''Algonquin'' was an ocean liner built in 1926 for the
Clyde-Mallory Line
Agwilines Inc was a passenger and cargo shipping company of New York City. Agwilines is short for Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Steamship Inc.
AGWI Lines group operated four main lines in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s:
*Ward Line
*Clyde line
* Mall ...
. She was involved in a collision in 1929 and rescued survivors from another in 1935. Repaired after a fire in 1940, she was requisitioned for use as a troopship and later a hospital ship. She served until 1946 when she was laid up, finally being scrapped in 1957.
History
''Algonquin'' was built by
Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the largest industrial employer in Virginia, and sole designer, builder and refueler of United States Navy aircraft carriers and one of two providers of U.S. Navy ...
,
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...
. She was yard number 317 and was launched on 9 September 1926 and completed in December that year.
''Algonquin'' was built for the Clyde Mallory Line and her port of registry was New York.
[
On 18 December 1929, ''Algonquin'' was in collision with in the ]Ambrose Channel
Ambrose Channel is the only shipping channel in and out of the Port of New York and New Jersey. The channel is considered to be part of Lower New York Bay and is located several miles off the coasts of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Breezy Point, ...
, off New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in thick fog. ''Fort Victoria'' was hit on the port side by the bows of ''Algonquin'', which was on a voyage from Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
to New York. Both ships issued distress calls and all on board ''Fort Victoria'' were rescued before that ship sank.
On 24 January 1935, the SS ''Mohawk'' was involved in a collision with the SS ''Talisman'' after her automatic steering gear failed. ''Mohawk'' sank within an hour. ''Algonquin'' and rescued 107 survivors between them but 46 people were killed.
In July 1940, ''Algonquin'' caught fire and sank while docked at New York. The ship was salvaged and repaired, then transferred to the Puerto Rico Line on return to service in 1941. In January 1942, she was requisitioned and put into service as a troopship
A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...
. Her port of registry was changed to Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
. In July 1943, ''Algonquin'' was requisitioned by the United States Army Transport Service
The United States Army Transport Service (ATS) was established as a sea-going transport service that was independent of the Navy Department. ATS operated army transport ships for both troop transport and cargo service between United States ports ...
. She was refitted by the Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company
The Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company (ADDSCO) located in Mobile, Alabama, was one of the largest marine production facilities in the United States of America during the 20th century. It began operation in 1917, and expanded dramaticall ...
, Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
and entered service at the end in January 1944. Her maiden voyage as a hospital ship was from to Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
, then Oran
Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
, Algeria
)
, image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Algiers
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, relig ...
and Bizerte
Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the cap ...
, Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
ending in Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. On her return to Charleston, she was sent to Merrill-Stevens Drydock & Repair Company, Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
for repairs, spending most of April there.
In May 1944, ''Algonquin'' made another voyage to Gibraltar and Bizerte, returning at the end of the month. The following month, the trip was repeated, with an additional call at Naples. In July and August, ''Algonquin'' was operating between Bizerte and Naples. On 15 August, she was one of twelve hospital ships supporting Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15August 1944. Despite initially designed to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord, th ...
, the Allied invasion of southern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. In mid-September ''Algonquin'' returned to Charleston, then departed for Oran on 22 September. She then spent some time operating between Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
, Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, Marseilles
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, France, Naples and Oran, returning to Charleston on 22 February 1945. Between May and September, ''Algonquin'' made four return trips between the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, with one arrival in New York harbor on 2 July.[Associated Press, "Two Hospital Ships Arrive in New York", ''The San Bernardino Daily Sun'', San Bernardino, California, Tuesday 3 July 1945, Volume 51, page 2.] Her return voyage in September was to her new port of registry, New York. Two more return trips to Marseilles and Naples were made and then ''Algonquin'' was drydocked in December for conversion to trooping duties again. On completion of the work in January 1946, she was employed to repatriate American troops and Italian war brides from Europe.[
''Algonquin'' was withdrawn from service in June 1946 and laid up in the ]James River
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
.[ She was scrapped in 1957 at ]Baltimore, Ohio
Baltimore is a village in Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,966 at the 2010 census.
History
Baltimore was originally called New Market, and under the latter name was laid out in 1824. A post office called Baltimore has ...
, arriving on 10 January.[
]
Description
''Algonquin'' was a ocean liner. She was long, with a beam of and a draught of . She was propelled by two steam turbines which drove a single propeller through single reduction gearing.[ The twin turbines could propel her at .][
]
Official Numbers and Code Letters
Official Numbers were a forerunner to IMO Numbers
IMO or Imo may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Irish Medical Organisation, the main organization for doctors in the Republic of Ireland
* Intelligent Medical Objects, a privately held company specializing in medical vocabularies
* Isomaltooligosa ...
. ''Algonquin'' had the US Official Number 226126 and the Code Letters
Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids and today also. Later, with the i ...
MGJF. In 1934, her Code Letters were changed to KGDL.
References
External links
Photo of SS ''Algonquin''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Algonquin
1926 ships
Ocean liners
Steamships of the United States
Merchant ships of the United States
Maritime incidents in 1929
Maritime incidents in 1935
Troop ships
Hospital ships of the United States Army
Transport ships of the United States Army