TheType C3 ship were the third type of cargo ship designed by theUnited States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) in the late 1930s. As it had done with theType C1 ships andType C2 ships, MARCOM circulated preliminary plans for comment. The design presented was not specific to any service ortrade route, but was a general purpose ship that could be modified for specific uses. A total of 162 C3 ships were built from 1939 to 1946, with an additional 75 ships built with C3 hulls and engines, but not built as cargo ships.[1]
The C3 was larger and faster than the C1 and C2 contemporaries, measuring 492 feet (150 m) from stem to stern (vs. 459 feet (140 m) for the C2), and designed to make 16.5knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) (vs. 15.5 kn (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph) for the C2). Like the C2, it had five cargo holds.
The originalC3 type, powered by steam turbines, were built atFederal,Ingalls andMoore; 12 ships were built.
Four moreC3 type, powered by diesel engines, were built atSun at the request of theUnited States Maritime Commission to compare similar vessels powered by steam turbines, but would be operated by theMoore-McCormack Lines. The propulsion system was four 7-cylinder SCSA diesel engines (made byBusch-Sulzer Bros Diesel Engine Co.), rated at 8,500 bhp (6,300 kW) total, driving a single screw through electro-magnetic couplings and single reduction gearing. DuringWorld War II, all four ships were acquired by the US Navy, with one ship later given to theRoyal Navy.
C3-E — 8 vessels were built atBethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard. TheC3-E type was based on a private design of theAmerican Export Line, using the C3 hull but had a different stern and was equipped with loading gear for heavy cargo.
Six ships ofC3 P&C type and one ship of theC3-A P&C type, intended for commercial service withAmerican President Lines, were laid down atNewport News Shipbuilding between October 1939 and December 1940. TheMaritime Commission acquired them all for military service before they were completed, but only five were initially handed to the Navy and designatedPresident Jackson-class transports with "AP" hull numbers. These five vessels were all later converted into attack transports and correspondingly reclassified with "APA" hull numbers.
Sun Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding
C3-S-A1
C3-S-A2
C3-S-A3
C3-S-A4 — 6 vessels were built to a modified design (based on theC3-S-A2 type) for service with theAmerican President Lines.
C3-S-BH1 — 6 vessels were built forLykes Lines. They were based on the basic C3 design, but incorporated lessons learned during wartime, as well as slight structural modifications and major internal changes.
C3-S-BH2 — 6 vessels (similar to theC3-S-BH1 type) were built specifically for American South African Line (later known asFarrell Lines).
C3-S1-BR1 — Three ships (also called the “Del” ships) were combined passenger-cargo cruise ships built forDelta Lines. Designed by naval architectGeorge G. Sharp of New York, they were based on the C3 hull with a custom design. They were built at Ingalls Shipyard inPascagoula, Mississippi at $7,000,000 each and completed in 1946 and 1947 with new commercialradar. Delta Line (Mississippi) had two departures per month from Gulf of Mexico ports to theCaribbean and South America. Passenger cruise service ended in 1967 and the ships were converted to cargo. In 1975 the three were scrapped in Indonesia.[3][4]
Express a C3-E, was torpedoed and sank off the coast ofMadagascar on 30 June 1942.
Almeria Lykes a C3, renamedEmpire Condor was torpedoed and sank off coast ofTunisia on 13 August 1942.
Rio Hudson a C3-P&C, rebuilt and converted toAvenger-class escort carrier. Was renamedHMS Avenger was torpedoed and sank nearGibraltar on 15 November 1942.
Rio de Janeiro a C3-P&C,Avenger-class escort carrier, renamedHMS Dasher, exploded and sank in theLower Clyde inScotland in 1943.
The SSJacob Luckenbach, originallySea Robbin, sank on 14 July 1953 after a collision off San Francisco in fog with another C3 ship, the SSHawaiian Pilot (originallyUSS Burleigh (APA-95)). Both ships were built at Ingalls and were only five hull numbers apart. The wreck was determined in 2002 to be a source of oil pollution and about 85,000 gallons of oil were removed.[7]
TheUSNSCard wasattacked on 2 May 1964, while moored dockside in Saigon, a North Vietnamese frogman, Lam Son Nao, planted an explosive charge that blew a hole in the hull, killing five crewmen.
Sawyer, L.A.; Mitchell, W.H. (1981).From America to United States: The History of the Long-range Merchant Shipbuilding Programme of the United States Maritime Commission. London: World Ship Society.
"C3 Cargo Ships".shipbuildinghistory.com. 12 April 2008. Retrieved12 April 2009.
Lane, Frederic C. (2001).Ships for Victory: A History of Shipbuilding under the U.S. Maritime Commission in World War II. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.ISBN978-0-8018-6752-1.
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