In commercial service as SS Grunewald and SS General G. W. Goethals prior to 1919, as SS General G. W. Goethals from 1919, and as Munorleans from 1925 or 1926
General G. W. Goethals was built in 1911[1] or 1912[2] as the German commercial passenger-cargo ship SS Grunewald at Vegesack, Germany, by Bremer Vulkan. Before the United States entered World War I, she became an American ship owned by the Panama Railroad Steamship Company of New York City. The U.S. Navy acquired her on 10 March 1919, assigned her the naval registry Identification Number (Id. No.) 1443, and commissioned her the same day at Hoboken, New Jersey, as USS General G. W. Goethals.
United States Navy serviceedit
A ship identified as probably USS General G. W. Goethals off Newport News, Virginia, in 1919.
Assigned to the Cruiser and Transport Force and operated by the Navy under a United States Army account, General G. W. Goethals spent the bulk of her commissioned Navy service ferrying supplies for American forces in Europe to France and bringing home troops of the American Expeditionary Force who had served in Europe during World War I. She made a number of voyages to Europe with supplies, and brought home nearly 3,000 troops.
On the day of her arrival in New York, General G. W. Goethals was decommissioned and turned over to the United States Department of War for return to the Panama Railroad Steamship Company.
Later careeredit
The ship returned to commercial service as SS General G. W. Goethals.
On 2 September 1920, General G. W. Goethals was off Cape May, New Jersey, on a voyage from Haiti to New York City when the wooden steamship Alanthus contacted her at about 18:00 by the use of signal flags. Making her last voyage, Alanthus earlier in the day had come across the disabled U.S. Navy submarineUSS S-5(SS-110), which had sunk accidentally on 1 September 1920 during full-power trials off the Delaware Capes. The submarine's crew had partially refloated her, causing her to rise until only her stern broke the surface, but had been able to make only a tiny hole in her hull in their attempt to escape and remained trapped on board. Alanthus had rigged a pump to provide S-5's crew with air and had also provided the submarine's crew with fresh water and rigged cables to keep S-5's stern above water, but had been unable to help the crew enlarge the escape hole or, lacking a radio, to call for assistance until sighting General G. W. Goethals.[3][4]
General G. W. Goethals radioed the U.S. Navy with its first information about the submarine's plight and her crew immediately set about enlarging the escape hole. By 01:45 on 3 September 1920, the hole was big enough for S-5's crew to exit the submarine, and the last man to leave – S-5's commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Charles M. "Savvy" Cooke, Jr. – safely emerged from the escape hole at 03:00. Although her crew was safe, the submarine was lost later on 3 September when she sank while under tow by the battleshipUSS Ohio.[4]
^ abRear, Laura, "History of the USS S-Five Submarine," oceanexplorer.noaa.gov, undated.
^Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation (1927). American Documented Seagoing Merchant Vessels of 500 Gross Tons and Over, January 1, 1927. Washington: Government Printing Office. p. 60.
^To Further Develop an American Merchant Marine: Hearings Before the Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Seventy-First Congress, Second Session, on H. R. 8361, A Bill to Further Develop an American Merchant Marine, to Assure Its Permanence in the Transportation of the Foreign Trade of the United States, and for Other Purposes, January 23, 27, 28, and 29, 1930. Washington: United States Government Printing Office. 1930. p. 191.
Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: S.S. General G.W. Goethals (American Passenger-Cargo Steamer, 1911). Served as USS General G.W. Goethals (ID # 1443) in 1919
NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: General G. W. Goethals (ID 1443)
December 03, 2023
general, goethals, 1443, united, states, navy, cargo, ship, troop, transport, commission, 1919, general, goethals, sometime, between, 1917, 1919, prior, navy, service, with, barge, ethel, lillian, alongside, historyunited, statesnamenamesakegeorge, washington,. USS General G W Goethals ID 1443 was a United States Navy cargo ship and troop transport in commission in 1919 SS General G W Goethals sometime between 1917 and 1919 prior to her U S Navy service with the barge Ethel and Lillian alongside HistoryUnited StatesNameUSS General G W GoethalsNamesakeGeorge Washington Goethals 1858 1928 a U S Army officer and civil engineer Previous name retained BuilderBremer Vulkan Vegesack GermanyCompleted1911 1 or 1912 2 Acquired10 March 1919Commissioned10 March 1919Decommissioned13 September 1919FateTransferred to United States Department of War 13 September 1919 for return to ownerNotesIn commercial service as SS Grunewald and SS General G W Goethals prior to 1919 as SS General G W Goethals from 1919 and as Munorleans from 1925 or 1926General characteristicsTypeCargo ship and troop transportTonnage4 707 Gross register tonsDisplacement2 783 tons normal Length367 ft 112 m Beam48 ft 7 in 14 81 m Draft27 ft 6 in 8 38 m mean PropulsionSteam engineSpeed11 knots maximum ArmamentNone Contents 1 Construction and acquisition 2 United States Navy service 3 Later career 3 1 Assistance to USS S 5 3 2 Sale 4 See also 5 Notes 6 ReferencesConstruction and acquisition editGeneral G W Goethals was built in 1911 1 or 1912 2 as the German commercial passenger cargo ship SS Grunewald at Vegesack Germany by Bremer Vulkan Before the United States entered World War I she became an American ship owned by the Panama Railroad Steamship Company of New York City The U S Navy acquired her on 10 March 1919 assigned her the naval registry Identification Number Id No 1443 and commissioned her the same day at Hoboken New Jersey as USS General G W Goethals United States Navy service edit nbsp A ship identified as probably USS General G W Goethals off Newport News Virginia in 1919 Assigned to the Cruiser and Transport Force and operated by the Navy under a United States Army account General G W Goethals spent the bulk of her commissioned Navy service ferrying supplies for American forces in Europe to France and bringing home troops of the American Expeditionary Force who had served in Europe during World War I She made a number of voyages to Europe with supplies and brought home nearly 3 000 troops On 21 August 1919 General G W Goethals departed Charleston South Carolina carrying supplies to New Orleans Louisiana Cristobal Panama Canal Zone and San Juan Puerto Rico She completed this voyage by arriving at New York City on 13 September 1919 On the day of her arrival in New York General G W Goethals was decommissioned and turned over to the United States Department of War for return to the Panama Railroad Steamship Company Later career editThe ship returned to commercial service as SS General G W Goethals Assistance to USS S 5 edit nbsp The circle of plating SS General G W Goethals cut from USS S 5 SS 110 s hull to allow men to escape is on display at the Navy Museum at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington D C On 2 September 1920 General G W Goethals was off Cape May New Jersey on a voyage from Haiti to New York City when the wooden steamship Alanthus contacted her at about 18 00 by the use of signal flags Making her last voyage Alanthus earlier in the day had come across the disabled U S Navy submarine USS S 5 SS 110 which had sunk accidentally on 1 September 1920 during full power trials off the Delaware Capes The submarine s crew had partially refloated her causing her to rise until only her stern broke the surface but had been able to make only a tiny hole in her hull in their attempt to escape and remained trapped on board Alanthus had rigged a pump to provide S 5 s crew with air and had also provided the submarine s crew with fresh water and rigged cables to keep S 5 s stern above water but had been unable to help the crew enlarge the escape hole or lacking a radio to call for assistance until sighting General G W Goethals 3 4 General G W Goethals radioed the U S Navy with its first information about the submarine s plight and her crew immediately set about enlarging the escape hole By 01 45 on 3 September 1920 the hole was big enough for S 5 s crew to exit the submarine and the last man to leave S 5 s commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Charles M Savvy Cooke Jr safely emerged from the escape hole at 03 00 Although her crew was safe the submarine was lost later on 3 September when she sank while under tow by the battleship USS Ohio 4 The portion of S 5 s hull plating that General G W Goethals removed to permit S 5 s crew to escape from the submarine is on exhibit in the National Museum of the United States Navy in the Washington Navy Yard in Washington D C Sale edit On 10 January 1925 the Panama Railroad Steamship Company sold General G W Goethals to the Universal Negro Improvement Association In 1925 or 1926 she was sold to the Munson Steamship Line and renamed Munorleans 5 In 1929 she was operating on the New York Brazil route 6 See also editUSS S 5 SS 110 NOAAS Whiting S 329 Notes edit a b Per the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships at http www history navy mil danfs g3 general g w goethals htm and NavSource Online at http www navsource org archives 12 171443 htm a b Per the U S Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images at http www history navy mil photos sh civil civsh g gen goet htm OnlineLibrary Alanthus a b Rear Laura History of the USS S Five Submarine oceanexplorer noaa gov undated Department of Commerce Bureau of Navigation 1927 American Documented Seagoing Merchant Vessels of 500 Gross Tons and Over January 1 1927 Washington Government Printing Office p 60 To Further Develop an American Merchant Marine Hearings Before the Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries House of Representatives Seventy First Congress Second Session on H R 8361 A Bill to Further Develop an American Merchant Marine to Assure Its Permanence in the Transportation of the Foreign Trade of the United States and for Other Purposes January 23 27 28 and 29 1930 Washington United States Government Printing Office 1930 p 191 References editThis article incorporates text from the public domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The entry can be found here Department of the Navy Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images Civilian Ships S S General G W Goethals American Passenger Cargo Steamer 1911 Served as USS General G W Goethals ID 1443 in 1919 NavSource Online Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive General G W Goethals ID 1443 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title USS General G W Goethals amp oldid 1183284641, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
