The Design 1013 ship (full name Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1013), also known as the Robert Dollar type, was a

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

- hulled

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

design approved for mass production by the United States Shipping Boards Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFT) in World War I. Like many of the early designs approved by the EFT, the Design 1013 did not originate with the EFT itself but was based on an existing cargo ship design, in this case one developed by the

Skinner & Eddy Corporation The Skinner & Eddy Corporation, commonly known as Skinner & Eddy, was a Seattle, Washington-based shipbuilding corporation that existed from 1916 to 1923. The yard is notable for completing more ships for the United States war effort during Worl ...

of Seattle, Washington. Some of the vessels were oil-fired and others coal-fired. They were produced by a variety of shipyards on the

west coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

of the United States. Most of them were given names starting with the word ''West'' (or in some cases, ''Western''), indicating their west coast origins.McKellar.General Cargo Ships Built in Pacific Coast Shipyards
, ''shipbuildinghistory.com''. A total of 111 of the type were completed—106 for the EFT and an additional five completed later for private contractors. All of them entered service between 1918 and 1920, with the majority probably being completed in 1919. About 37 of the completed ships were acquired by the U.S. Navy either during or shortly after the war for service as auxiliaries, but most of these were quickly decommissioned in 1919 after only a few months' service.

Lend-Lease

As per the

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

Agreement, several ships were purchased by the USSR in 1942–1945, as the USSR needed ships for its merchant fleet during World War II and in the first years after the war. In total, the Soviet Union purchased 25 ships of design 1013. All purchased ships of that design were counted as

Belorussia-class cargo ships Belorussia-class cargo ships were a Soviet Union class of 25 cargo ships which were built on the West Coast of the United States as per design 1013 and as per Lend-Lease Agreement purchased by USSR in 1942–1945 years, during World War II, as th ...

by the Soviet Union and sometimes referred to as West-class cargo ships due to their manufacture on the West Coast of the US. All purchased ships were renamed. Транспорты >> Тип "Белоруссия" (пр. 1013) - 25 единиц.
/ref> Soviet Merchant Marine. Lend Lease Ships
/ref>

References

Bibliography

*McKellar, Norman L. (September–October 1962)
"Steel Shipbuilding under the U.S. Shipping Board, 1917–1921 - Design 1013"
''The Belgian Shiplover'', No. 89, September–October 1962, as reproduced at ''shipscribe.com''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Design 1013 Ship Design 1013 ships Design 1013 ships Standard ship types of the United States