402, commanded by U-boat aceSiegfried von Forstner.
West Haven was built asWar Flame inSeattle, Washington in 1917 at Plant No. 1 of theSkinner & Eddy Corporation. A product of theUnited States Shipping Board's emergency wartime shipbuilding program,War Flame was laid down on 13 August 1917 and launched on 1 November 1917 in what was then apparently a new world keel-to-launch record of just 67 working days (81 calendar days).[1] The ship was completed an additional 43 working (54 calendar) days later on 24 December 1917—a keel-to-delivery time of 110 working days (135 calendar days), establishing a new company record.[2]
When completed,War Flame had adeadweight tonnage of 8,480 tons (8,800 nominal) and agross register tonnage of 5,520 tons (5,600 nominal). The ship had an overall length of 423 feet 9 inches, a beam of 54 feet and a draft of 24 feet 2 inches.[3][4]War Flame was powered by a three-cylindertriple expansionsteam engine supplied by thePuget Sound Machinery Depot of Seattle, with cylinders of 25, 42 and 72 inches respectively and astroke of 48 inches,[5] which drove a single screw propeller and delivered a service speed of 11knots.[3][6]
After completion,War Flame was handed over on 24 December 1917 to the U.S. Navy, who named the shipWest Haven. On 18 June 1918, the vessel was commissioned into service atNew Orleans asUSSWest Haven (ID-2159) for operation with theNaval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS).[3]
Laden with general Army supplies,West Haven departed New Orleans on 3 July and steamed toNorfolk, Virginia, where she joined a convoy sailing for Europe. She arrived atBordeaux, France, on 12 August 1918 and unloaded her cargo over the ensuing days. Departing Bordeaux on the 21st,West Haven arrived at New York on 5 September. After shifting toPhiladelphia the same day, the vessel there took on board 5,125 tons of general Army supplies before departing on 17 September and steaming to Norfolk, whence she got underway on 23 September in a convoy bound for France.[3]
After discharging her cargo atBrest,West Haven departed that French port on 3 November. While the vessel was steaming home, the armistice was signed on 11 November 1918 ending World War I. However, the return of peace did not change the ship's duties, as there remained the postwar task of reconstructing Europe which had been devastated by the war.[3]
Following a brief layover in New York,West Haven loaded 7,075 tons of general Army cargo atBaltimore and sailed on 5 December, bound for France. The ship madeLa Pallice on 2 January 1919, discharged her cargo over the ensuing days, picked up a return Army cargo, and sailed for Norfolk on the 26th. En route home, she ran low on fuel and was forced to reduce her speed to three and one-half knots. She finally reachedBermuda on 28 February.[3]
After topping up her bunkers,West Haven arrived at Norfolk on 4 March to load 673 tons of cargo for her fourth and final voyage for NOTS. Departing 28 March, she arrived at La Pallice on 12 April where she discharged her cargo. Moving on to Brest,West Haven loaded 2,306 tons of capturedGermanordnance, aviation supplies and 375 tons of steel rail ballast for the return journey. Departing for New York on 17 May,West Haven made an intermediate stop on 23 May atPonta Delgada, Azores, probably to refuel, before continuing on to her destination.[3][7]
Some days later,West Haven came across the stricken British steamerBeechleaf. The 10,000-ton cargo carrier had been in transit fromBaton Rouge to Ireland with a cargo offuel oil when her engines and steering gear were disabled by a fire which killed one crewman and severely burned another.West Haven took the disabled vessel in tow toAmbrose Light, arriving 7 June, before continuing on to New York where she berthed the following day.[3][7]
Soon after arriving at New York on 8 June,West Haven was placed in line for demobilization. She was accordingly decommissioned on 21 January 1920, simultaneously struck from theNavy List and returned to the USSB.[3]
After decommissioning from the Navy,West Haven was returned to the USSB and sold in 1920 to the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Steamship Corporation, which appears to have put the vessel into service as a coastal freighter, operating between thewest andeast coasts of the U.S.[8][9]
In November 1921,West Haven sailed from the east coast to Los Angeles with the unusual deck cargo of a fifty-ton Lawler racing yacht,Idalia, owned by C. B. Eyer of the Golden State Woolen Mills. AtLos Angeles Harbor, the yacht was lifted fromWest Haven's deck by slings suspended fromshear legs at the docks of theLos Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, after whichWest Haven was moved away and the yacht lowered into the water.Idalia's arrival in this unusual manner was hailed as an innovation likely to give "great stimulus to the yachting spirit" of Los Angeles.[10]
In September 1922,West Haven was repossessed by the USSB after the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Steamship Corporation went bankrupt.[11][12] No further records of the ship's movements appear until 1929, indicating that the USSB may have laid the vessel up through the 1920s because of the postwar oversupply of shipping.
In February 1929,West Haven was sold by the USSB to theLos Angeles Steamship Company (LASSCO), who at this time were in the process of expanding their line from four ships to ten.[13] LASSCO renamed the shipMarian Otis Chandler after the wife of LASSCO's founder,Harry Chandler, and placed the vessel into service once again as a coastal freighter.
In a repeat performance ofWest Haven's rescue of the stricken freighterBeechleaf in June 1919,Marian Otis Chandler participated in the rescue of another vessel on the high seas, the USSB freighterWest Hardaway, in December 1929. After battling gales for three weeks in the North Atlantic,West Hardaway had run out of fuel and was drifting helpless whenMarian Otis Chandler arrived on the scene to tow the vessel 500 miles toHalifax, Nova Scotia.West Hardaway, which had been on a voyage fromGrangemouth, Scotland toNorfolk, Virginia, sustained some damage in the episode.[14]
In June 1930,Marian Otis Chandler was placed into service between Los Angeles and Hawaii after the LASSCO linerCity of Honolulu was badly damaged in a fire.[15]Marian Otis Chandler continued making runs to Hawaii until early 1931, when she resumed coastal service. Over the next few years she operated from Los Angeles to west coast ports such asSeattle andAberdeen, Washington;Portland andSt. Helens, Oregon; and to east coast ports includingRichmond, Virginia andPhiladelphia.[16]
By about 1934,Marian Otis Chandler appears to have been shifted back to making regular runs to Hawaii. In 1937, the Los Angeles Steamship Company was wound up and its assets sold to the parent company, theMatson Line. The Matson Line continued to operateMarian Otis Chandler in the Hawaiian trade into the late 1930s.[17] In 1938, Matson renamed the shipOnomea.[3][6][18]
In 1940,Onomea was acquired by the BritishMinistry of War Transport (MoWT) in order to help alleviate the shipping shortage caused by losses to German U-boats. RenamedEmpire Leopard,[3] the ship spent the next two years in convoy service between the United States and Britain, in the Battle of the Atlantic. Between February 1941 and August 1942,Empire Leopard completed five round trips across the Atlantic, carrying vital supplies of steel, sulphur and other goods from the United States to the British industrial cities ofLiverpool andHull.[19]
After crossing from Liverpool to the United States in February–March 1941,Empire Leopard picked up a cargo of steel atBaltimore and joined Convoy HX-130 atHalifax, Nova Scotia bound for Liverpool and Hull, arriving at the latter destination in late June. Returning toHampton Roads, Virginia in July,Empire Leopard loaded a cargo ofsulphur and completed her second round trip to Britain with Convoy SC-50, arriving at Hull on 8 November.[19]
Empire Leopard's third round trip was completed from New York with Convoy SC-67 in February 1942, this time with a cargo of general goods bound for theTyne, England. The fourth was made fromPhiladelphia to Hull with Convoy SC-82 in April–May 1942 with a cargo of steel and general supplies.Empire Leopard's fifth and final successful round trip between Britain and the United States was completed fromCape Cod, Massachusetts to Hull in August 1942, sailing in Convoy SC-95 with a cargo of steel and general goods. Two ships in this latter convoy were sunk by U-boats during the crossing.[19]
Following the discharge of her cargoes at Hull,Empire Leopard made her final voyage to North America viaMethil andLoch Ewe, Scotland toBotwood, Newfoundland viaSt. John's in September–October 1942. At Botwood, the ship took on a cargo of 7,410 tons ofzinc concentrates andmunitions and sailed for St. John's on 24 October, arriving 26 October. At St. John's,Empire Leopard joined another 44 merchant ships and a small number of escorts preparing to sail for Liverpool asConvoy SC-107. The convoy departed for Liverpool on 30 October.[19]
On 2 November 1942, Convoy SC-107 was intercepted by theGermanwolf packVeilchen ("Violet"). U-boat aceSiegfried von Forstner commandingU-402 was the first to score a kill. At around 4:10 am,U-402 fired two torpedoes, sinking the cargo shipsDalcroy andRinos.U-402 struck again a few hours later, firing two torpedoes at 8:03 am, one of which hit and sankEmpire Antelope and the other hittingEmpire Leopard, which caused the ship to explode. All the crew on boardEmpire Antelope were rescued, but of the 34 crew and seven gunners aboardEmpire Leopard, only three crew members survived. The survivors from both vessels were picked up by the British rescue shipStockport and transferred toReykjavík, arriving there on 8 November. Wolf packVielchen sank more than a dozen ships from Convoy SC-107 (including, coincidentally,Hobbema, a sister ship ofEmpire Leopard) before being driven off byLiberator aircraft fromNo. 120 Squadron RAF a few days later.[20][21]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
