.jpg) The ship as USATGeneral W. C. Gorgas | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name |
|
| Namesake | |
| Owner |
|
| Operator |
|
| Port of registry |
|
| Route | 1903: Hamburg –Brazil |
| Builder | AG "Neptun",Rostock |
| Yard number | 207 |
| Launched | 28 September 1902 |
| Completed | 6 July 1903 |
| Commissioned | into US Navy, 8 March 1919 |
| Decommissioned | from US Navy, 28 July 1919 |
| Maiden voyage | July 1903 |
| Refit | 1919 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | scrapped 1958 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Prinz-classcargo liner |
| Tonnage | 4,689 GRT, 2,942 NRT |
| Displacement | 8,000 tons |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 45.3 ft (13.8 m) |
| Draft | 24 ft4+3⁄4 in (7.436 m) |
| Depth | 26.8 ft (8.2 m) |
| Decks | 2 |
| Installed power | 318NHP |
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 12 knots (22 km/h) |
| Capacity | 736 passengers |
| Troops | 1,200 |
| Complement | 154 |
USSGeneral W. C. Gorgas (ID-1365) was acargo liner that was launched inGermany in 1902 asPrinz Sigismund for theHamburg America Line. In 1917 the USA seized her and renamed herGeneral W. C. Gorgas. In 1945 she was transferred to theSoviet Union, which renamed herMikhail Lomonosov. She was scrapped in March 1958.
ThePanama Railway Company operated the ship from 1917, and owned her by 1920. In 1919 she spent a few months in theUnited States Navy, repatriating troops fromFrance to the USA. In 1926Libby, McNeill & Libby bought her for use in thePacific. She was aUnited States Army troopship from 1941 until 1945, when she was transferred to the USSR.
Between 1901 and 1903 HAPAG had seven new cargo liners built, each named after a prince of theHouse of Hohenzollern. Five of them were single-screw ships.Reiherstieg Schiffswerfte & Maschinenfabrik in Hamburg builtPrinz Eitel Friedrich andPrinz Waldemar.Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft inFlensburg builtPrinz August Wilhelm andPrinz Joachim.Prinz Sigismund was unique, being the only member of theclass built byAG "Neptun" inRostock.[1][2]
At the same time,Bremer Vulkan Schiffbau & Machinenfabrik inBremen-Vegesack builtPrinz Adalbert andPrinz Oskar. These were about 32 feet (10 m) longer and 4 feet (1.2 m) broader than the other five, and were twin-screw ships.[3] They thus form either a sub-class or a separate class.
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Prinz Sigismund was named afterPrince Sigismund of Prussia. "Neptun" built her as yard number 207, and launched her on 28 September 1902. In February 1903 she was damaged by fire, which delayed her completion until 6 July 1903.[4] Her lengths were 386 ft (118 m)overall and 370.2 ft (112.8 m) registered. Herbeam was 45.3 ft (13.8 m), her depth was 26.8 ft (8.2 m), and herdraft was24 ft5+3⁄4 in (7.461 m). Hertonnages were 4,689 GRT, 2,942 NRT, and 8,000 tonsdisplacement. As built, she had capacity for 736 passengers.[1][5][6][7]
Her single screw was driven by aquadruple-expansion engine that was rated at 318NHP[1] and gave her a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h).[6]
HAPAGregisteredPrinz Sigismund atHamburg. Hercode letters were RMVQ. By 1910 she was equipped withwireless telegraphy.[8] By 1913 hercall sign was DSG.[9] Her maiden voyage was from Hamburg toBrazil.[4]
In 1901 HAPAG had taken over the Atlas Line,[10] and re-branded it the "Atlas Service". It ran round-trip voyages fromPort of New York and New Jersey to theCaribbean. By January 1908Prinz Sigismund was on the Atlas service.[11]
For the season from September 1912 to January 1913 HAPAG advertisedPrinz Sigismund and her sister shipPrinz Eitel Friedrich making round trips from New York to Fortune Island (nowLong Cay),Montego Bay,Kingston,Colón, and PuertoLimón.[12] In 1913Prinz Sigismund also made Caribbean trips in the summer.[13] In December 1913Prinz Sigismund went toHaiti.[14]
When theFirst World War began in August 1914, Germany ordered its merchant ships to take refuge in the nearestneutral port.Prinz Sigismund stayed in Colón inPanama. On 3 February 1917 the US government seized German andAustro-Hungarian ships, both in US ports, and in ports overseas that it controlled. US authorities in Colón seizedPrinz Sigismund and three other HAPAG ships.[15]
On 6 April 1917 the USA declared war on Germany. TheUnited States Shipping Board (USSB) assumed ownership ofPrinz Sigismund and appointed thePanama Canal Railway tomanage her. She was renamed afterWilliam C. Gorgas, theUnited States Army Medical Corps General who directed the sanitation measures to control mosquitoes, and mosquito-borne diseases, to enable the building of thePanama Canal. She was registered in New York. Her USofficial number was 215110 and her code letters were LHDV.[16] Under Panama Railway management she took US troops and cargo to Europe.[7]
In 1919General W. C. Gorgas was converted into a troopship to repatriate US troops from Europe. On 8 March she was commissioned into the US Navy, with theNaval Registry Identification Number ID-1365 and call sign GJDS.[17] She was assigned to theCruiser and Transport Force. On 25 April 1919 she left New York forBordeaux, France, where she loaded cargo and embarked US troops. She reachedPhiladelphia on 2 June 1919. On 5 June she left Philadelphia on her second voyage to Bordeaux. This time she brought troops toNewport News, Virginia, where she arrived on 4 July. In her two Navy voyages she repatriated a total of 2,063 troops. On 28 July she was decommissioned from the Navy and returned to the USSB.[7]
By 1920 the Panama Railway had boughtGeneral W. C. Gorgas from the USSB.[18] In 1926 Libby, McNeill & Libby bought her and registered her inSan Francisco.[5] Libby already owned one of her sister ships, formerlyPrinz Eitel Friedrich, now renamedOtsego.[3] By 1934 her call sign was WQCZ, and this had superseded her code letters.[19]
In November 1941, before theAttack on Pearl Harbor, theUnited States Department of WarcharteredGeneral W. C. Gorgas and had her converted into a US Army troopship. She carried troops and supplies betweenSeattle andAlaska until January 1945, when she was returned to theWar Shipping Administration at Seattle.[7]
In 1945 the ship was transferred to the USSR, who renamed her after the 18th-century polymathMikhail Lomonosov. She was scrapped in the USSR in March 1958.[20]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
