SS President Wilson

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Passenger ship S.S. President Wilson.jpg
Passenger ship S.S. President Wilson
History
United States
NameSS President Wilson
NamesakeWoodrow Wilson
Operator
RouteTrans-Pacific
BuilderBethlehem Shipbuilding Co, Alameda, California
Yard number9510
Laid downNovember 27, 1944
LaunchedNovember 24, 1947
Sponsored byMrs. E. Russell Lutz
CompletedApril 27, 1948
Identification
FateScrapped, 1984
General characteristics [1]
Tonnage
Displacement23,504 long tons (23,881 t)
Length
  • 609 ft 6 in (185.78 m) o/a
  • 573 ft (175 m) p/p
Beam75 ft 6 in (23.01 m)
Draft30 ft 2 in (9.19 m)
Installed power20,000 hp (14,914 kW)
Propulsion
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Capacity
  • 579 passengers (379 first class, 200 economy class)
  • 193,984 cubic feet (5,493 m3) cargo
Notessister ship: SS President Cleveland

SS President Wilson was an American passenger ship originally ordered by the Maritime Commission (MC hull 687) during World War II, as one of the Admiral W. S. Benson-class Type P2-SE2-R1 transport ships, and intended to be named USS Admiral F.B. Upham (AP-128), but she was launched just after the war ended. in 1948, The ship was put into service for the American President Lines. The ship remained in service for the shipping company until 1973.[2] She was sold to Oceanic Cruise Development before eventually, scrapped at Kaohsiung.

Background[]

The President Wilson and her sister ship the SS President Cleveland, was originally planned to be commissioned by the United States Maritime Commission in a series of eight troop carriers and supply ships of the type P2-SE2-R1 (Admirals) class ships. All ships of this class were designed to be used as a Passenger ship which could be readily converted into a troop transport ships during wartime service.[2]

History[]

The ship was laid down on November 27, 1944 at the Bethlehem Steel shipyard in Alameda, California, but was cancelled on December 16,1944.[3] The ship was finally launched on November 24,1947,[4] completed and delivered to the Maritime Commission on April 27, 1948.[3] Under the name SS President Wilson, she was bareboat chartered by the Maritime Commission to American President Lines. The ship remained in service until 1960 without major incidents. It was then modernized in San Francisco. In 1962 President Wilson moved from San Francisco to Yokohama. In 1970 the ship was decommissioned and sold due to falling passenger numbers.[5]

She was sold to Oceanic Cruise Development, Inc. (C.Y. Tung Group) on April 27, 1973, and renamed Oriental Empress. Laid up at Hong Kong, the ship was eventually scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in 1984.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "APL: History - 1944-52 SS President Wilson". apl.com. 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  2. ^ a b "SS PRESIDENT WILSON - MARAD - Maritime Administration". United States Department of Transportation.
  3. ^ a b "Admiral F. B. Upham". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  4. ^ "Bethlehem Launches the President Wilson" (PDF). Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco, California: Pacific American Steamship Association: 33–37. January 1947. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  5. ^ "Proposed Work on the S.S. President Cleveland and S.S. President Wilson" (PDF). General Accounting Office. October 20, 1952. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
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