 USATMontanan atSaint-Nazaire, July 1917 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | SSMontanan |
| Owner | American-Hawaiian Steamship Company |
| Port of registry | Boston |
| Ordered | September 1911[1] |
| Builder | |
| Cost | $692,000[2] |
| Yard number | 126[3] |
| Launched | 25 January 1913[4] |
| Sponsored by | Miss Lubelle Shepard[4] |
| Completed | April 1913[3] |
| Identification | U.S. official number: 211088[5] |
| Fate | Expropriated by U.S. Army, 1 June 1917 |
| United States | |
| Name | USATMontanan |
| Acquired | 1 June 1917[6] |
| Fate | Sunk, 18 August 1918 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Cargo ship |
| Tonnage | 6,649 GRT[2]9,406 DWT[2] |
| Length | |
| Beam | 53 ft 7 in (16.33 m)[7] |
| Draft | 28 ft 0 in (8.53 m)[7] |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14.85knots (27.50 km/h)[7] |
| Capacity | Cargo: 438,154 cubic feet (12,407.1 m3)[2] |
| Crew | 18 officers, 40 crewmen |
| Notes | Sister ships:Minnesotan,Dakotan,Pennsylvanian,Panaman,Washingtonian,Iowan,Ohioan[3] |
| General characteristics (as USATMontanan) | |
| Complement | 86[9] |
SSMontanan was acargo ship built in 1912 for theAmerican-Hawaiian Steamship Company. DuringWorld War I service for the United StatesArmy Transport Service, she was known asUSATMontanan.Montanan was built by theMaryland Steel Company as one of eight sister ships for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company, and was employed in inter-coastal service via theIsthmus of Tehuantepec and thePanama Canal after it opened.
In World War I, USATMontanan carried cargo and animals to France, and was in the first American convoy to sail to France after the United States entered the war in April 1917. USATMontanan was torpedoed and sunk byU-90 500nautical miles (900 km) west ofLe Verdon-sur-Mer, France, while it took part in another eastbound convoy in August 1918, Of the 86 men aboard the ship, 81 were rescued by a convoy escort; five men died in the attack.
In September 1911, theAmerican-Hawaiian Steamship Company placed an order with theMaryland Steel Company ofSparrows Point, Maryland, for four newcargo ships—Minnesotan,Dakotan,Montanan, andPennsylvanian.[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. The deal had provisions that allowed some of the nine installments to be converted into longer-term notes or mortgages. The final cost ofMontanan, including financing costs, was $73.62 perdeadweight ton, which came out to just over $692,000.[1]
Montanan (Maryland Steel yard no. 126)[3] was the second ship built under the original contract.[Note 2] She waslaunched on 25 January 1913,[4] and delivered to American-Hawaiian in April.[3]Montanan was 6,649 gross register tons (GRT),[2] and was 428 ft 9 in (130.68 m) in length and 53 ft 7 in (16.33 m)abeam.[7] She had a deadweight tonnage of 9,406, and her cargoholds, which had a storage capacity of 438,154 cu ft (12,407.1 m3),[2] were outfitted with a complete refrigeration plant so that she could carry perishable products from theWest Coast—such as fresh produce fromSouthern California farms—to theEast Coast.[10]Montanan had a singlesteam engine powered by oil-firedboilers which drove a singlescrew propeller at a speed of 15knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).[7][8]
WhenMontanan began sailing for American-Hawaiian, the company shipped cargo from East Coast ports via theTehuantepec Route to West Coast ports andHawaii, and vice versa. Shipments on the Tehuantepec Route arrived at Mexican ports—Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, for eastbound cargo, andCoatzacoalcos, Veracruz, for westbound cargo—and traversed theIsthmus of Tehuantepec on theTehuantepec National Railway.[11] Eastbound shipments were primarily sugar and pineapple from Hawaii, while westbound cargoes were more general in nature.[12]Montanan sailed in this service on the east side of North America.[13][14]
While headed from New York to Coatzacoalcos in October 1913,Montanan ran aground onMantanilla Reef, north ofThe Bahamas. AnsweringMontanan's distress calls, theStandard Oil CompanytankerRayo assisted in freeingMontanan from the reef. Although she was leaking slightly,Montanan continued on to her destination, and put in for repairs after a return trip to New York.[14]
Following theUnited States occupation of Veracruz on 21 April 1914 (which took place while six American-Hawaiian ships were being held in various Mexican ports), theHuerta-led Mexican government closed the Tehuantepec National Railway to American shipping. This loss of access, coupled with the fact that thePanama Canal was not yet open, caused American-Hawaii to return to its historic route of sailing around South America via theStraits of Magellan in late April.[15] With the opening of the Panama Canal on 15 August, American-Hawaiian ships switched to the canal route.[15]
On 2 December,The Washington Post reported an incident involvingMontanan. While headed down the Pacific coast of Mexico with a cargo of dried fruits and canned goods,Montanan was approached by aJapanese warship, which fired a warning shot forMontanan to stop. After doing so, a boarding party with Japanese officers in alaunch headed toMontanan. When the American identity ofMontanan was established to the satisfaction of the Japanese, they returned to their ship without boardingMontanan. The news report did not identify the type or the name of the Japanese warship, which had been searching for a German vessel thought to be operating in the area.[16][Note 3]
OnMontanan's next trip, the ship collided with a wharf inLos Angeles Harbor.Montanan had arrived in Los Angeles fromPuget Sound on 22 January 1915 to complete her load before sailing for New York and Boston. The almost fully loaded ship was slow to respond to the helm and ended up "ploughing through" 50 ft (15 m) of Municipal Pier A onMormon Island channel before coming to a stop at a stone bulkhead. Onehull plate onMontanan was dented, but the ship was otherwise undamaged.Montanan's captain, who had a local license, did not take on aharbor pilot and American-Hawaiian was liable for the damage, estimated by the harbor engineer to be $2,500.[17]
Contemporary news reports offer hints at cargoes thatMontanan carried during this period. In April 1915, theLos Angeles Times reported on the sailing ofMontanan with a full cargo. The majority of the cargo was rice—from Japan, China, and California—which was destined for the United Kingdom to feed Indian troops fighting in Europe.[18] In June,The Wall Street Journal reported thatMontanan andSanta Clara (of theGrace Line) had sailed fromTacoma, Washington, with 2,500 tons of copper between them.[19]
In October 1915, landslides closed the Panama Canal and all American-Hawaiian ships, includingMontanan, returned to the Straits of Magellan route again.[20]Montanan's exact movements from this time through early 1917 are unclear. She may have been in the half of the American-Hawaiian fleet that waschartered for transatlantic service, or she may 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.[21]
After the United States declared war on the German Empire in April 1917, theUnited States Army—needing transports to get its men andmateriel to France—had a select committee of shipping executives pore over registries of American shipping. The committee selectedMontanan, her sister shipDakotan, and 12 other American-flagged ships that were sufficiently fast, could carry enough fuel in theirbunkers fortransatlantic crossings, and, most importantly, were in port or not far at sea.[22][23] AfterMontanan discharged her last load of cargo, she was officially handed over to the Army on 29 May.[6]
Before troop transportation began, all of the ships were hastily refitted. Of the fourteen ships, four, includingMontanan andDakotan, were designated to carry animals and other cargo; the other ten were designated to carry troops. Ramps and stalls were built on the four ships chosen to carry livestock. Gun platforms were installed on each ship before docking at theBrooklyn Navy Yard, where the guns were put in place.[24][Note 4] All the ships were crewed by merchant officers and sailors but carried twoUnited States Navy officers, Navy gun crews,quartermasters,signalmen, andwireless operators. The senior Navy officer on board would take control if a ship came under attack.[25]
The American convoy carrying the first units of theAmerican Expeditionary Force was separated into four groups;[Note 5]Montanan was in the fourth group with her sister shipDakotan, Army transportsEl Occidente andEdward Luckenbach, and escorts consisting ofcruiserSt. Louis, U.S. Navy transportHancock, anddestroyersShaw,Ammen, andFlusser.[26]Montanan departed with her group on the morning of 17 June forBrest, France, steaming at an 11-knot (20 km/h; 13 mph) pace.[27] A thwarted submarine attack on the first convoy group,[28] and reports of heavy submarine activity off of Brest, resulted in a change in the convoy's destination toSaint-Nazaire[29] where the convoy arrived 2 July.[30]
Montanan departed Saint-Nazaire on 14 July in the company of her convoy matesEl Occidente,Dakotan, andEdward Luckenbach. Joining the return trip were Army transportMomus, Navy armedcollierCyclops, NavyoilerKanawha, and cruiserSeattle, theflagship ofRear AdmiralAlbert Gleaves, the head of the Navy'sCruiser and Transport Force.[31]
Sources do not revealMontanan's movements over the next months, but on 1 August 1918,Montanan sailed in Convoy HB 8 with U.S. Navy cargo shipsWest Alsek,West Bridge, and 13 others for France.[32][33] Escorted by thearmed yachtNoma, destroyersBurrows andSmith, and French cruiserMarseillaise,[33][34] the convoy was 500 nmi (900 km; 600 mi) west of its destination ofLe Verdon-sur-Mer by the end of the day on 15 August.[5][32] At sundown, shortly before 18:00, the German submarineU-90 launched threetorpedoes atMontanan.[33][35][Note 6] The first two, spotted by lookouts aboardMontanan, missed, but a third, unseen torpedo struckMontanan amidships on her port side, opening a large hole.Montanan began to settle and was abandoned quickly. Two ofMontanan'sNaval Armed Guardsmen drowned when their lifeboat capsized in the heavy seas;[35] three of her civilian crewmen also died in the attack.Montanan's 81 survivors were rescued by convoy escortNoma.[7][9]
Shortly afterMontanan was attacked,West Bridge, which had previously developed engine trouble and was drifting, was torpedoed byU-107 and abandoned. By the morning of 16 August bothMontanan andWest Bridge, with decks awash, were still afloat some 4 nmi (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) apart.[33]Montanan's captain and several officers reboarded the ship the next morning for an attempt to get her under tow, but despite their efforts, the ship sank later that morning.[7][36][Note 7]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)46°47′N13°42′W / 46.783°N 13.700°W /46.783; -13.700
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in August 1918 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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