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SS Mongolia (1903)

November 14, 2023

For other ships with the same name, see SS Mongolia.

SS Mongolia was a 13,369-ton passenger-and-cargo liner originally built for Pacific Mail Steamship Company in 1904. She later sailed as USS Mongolia (ID-1615) for the U.S. Navy, as SS President Fillmore for the Dollar Line and as SS Panamanian for Cia Transatlantica Centroamericano.

SS Mongolia by Fred Pansing
History
United States
Ordered18 December 1900
BuilderNew York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden
Yard number5
Laid down7 June 1902
Launched25 July 1903
CompletedJanuary 1904
CommissionedMay 1918
DecommissionedSeptember 1919
Maiden voyage7 May 1904
In service1903–1946
Renamed
  • President Fillmore (1929),
  • Panamanian (1940)
FateScrapped 1946 (Shanghai, China)
General characteristics
Tonnage13,369 gross register tons[2]
Displacement26,500 tons[1]
Length615 ft 8 in (187.66 m)[2]
Beam65 ft 0 in (19.81 m)[3]
Draft33 ft 6 in (10.21 m)[3]
PropulsionScotch boilers, steam quadruple expansion engines (10,000 shaft HP at 80 RPM); twin screws[1]
Speed16 knots[5]
Capacity
  • 1,712 passengers (as SS Mongolia)[5]
  • 4,800 troops (as USS Mongolia)[1]
Crew130[4]
Armament(March 1917 - September 1919) 3 × 6"/40 caliber guns[1] with Navy gun crews

History edit

Originally laid down as Minnelora on 7 June 1902 in Shipway J at New York Shipbuilding in Camden, New Jersey for the Atlantic Transport Line, she was purchased by E. H. Harriman's Pacific Mail Steamship Co. for its San Francisco-Far East service, and renamed Mongolia.[1][6][7] The 616-foot vessel was contract #5 for the young company, and the first passenger-cargo liner built by the firm.[8] She was launched on 25 July 1903 and christened by Miss Lucy Bell Kennedy of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[9] A sister ship, Manchuria, was ordered at the same time and delivered three months after Mongolia. Both ships were used on the trans-Pacific service (Hong Kong, Hawaii, San Francisco) from 1904 to 1915.[10] The accommodations of both ships reflected the importance of Chinese emigration to shipping lines of that era: 350 first-class, 68 second-class, and 1,300 steerage.

 
Pacific Mail Steamship Company advertisement in California Expositions brochure, 1915

In early August 1915, Pacific Mail announced it could not affordably meet the language clause of the Seamen's Act in the Far East and intended to cease commercial shipping operations there.[11] Later that month, the company sold five of its liners, including Mongolia, to Atlantic Transport Line, for whom she plied the New York-London route.[12]

In March 1917, following the German declaration of a submarine blockade around Britain, Mongolia was chartered as an Army transport[13] and received a self-defense armament of three 6-inch (150 mm) deck guns manned by U.S. Navy gun crews. One month later, Mongolia became the first American vessel to test the blockade, using those guns to drive off (and possibly sink) a U-boat seven miles southeast of Beachy Head, in the English Channel. That was the first armed encounter for an American vessel after the US's entry to World War I.[3][4] For the next year, Mongolia ferried American troops and supplies to Europe. Two American nurses, Clara Ayres and Helen Burnett Wood, were accidentally killed during one of these crossings, and another was wounded. During the afternoon of 20 May 1917, the nurses were on the deck of the Mongolia, observing the firing of the aft 6-inch gun, when they were struck by fragments of the shell's brass casing.[13][14]

On 27 April 1918, the US Navy requisitioned the vessel, reconfigured her for greater troop capacity, and commissioned her on 8 May as USS Mongolia (ID-1615). In all, she completed twelve turnarounds at an average duration of 34 days and transporting over 33,000 passengers, before being decommissioned on 11 September 1919.[3][5]

Returned to civilian service, Mongolia sailed the New York-Hamburg route under charter to the American Line. She was purchased in 1923 by the Panama Pacific Line and placed into service on its New York-San Francisco route (via the Panama Canal). In 1929, Dollar Steamship Lines acquired Mongolia and her sister ship Manchuria for its east-to-west round-the-world service, renaming them President Fillmore and President Johnson, respectively.[15]

The former Mongolia sailed for only two years with the Dollar Line. With the onset of the Great Depression, she was laid up in New York, and when the Dollar Line collapsed in 1938 ownership passed to the newly created American President Lines. She never sailed under the APL pennant,[16] however, and was sold in 1940 to Cia Transatlantica Centroamericana of Panama, which renamed her Panamanian.[6] She was scrapped in Shanghai, China, 20 May 1946.[3]

One of the deck guns from the Mongolia's World War I service, the Mark 4 6 inch, 40 Caliber Gun No. 155, is preserved in Gosport Park outside the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia.[citation needed]

References edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mongolia (ship, 1904).

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

  1. ^ a b c d e Silverstone, Paul (2013). The New Navy, 1883-1922. New York: Routledge. p. 143. ISBN 9781135865429.
  2. ^ a b Marine Engineering (1904). "Steamship Mongolia". Marine Engineering. New York: Marine Engineering Incorporated. 9 (April 1904): 151–159.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Mongolia". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Camden-Built Liner Sinks a Submarine". Evening Public Ledger. Philadelphia, PA. 25 April 1917. p. 1.
  5. ^ a b c Swazey, Edward Scott (1921). New York Shipbuilding Corporation: A Record of Ships Built. Camden, New Jersey: New York Shipbuilding Corp. p. 6. OCLC 7405049.
  6. ^ a b Emmons, Frederick (1973). Pacific liners, 1927-72. David & Charles. p. 73. ISBN 9780715360750.
  7. ^ "Historic Line was the Pacific Mail". Railway and Marine News. 13 (9): 22–23. 1915.
  8. ^ "The New York Shipbuilding Corporation". Pacific Marine Review. 18: 201. April 1921.
  9. ^ "Big Steamship Launched". The Indianapolis Journal. (Indianapolis, Indiana. 26 July 1903. p. 2.
  10. ^ "S.S. Mongolia". Atlantic Transport Line. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Handing it all to Japan". The Evening World. New York, NY. 5 August 1915. p. 12.
  12. ^ "Pacific Mail Sells 5 Liners to Ship Trust". New-York Tribune. New York, NY. 14 August 1915. pp. 1, 3.
  13. ^ a b Kinghorn, Jonathan (2012). The Atlantic Transport Line, 1881-1931 a history with details on all ships. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. p. 234. ISBN 9780786488421.
  14. ^ "Defective Ammunition Caused Mongolia Deaths, Navy Thinks". The Washington herald. Washington, DC. 22 May 1917. pp. 1–2.
  15. ^ Newell, Gordon R. (1963). Ocean Liners of the 20th Century (1st ed.). Seattle: Superior Publishing Company. pp. 51, 95. LCCN 63018494. OCLC 789671.
  16. ^ "Pacific Mail SS Co". The Ships List. Retrieved 26 April 2017.

Further reading edit

  • New York Shipbuilding Corporation (1948). New York Shipbuilding Corporation: 50 Years. Camden, New Jersey: New York Shipbuilding Corp. OCLC 22869747.

External links edit

  • Photo gallery of Mongolia at NavSource Naval History

November 14, 2023
mongolia, 1903, other, ships, with, same, name, mongolia, mongolia, passenger, cargo, liner, originally, built, pacific, mail, steamship, company, 1904, later, sailed, mongolia, 1615, navy, president, fillmore, dollar, line, panamanian, transatlantica, centroa. For other ships with the same name see SS Mongolia SS Mongolia was a 13 369 ton passenger and cargo liner originally built for Pacific Mail Steamship Company in 1904 She later sailed as USS Mongolia ID 1615 for the U S Navy as SS President Fillmore for the Dollar Line and as SS Panamanian for Cia Transatlantica Centroamericano SS Mongolia by Fred PansingHistoryUnited StatesOrdered18 December 1900BuilderNew York Shipbuilding Corp CamdenYard number5Laid down7 June 1902Launched25 July 1903CompletedJanuary 1904CommissionedMay 1918DecommissionedSeptember 1919Maiden voyage7 May 1904In service1903 1946RenamedPresident Fillmore 1929 Panamanian 1940 FateScrapped 1946 Shanghai China General characteristicsTonnage13 369 gross register tons 2 Displacement26 500 tons 1 Length615 ft 8 in 187 66 m 2 Beam65 ft 0 in 19 81 m 3 Draft33 ft 6 in 10 21 m 3 PropulsionScotch boilers steam quadruple expansion engines 10 000 shaft HP at 80 RPM twin screws 1 Speed16 knots 5 Capacity1 712 passengers as SS Mongolia 5 4 800 troops as USS Mongolia 1 Crew130 4 Armament March 1917 September 1919 3 6 40 caliber guns 1 with Navy gun crews Contents 1 History 2 References 3 Further reading 4 External linksHistory editOriginally laid down as Minnelora on 7 June 1902 in Shipway J at New York Shipbuilding in Camden New Jersey for the Atlantic Transport Line she was purchased by E H Harriman s Pacific Mail Steamship Co for its San Francisco Far East service and renamed Mongolia 1 6 7 The 616 foot vessel was contract 5 for the young company and the first passenger cargo liner built by the firm 8 She was launched on 25 July 1903 and christened by Miss Lucy Bell Kennedy of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 9 A sister ship Manchuria was ordered at the same time and delivered three months after Mongolia Both ships were used on the trans Pacific service Hong Kong Hawaii San Francisco from 1904 to 1915 10 The accommodations of both ships reflected the importance of Chinese emigration to shipping lines of that era 350 first class 68 second class and 1 300 steerage nbsp Pacific Mail Steamship Company advertisement in California Expositions brochure 1915In early August 1915 Pacific Mail announced it could not affordably meet the language clause of the Seamen s Act in the Far East and intended to cease commercial shipping operations there 11 Later that month the company sold five of its liners including Mongolia to Atlantic Transport Line for whom she plied the New York London route 12 In March 1917 following the German declaration of a submarine blockade around Britain Mongolia was chartered as an Army transport 13 and received a self defense armament of three 6 inch 150 mm deck guns manned by U S Navy gun crews One month later Mongolia became the first American vessel to test the blockade using those guns to drive off and possibly sink a U boat seven miles southeast of Beachy Head in the English Channel That was the first armed encounter for an American vessel after the US s entry to World War I 3 4 For the next year Mongolia ferried American troops and supplies to Europe Two American nurses Clara Ayres and Helen Burnett Wood were accidentally killed during one of these crossings and another was wounded During the afternoon of 20 May 1917 the nurses were on the deck of the Mongolia observing the firing of the aft 6 inch gun when they were struck by fragments of the shell s brass casing 13 14 On 27 April 1918 the US Navy requisitioned the vessel reconfigured her for greater troop capacity and commissioned her on 8 May as USS Mongolia ID 1615 In all she completed twelve turnarounds at an average duration of 34 days and transporting over 33 000 passengers before being decommissioned on 11 September 1919 3 5 Returned to civilian service Mongolia sailed the New York Hamburg route under charter to the American Line She was purchased in 1923 by the Panama Pacific Line and placed into service on its New York San Francisco route via the Panama Canal In 1929 Dollar Steamship Lines acquired Mongolia and her sister ship Manchuria for its east to west round the world service renaming them President Fillmore and President Johnson respectively 15 The former Mongolia sailed for only two years with the Dollar Line With the onset of the Great Depression she was laid up in New York and when the Dollar Line collapsed in 1938 ownership passed to the newly created American President Lines She never sailed under the APL pennant 16 however and was sold in 1940 to Cia Transatlantica Centroamericana of Panama which renamed her Panamanian 6 She was scrapped in Shanghai China 20 May 1946 3 One of the deck guns from the Mongolia s World War I service the Mark 4 6 inch 40 Caliber Gun No 155 is preserved in Gosport Park outside the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth Virginia citation needed References edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mongolia ship 1904 This article incorporates text from the public domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The entry can be found here a b c d e Silverstone Paul 2013 The New Navy 1883 1922 New York Routledge p 143 ISBN 9781135865429 a b Marine Engineering 1904 Steamship Mongolia Marine Engineering New York Marine Engineering Incorporated 9 April 1904 151 159 a b c d e Mongolia Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Navy Department Naval History and Heritage Command Retrieved 25 April 2017 a b Camden Built Liner Sinks a Submarine Evening Public Ledger Philadelphia PA 25 April 1917 p 1 a b c Swazey Edward Scott 1921 New York Shipbuilding Corporation A Record of Ships Built Camden New Jersey New York Shipbuilding Corp p 6 OCLC 7405049 a b Emmons Frederick 1973 Pacific liners 1927 72 David amp Charles p 73 ISBN 9780715360750 Historic Line was the Pacific Mail Railway and Marine News 13 9 22 23 1915 The New York Shipbuilding Corporation Pacific Marine Review 18 201 April 1921 Big Steamship Launched The Indianapolis Journal Indianapolis Indiana 26 July 1903 p 2 S S Mongolia Atlantic Transport Line Retrieved 9 June 2017 Handing it all to Japan The Evening World New York NY 5 August 1915 p 12 Pacific Mail Sells 5 Liners to Ship Trust New York Tribune New York NY 14 August 1915 pp 1 3 a b Kinghorn Jonathan 2012 The Atlantic Transport Line 1881 1931 a history with details on all ships Jefferson NC McFarland amp Co p 234 ISBN 9780786488421 Defective Ammunition Caused Mongolia Deaths Navy Thinks The Washington herald Washington DC 22 May 1917 pp 1 2 Newell Gordon R 1963 Ocean Liners of the 20th Century 1st ed Seattle Superior Publishing Company pp 51 95 LCCN 63018494 OCLC 789671 Pacific Mail SS Co The Ships List Retrieved 26 April 2017 Further reading editNew York Shipbuilding Corporation 1948 New York Shipbuilding Corporation 50 Years Camden New Jersey New York Shipbuilding Corp OCLC 22869747 External links editPhoto gallery of Mongolia at NavSource Naval History Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title SS Mongolia 1903 amp oldid 1183795661, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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