 SSWest Humhaw shortly after launch on 28 August 1918 and before the completion of her superstructure. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | West Humhaw |
| Operator | |
| Builder | Skinner & Eddy |
| Yard number | 30 (USSB #1183) |
| Laid down | 27 June 1918 |
| Launched | 28 August 1918 |
| Acquired | 14 September 1918 |
| Commissioned | 16 September 1918–27 January 1919 |
| In service | 16 September 1918–8 November 1942 |
| Fate | Torpedoed and sunk, 8 November 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Design 1013cargo ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | 12,225 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 × Curtis gearedturbine |
| Propulsion | Single screw |
| Speed | 11.5 kn (21.3 km/h) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
SSWest Humhaw was asteel–hulledcargo ship built in 1918 as part of theUnited States Shipping Board's emergency World War I shipbuilding program.
The ship was delivered just weeks before the end of the war and immediately commissioned into theU.S. Navy asUSSWest Humhaw (ID-3718), but completed only one relief mission on the Navy's behalf before decommissioning in January 1919.West Humhaw subsequently operated as amerchant ship, firstly intransatlantic service and later on the trade routes between the U.S. and Africa.
With the outbreak of World War II,West Humhaw participated in a small number ofAllied convoys before being sunk byU-161 offTakoradi,Ghana on 8 November 1942.
West Humhaw was built inSeattle, Washington in 1918 at the No. 1 Plant of theSkinner & Eddy Corporation—the 15th in a series of 24steel–hulledDesign 1013cargo ships built by Skinner & Eddy for the USSB's emergency wartime shipbuilding program.[1] The ship was laid down on 27 June, launched just 51 working (62 calendar) days later on 28 August, and completed on 14 September—a total time under construction of 64 working (79 calendar) days,[2] makingWest Humhaw one of the fastest-built ships of the war.[3]
West Humhaw had a designdeadweight tonnage of 8,800 tons andgross register tonnage of 5,600. The ship had an overall length of 423 feet 9 inches, a beam of 54 feet and a draft of 24 feet 2 inches.[4] She was powered by a Curtis gearedturbine[5] driving a single screw propeller, delivering a service speed of 11.5knots.[4] For wartime service,West Humhaw was armed with one5"/51 caliber and one3"/50 caliber gun.[5]
Immediately on completion,West Humhaw was turned over to the U.S. Navy on 13 September,[6] and commissioned asUSSWest Humhaw (ID-3718) at thePuget Sound Navy Yard on 16 September for operation with theNaval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS).[4]
Loading a full cargo offlour for delivery to Europe,West Humhaw departed Seattle on 5 October, bound for theeast coast of the United States, transiting thePanama Canal and arriving at New York on the 31st. On 12 November—the day afterArmistice Day—West Humhaw departed forLa Pallice, France, arriving two weeks later. From La Pallice, the ship sailed on toBordeaux, where she unloaded her cargo and departed once more for New York on 21 December, arriving on 12 January 1919.[4]
On 27 January, a few days after her return to the U.S.,West Humhaw was decommissioned, struck from theNavy List, and returned the same day to the United States Shipping Board.[4]
Following her decommissioning,West Humhaw was quickly placed into merchant service by the USSB asSSWest Humhaw. The vessel's movements in the interwar period are poorly documented, but it appears that the ship was initially placed intotransatlantic service. TheEllis Island ship database records thatWest Humhaw made a number of voyages from 1919 through the early 1920s from various ports in Europe, such asDanzig, Poland;Hamburg, Germany;Plymouth and London, England; andPauillac, France, to New York.[7]
West Humhaw was eventually turned over to theAmerican-West African Line for operation between the U.S. and Africa. The date of the turnover is not available, but by 1924West Humhaw was already operating between New York and African destinations such asNigeria,Liberia, theCape Verde andCanary Islands, andCôte d'Ivoire.[7] After her turnover to the American-West African Line, the ship would remain under the control of this company for the rest of her career.[4]
Following the outbreak of World War II,West Humhaw like most other U.S. merchant ships was fitted with some defensive armament, which inWest Humhaw's case included a 4-inch gun, two 20mmantiaircraft guns, and two .30 calibermachine guns. To man the weapons, a group of 16 U.S. Navyarmed guards was provided.[8]
With America's entry into the war in December 1941,West Humhaw soon found herself part of the Allied convoy system. In July–August 1942,West Humhaw participated in convoys sailing fromTrinidad to New York viaKey West,Florida. In September, the ship returned in convoy toTrinidad viaGuantanamo Bay,Cuba. From this point the ship appears to have proceeded independently toFreetown,Sierra Leone, on her way toLagos, Nigeria.[9]
On her way to Freetown,West Humhaw came across a lifeboat on 13 October, containing 18 survivors from another ship of the American-West African Line,[10]John Carter Rose, which had been sunk byU-201 about a week earlier. Eight of the ship's crew had been killed in the attack.West Humhaw rescued the men and took them on to Freetown. The remaining survivors fromJohn Carter Rose were picked up by theArgentiniantankerSanta Cruz and taken toRecife, Brazil.[11][12]
On 4 November 1942,West Humhaw, laden with a cargo of 2000 tons of lubricating oil and 3,915 tons of general cargo, including cable drums and trucks as deck cargo, departed Freetown with a small escorted convoy of three ships, bound forTakoradi,Ghana. At 23:47 hours on 8 November, the convoy was attacked byU-161.[13]U-161 fired four torpedoes, one of which hit and damaged the merchant shipBenalder and another of which struckWest Humhaw. Once it became clear the vessel could not be saved,West Humhaw's crew abandoned ship, which sank by the bows in about thirty minutes. Fortunately, there were no deaths in the attack, and the survivors were rescued after about 45 minutes by theMotor Launch HMSML-281, which transferred them to Takoradi.[4][8]
