SS President Taylor
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Builder: | New York Shipbuilding |
| Laid down: | 22 May 1919 |
| Launched: | 31 July 1920 |
| Acquired: | delivered 7 March 1921 |
| Fate: | beached on Kanton Island, 14 February 1942 |
| Status: | scrapped |
| Notes: | O/N 221,054 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Design 1095 ship known commercially as "502" Type |
| Displacement: | 21,100 LT |
| Length: | |
| Beam: | 62 ft 0 in (18.90 m) |
| Draft: | 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m) |
| Propulsion: | Twin screw, two 4-cylinder triple expansion steam engines rated at 3500 HP each at 105 RPM. Six Scotch marine single-ended fire tube boilers, 220 PSI WP and 50 degrees fahrenheit superheat. |
| Speed: | 14 knots |
President Taylor was a cargo—liner, ex President Polk, ex Granite State, requisitioned for war service in December 1941 and allocated by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) to the U.S. Army and operating as a troopship in the Pacific Ocean in World War II when grounded and eventually lost on 14 February 1942.
Granite State was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation for the U.S. Shipping Board as hull 246, keel laid 22 May 1919, launched 31 July 1920. The ship was an Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1095 passenger/cargo design more frequently known in the industry as the "502" type for the design length of 502 feet (153.0 m) between perpendiculars. The design had been for troop transports until signing of the armistice ending World War I made completion as civilian passenger and cargo ships desirable. New York Shipbuilding had the contract for all seven of the "502" class and nine of the "535" class, an order requiring expansion and construction of the company's South Yard, that were to be delivered to the United States Shipping Board (USSB).
The ship was allocated and delivered 7 March 1921 to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company for operation from San Francisco to Honolulu, Manila, Saigon, Singapore, Calcutta and return.
The ship arrived from the Atlantic in San Francisco to begin Pacific Mail's Indian Service on 4 April 1921. The ship was bought by Dollar Steamship Lines in 1923 for Round-the-World trade and renamed President Polk. The ship transferred in 1938 to American President Lines and was renamed President Taylor in 1940 accommodating 128 passengers.
President Taylor was requisitioned for war service with WSA 6 December 1941 with American President Lines as the operating agent and allocated to the United States Army requirements. She was re-fitted for use as a troop carrier in San Francisco in December 1941. Her initial voyage as a troopship was a round trip from San Francisco to Honolulu and back. The ship left San Francisco for the Philippines on 31 January 1942, under the command of Captain A. W. Aitken.
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Wikipedia