The ''Arizona'' was a record breaking British passenger liner that was the first of the
Guion Line
The Liverpool and Great Western Steamship Company, known commonly as the Guion Line, was a British passenger service that operated the Liverpool-Queenstown-New York route from 1866 to 1894. While incorporated in Great Britain, 52% of the company ...
's Atlantic Greyhounds on the Liverpool-Queenstown-New York route.
One nautical historian called ''Arizona'' "a souped up transatlantic hot rod."
Entering service in 1879, she was the prototype for Atlantic express liners until the
Inman Line
The Inman Line was one of the three largest 19th-century British passenger shipping companies on the North Atlantic, along with the White Star Line and Cunard Line. Founded in 1850, it was absorbed in 1893 into American Line. The firm's formal ...
introduced its twin screw ''City of New York'' in 1889. The ''Arizona'' type liner is generally considered as unsuccessful because too much was sacrificed for speed.
Laid up in 1894 when Guion stopped sailings, ''Arizona'' was sold four years later and briefly employed in the Pacific until she was acquired by the US Government for service in the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
. As the U.S. Navy's
''Hancock'' she continued trooping through W.W.I. and was finally scrapped in 1926.
Development and design
Starting in 1866, the Guion Line was successful in the Liverpool-Queenstown-New York steerage trade. In 1875, Guion began commissioning express liners to compete for first class business, but its first two ships were total failures.
William Pearce, the controlling partner of the
John Elder shipyard, was convinced that a crack steamer that carried only passengers and light freight could be profitable because she would attract more passengers and spend less time in port.
When Cunard rejected his proposal, Pearce offered his idea to the Guion line at a bargain price of £140,000 at a time when express liners typically cost £200,000.
He also agreed to share the initial costs. Stephen Guion, managing director of the line, personally owned the new vessel.
As completed, ''Arizona'' appeared similar to
White Star's ''Germanic'', the current holder of the
Blue Riband
The Blue Riband () is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest average speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until after 1910. T ...
, but with greater power.
Her engines produced 6,400 indicated horsepower, 1,400 more than ''Germanic''.
''Arizona's'' six double-ended boilers and 39 furnaces consumed 135 tons of coal per day, considerably more than her White Star rival. She also had less room for cargo and steerage passengers.
Because of her high power, ''Arizona'' was an uncomfortable ship.
However, publicity at the time tried to hide this by describing the luxury of her interior. Her saloon "contained six long tables, with revolving chairs. A large dome-like aperture, with a skylight at the top, rose from the centre of the saloon, and was crossed by beams, supported by small pillars of polished wood, upon which were placed plants and flowers. The saloon extended the entire width of the vessel, and contained a fine piano at the forward end, and a library at the after end. The state-rooms were elegantly upholstered, and contained every facility for comfort. Pneumatic bells connected all the state-rooms with the steward's pantry, which was situated just aft the main saloon. A richly-furnished ladies' boudoir was on the promenade deck, just aft of the forward wheel-house."
Service history
Shortly after her maiden voyage on 31 May 1879, ''Arizona'' won the eastbound record for a Sandy Hook-Queenstown run of seven days, eight hours, 11 minutes (15.96 knots).
However, despite her greater power and coal consumption, she failed to take the westbound ''"Blue Riband"'' record from ''Germanic''.
On 7 November 1879, ''Arizona'' suffered a collision with an iceberg en route to Liverpool.
Stephen Guion was on board with two of his nieces.
It was found that the ship was holding an insufficient watch in the bow, with most of the deck crew positioned on or around the bridge. Fortunately, while she was going at full speed, the ship's top speed was only about 15 knots, so the damage was not threatening. As such, she remained afloat and was able to proceed to
St. John's where she underwent temporary repairs before returning to Scotland.
Guion advertised this near disaster as proof of ''Arizona's'' strength.
![USS Hancock AP-3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/USS_Hancock_AP-3.jpg)
While uncomfortable, ''Arizona'' proved popular with American passengers because the Guion Line was majority owned by Americans.
Stephen Guion died in December 1885,
and the line was reorganized as a public stock corporation to settle the estate.
The company did not invest in new units and by 1894 when Guion stopped sailings, ''Arizona'' and her running mate,
''Alaska'' of 1881 were hopelessly outpaced by the latest twin-screw liners from Cunard, White Star and Inman.
It was on the ''Arizona'' that
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
first sailed to America, arriving in New York on 2 January 1882. On 23 October 1882 he welcomed his friend
Lillie Langtry
Emilie Charlotte, Lady de Bathe (née Le Breton, formerly Langtry; 13 October 1853 – 12 February 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer.
Born on the isl ...
on her arrival in New York on the ''Arizona''. On 13 January 1887, a
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
collided with ''Arizona'' in the
River Mersey
The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...
and sank. Her crew were rescued by ''Arizona''.
On 26 July 1887, she rescued the eight crew of the British
brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...
''Arthur'', which foundered in the Atlantic Ocean.
On 29 May 1888, she rescued the passengers and crew of the British
barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...
''Henry James'', which had been wrecked on a reef off
Palmyra Island
Palmyra Atoll (), also referred to as Palmyra Island, is one of the Northern Line Islands (southeast of Kingman Reef and north of Kiribati). It is located almost due south of the Hawaiian Islands, roughly one-third of the way between Hawaii a ...
on 16 April whilst on a voyage from
Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...
to
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
, United States.
''Arizona'' was laid up in Scotland until 1897 when she was sold to a British flagged San Francisco-China service. She was extensively rebuilt and her two funnels were replaced with one enormous funnel that dominated her profile. After a few Pacific voyages, ''Arizona'' was sold to the
War Department War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* Dep ...
and used designated U.S.Army Transport (USAT) ''Arizona''.
Spanish–American War service
In 1898, USAT ''Arizona'' was refitted and new triple expansion steam engines replaced her old compound engines in preparation for the San Francisco to China route. On 16 July 1898 ''Arizona'' was purchased from the
Northern Pacific Railway Company
The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...
by the U.S. Army for $600,000.
USAT ''Arizona'' transported the following
United States Volunteers
United States Volunteers also known as U.S. Volunteers, U.S. Volunteer Army, or other variations of these, were military volunteers called upon during wartime to assist the United States Army but who were separate from both the Regular Army and the ...
(USV) and
Regular Army
A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...
units from Honolulu,
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...
to Manila, Philippines as part of the 5th (US) Philippine Expeditionary Force in the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
:
* 1st Colorado (National Guard) Infantry Regiment, USV (1st Battalion, 2nd Battalion and Company C).
* 1st Nebraska (National Guard) Infantry Regiment, USV (part).
* 10th Pennsylvania (National Guard) Infantry Regiment, USV (part).
* 18th U.S. Infantry, Companies I, K, L, M.
On January 24, 1902, the ship transported part it the 22nd Infantry home to the States from the
Philippine–American War
The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...
and
Moro Rebellion
The Moro Rebellion (1899–1913) was an armed conflict between the Moro people and the United States military during the Philippine–American War.
The word "Moro" – the Spanish word for "Moor" – is a term for Muslim people who li ...
, arriving in San Francisco on February 25. It sailed with the
USAT Rosecrans.
In 1902, she was acquired by the
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
for use as a receiving ship at the
Brooklyn Navy Yard
The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a semicircular bend ...
and commissioned as
USS ''Hancock''. She served as a troopship in the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and continued in various duties until she was sold for scrapping in May 1926.
See also
*
More Ships Built in Govan
References
External links
The Ships List(Photo of U.S. Army Transport ''Hancock''.)
Former Transatlantic Liner ''Arizona'' Now on Pacific Coast(brief history, description of rebuild, photos)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arizona
1879 ships
Ships built on the River Clyde
Ships built in Govan
Spanish–American War auxiliary ships of the United States
Victorian-era passenger ships of the United Kingdom
Victorian-era merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Ship collisions with icebergs
Maritime incidents in November 1879
Maritime incidents in January 1887