.jpg) USSIowan (ID-3002) is seen here in 1919 returning American troops from France. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SSIowan |
| Owner | American-Hawaiian Steamship Company |
| Port of registry |  New York[1] |
| Ordered | May 1912[2] |
| Builder | |
| Cost | $732,000[3] |
| Yard number | 132[4] |
| Launched | 24 January 1914 |
| Completed | 16 May 1914[4] |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Requisitioned by U.S. Navy |
| History | |
 United States | |
| Name | USSIowan (ID-3002) |
| Acquired | 12 August 1918 |
| Commissioned | 12 August 1918 |
| Decommissioned | 18 September 1919 |
| Fate | Returned to American-Hawaiian |
| History | |
| Name | |
| Namesake | 1943:Tashkent, the capital ofUzbekistan |
| Owner | |
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry |
|
| Fate | Transferred toNorth Korea, 1966; scrapped 1969[8] |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 6,529 GRT[3]10,175 LT DWT[3] |
| Length | |
| Beam | 53 ft 6 in (16.31 m)[9] |
| Draft | 28 ft (8.5 m)[9] |
| Depth of hold | 31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)[10] |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h)[9] |
| Capacity | Cargo: 490,859 cubic feet (13,899.6 m3)[3] |
| Crew | 18 officers, 40 crewmen |
| Notes | Sister ships:Dakotan,Montanan,Pennsylvanian,Minnesotan,Washingtonian,Panaman,Ohioan[4] |
| General characteristics (as USSIowan) | |
| Displacement | 14,375 t[9] |
| Troops | 1,650[12] |
| Complement | 96[9] |
| Armament | |
SSIowan was acargo ship built in 1914 for theAmerican-Hawaiian Steamship Company. DuringWorld War I she was taken over by theUnited States Navy andcommissioned asUSSIowan (ID-3002). DuringWorld War II, the ship was transferred to theSoviet Union and renamedSSTashkent (orТашкент inCyrillic).
Iowan was built by theMaryland Steel Company as one of eight sister ships for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company. In October 1914, five months after she was delivered to American-Hawaiian,Iowan rammed and sank theUnited Fruit Company steamerMetapan near the entrance toNew York Harbor. After repairs,Iowan resumed inter-coastal service via thePanama Canal. When the canal was temporarily closed by landslides in late 1915,Iowan sailed via theStraits of Magellan until the canal reopened in mid 1916. During World War I, USSIowan carried cargo, animals, and a limited number of passengers to France, and returned nearly 10,000 American troops after theArmistice.
After her Navy service ended in 1919, she was returned to her original owners, who, at least once,chartered her to another shipping company. In May 1922,Iowan rammed and sank the Furness-Prince Line steamerWelsh Prince in theColumbia River nearAstoria, Oregon, killing seven men in the process. In June 1941,Iowan ran aground on a reef nearPoint Conception, California, and suffered $500,000 in damages while buffeted by waves on the reef. She was freed from the reef after two weeks, towed toLos Angeles, and repaired.
In 1942, the ship was requisitioned by theWar Shipping Administration, which transferred her to the Soviet Union under the terms ofLend-Lease in December 1942. She was assigned to theFar East Shipping Company under her new name of SS Tashkent, but sailed with theSoviet Pacific Fleet throughout the war. She delivered cargo and troops in support of theSoviet invasion ofJapanese-held territories in August 1945. After the war, the ship remained a part of the Sovietmerchant fleet until 1966. She was transferred toNorth Korea at that time to become a fish processing facility, and was scrapped in 1969.
In May 1912, theAmerican-Hawaiian Steamship Company placed an order with theMaryland Steel Company ofSparrows Point, Maryland, for two newcargo ships—Iowan andOhioan.[Note 1] The contract cost of the ships was set at the construction cost plus an 8% profit for Maryland Steel, but with a maximum cost of $640,000 per ship. 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 ofIowan, including financing costs, was $71.95 perdeadweight ton, which came out to just over $732,000.[2]
Iowan (Maryland Steel yard no. 132)[4] was the first ship built under the contract. She waslaunched on 24 January 1914,[6] and delivered to American-Hawaiian on 16 May.[4] The ship was 6,529 gross register tons (GRT),[3] and was 407 feet 7 inches (124.23 m) in length (between perpendiculars) and 53 feet 6 inches (16.31 m)abeam.[6] She had adeadweight tonnage of 10,175 LT DWT,[3] and her cargo holds, which had a storage capacity of 490,859 cubic feet (13,899.6 m3),[3] were outfitted with a complete refrigeration plant so that she could carry perishable products from theWest Coast—like fresh produce fromSouthern California farms—to theEast Coast.[13]Iowan had a singlesteam engine powered by oil-firedboilers that drove a singlescrew propeller at a speed of 14 knots (26 km/h).[6][11]
WhenIowan began sailing for American-Hawaiian, the company shipped cargo fromEast Coast ports via theStraits of Magellan toWest Coast ports andHawaii, and vice versa.[Note 2] Eastbound shipments were primarily sugar and pineapple from Hawaii, while westbound cargoes were more general in nature.[14] With the opening of the Panama Canal on 15 August 1914, American-Hawaiian ships switched to taking that route.[15]
At 15:20 on 15 October 1914, the outboundIowan rammed theUnited Fruit Company passenger and cargo steamerMetapan at the entrance ofAmbrose Channel outside New York.Metapan had stopped in the dense fog, butIowan was traveling at a rapid pace. WhenIowan had appeared out of the fog some 200 to 300 yards (180 to 270 m) fromMetapan, the United Fruit ship sounded three blasts on the ship'swhistle—warningIowan of the impending collision.Iowan's captain did not alter the ship's course, but did drop her anchor to try to slow the fully laden ship. Nevertheless,Iowan gashed the bow ofMetapan and traveled almost halfway through the passenger ship. WhenIowan pulled out three minutes later,Metapan began to sink rapidly.Metapan's captain ordered his ship to sail at full speed for shoals some 200 yards (180 m) distant, on which the ship grounded in 18 feet (5.5 m) of water. A variety of craft—including the nearby BritishRoyal NavycruiserLancaster—responded toMetapan'sSOS. Even though the ship was resting on the bottom and the passengers in no immediate danger, most of the 78 passengers and 90 crewmen evacuated the ship in lifeboats and were picked up by rescue craft.[Note 3]Iowan, which suffered no casualties among her crew, attempted to return to her pier inBrooklyn, but was unable and instead anchored in Ambrose Channel.[16]Iowan's damage was restricted to her bow, which was crushed above the waterline. Two days later,The Wall Street Journal reported thatIowan was anchored offClifton, Staten Island, and awaiting inspection from surveyors.[17]
After repairs and return to service,Iowan resumed her inter-coastal service. In May 1915, she was delayed by a large Pacific storm that was responsible for the sinking of the steamerVictoria, and also damagedNorthern Pacific andHarvard.[18] In mid-September the same year,Iowan sailed fromBoston for theWest Coast. She arrived atCristóbal, the Atlantic terminus of the Panama Canal, to find the canal closed by a major landslide—more than 1,000,000 cubic yards (760,000 m3) of mud and dirt had collapsed into theGaillard Cut.[19][20] Initially, American-Hawaiian hadIowan wait in case the canal would soon reopen,[21][22] but when it became apparent that the closure would last some time, perhaps as long as ten months,[23][Note 4]Iowan was sent aroundSouth America to her destinations, Los Angeles andSan Francisco.[21] TheLos Angeles Times reported that one portion ofIowan's delayed cargo consisted ofChristmas toys for Los Angeles merchants. The newspaper went on to predict that the delay would be "very disastrous" for the holiday season.[24]
The balance ofIowan's activities over the next two years are unclear. She may have been in the half of the American-Hawaiian fleet that waschartered 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, andmanganese ore.[25]
On 23 December 1917, some seven months after the United States declared war onGermany, theUnited States Navy acquiredIowan from American-Hawaiian. USSIowan wascommissioned the same day.[9]
Iowan loaded a cargo of 800 horses,[26] along with flour, iron, and machinery atNewport News, Virginia and sailed forNew York on 9 February 1918. There she joined a convoy that sailed for France on 11 February and arrived at its destination on 28 February;[9]Iowan discharged her equine passengers—less seven that died or were destroyed during the voyage—at Remount Depot No. 3 on 5 March.[26]Iowan continued carrying livestock and food products to France through the rest of the war.[9] On 9 November,Iowan took on 72 officers and men, and headed for France with cargo shipCharlton Hall two days before theArmistice.[27]
With the fighting at an end, the task of bringing home American soldiers began almost immediately.[28]Iowan was selected for conversion to atroop transport and transferred to theCruiser and Transport Force,[12] but before she could begin returning troops,Iowan had to undergo conversion from a cargo and animal ship. Though sources do not indicate the specific modificationsIowan underwent, typical conversions for other ships included the installation of berths for troops, and adding greatly expanded cooking and toilet facilities to handle the large numbers of men aboard.[29] Similar modifications onIowan's sister shipMinnesotan took three months,[30] but it is not known how longIowan's refit took. By the timeIowan had completed her sixth and final trooping voyage on 29 August 1919,Iowan had carried home 9,876 healthy and wounded men.[12] USSIowan was decommissioned on 22 September 1919, and returned to American-Hawaiian.[9]
Iowan 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,[31]Iowan continued inter-coastal service through the Panama Canal.For a time in the early 1920s,Iowan waschartered to theUnited American Line. In May 1922, theAssociated Press reported thatIowan, sailing under the United American banner, was loading wheat, flour, and lumber atTacoma, Washington, for England and European ports.[32] Later that same month, on 29 May,Iowan rammed and sank the Furness-Prince Line cargo shipWelsh Prince in theColumbia River nearAstoria, Oregon. Seven men aboardWelsh Prince were killed and three were injured in the crash and subsequent fire.[1]
On 11 June 1941,Iowan departed Los Angeles with a cargo of 4,500 long tons (4,600 t) of steel and iron pipe destined for San Francisco;Portland, Oregon; andSeattle, on her last voyage before she was to be handed over to theUnited States Maritime Commission.[33] At 04:20 on 12 June,Iowan ran aground on a reef a few hundred yards (meters) off shore from Government Point,[34]—117 nautical miles (217 km) northwest of Los Angeles,[35]—nearPoint Conception.[34] Salvage operations took some two weeks, but the ship was towed back to Los Angeles and placed in drydock at theBethlehem Shipyard onTerminal Island. Approximately 100 feet (30 m) of the ship's hull had been damaged while the ship was buffeted by waves on the reef, which had opened numerous holes in herhull. The ship's drive shaft had broken, and her boilers and engines had shifted. TheLos Angeles Times reported that estimates forIowan's repair ranged up to $500,000.[36] In an inquiry held by theBureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation,Iowan's captain, S. A. Gates, a Californian with 25 years of sailing experience along the coast, blamed unusual tides for the grounding.[37]
In 1942, afterIowan was repaired and after the United States had enteredWorld War II, the ship was requisitioned by theWar Shipping Administration (WSA).[8] On 6 December 1942,Iowan was transferred to theSoviet Union underLend-Lease, and renamedTashkent (ТашкентRussian pronunciation:[tɐʂˈkʲɛnt]) afterthe capital of Uzbekistan.[7][8] Near the end of World War II, the WSA offered a payment of $694,743 to American-Hawaiian for the formerIowan as part of a $7.2 million settlement for eleven American-Hawaiian ships that had been requisitioned by the WSA.[38]
Tashkent was assigned to theFar East Shipping Company (FESCO), but sailed with thePacific Fleet of theSoviet Navy throughout the war.Tashkent was photographed at San Francisco at some point during the war,[39] but most of her other movements are not known. However, in August 1945,Tashkent delivered troops and cargo in support of theSoviet invasions ofJapanese-heldManchuria,Korea,Sakhalin, and theKurile Islands. After the war's end,Tashkent returned to merchant operation withFESCO through 1966, when she was transferred toNorth Korea for use as a fish processing facility. The formerTashkent was scrapped in 1969.[8]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in June 1941 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents | |
