Also in this issue

The Sinking of the Cunard Liner Oregon • 4 0

Q-Ships: Undercover Naval Warfare by the Merchant Marine • 4 4

Cargo Linersto Remember • 2 4

PowerShipsT h e M a g a z i n e o f e n g i n e - P o w e r e d V e s s e l s f r o M T h e s T e a M s h i P h i s T o r i c a l s o c i e T y o f a M e r i c a

N u m b e r 2 7 8 • s u m m e r 2 0 1 1

Plus...The SS UNITED STATESThe LasT Queen of The u.s. MerchanT Marine: ParT one • 8

www.powerships.com Summer, 2011 • 3

MANIfEST

Powerships (formerly titled steamboat Bill) (IssN 0039-0844—founded in 1940 by Jay Allen—is published quarterly as a cooperative effort by the steamship Historical society of America, Inc., 1029 Waterman Avenue, east Providence rI 02914, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the activities of marine historians in the field of self-propelled vessels. material for possible publication is always welcome and should be sent to the editor; Jack shaum, 222 Warwick road, Chestertown, mD 21620. No remuneration can be made for such materials, and no responsibility for it is accepted, although every effort will be made for its safe handling. All contributions are subject to editing. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the society; the burden for accuracy rests with the contributors. Contributors represent that they are the sole author of their Work, that the Work is an original work of authorship which does not infringe on the copyright rights of others, and that the author has the unencumbered right to publish the material.

Subscription to Powerships is by membership of $50.00 (us$) per year in the steamship Historical society of America, Inc. $30 of each member’s dues goes toward receiving PowerShips. single copies of available issues may be purchased. Periodical postage paid at Providence, rI and additional offices. POsTmAsTer: send address changes to ssHsA, 1029 Waterman Avenue, east Providence, rI 02914 usA. Phone +1 401 274 0805, fax +1 401 274 0836.

No part of Powerships may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the publisher.

This quarterly magazine has been continuously published by The steamship Historical society of America since first appearing as The Steamboat Bill of Facts in 1940.

The Steamship Historical Society of America, Inc. (SSHSA) was organized in 1935 as a means of bringing together those amateur and professional historians interested in the history and development of steam navigation, past and present, and incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1950 as a tax-exempt education corporation.

In addition to Powerships, the ssHsA produces other books and publications of marine interest, a list of which is available online and from the Providence headquarters.

SSHSA National meetings are normally held annually. Several local chapters also meet regularly.

Membership in ssHsA includes subscription to PowerShips, the Telegraph, and Ahoy! Dues are in various classes, beginning at $50.00 for Annual Members.

For further details, write: steamship Historical Society of America1029 Waterman Avenue, east Providence, rI 02914

Visit our website at www.sshsa.org

N u m b e r 2 7 8 • s u m m e r 2 0 1 1

PiloT house . . . . . . .4

Q&a wiTh sTeaMboaT bill . . . .5

full sTeaM ahead . .6

regionals High Seas . . . . . . . . . . . 55New York . . . . . . . . . . . .58Mid-Atlantic . . . . . . . . . .60New England & Eastern Canada . . . . . . . .62Overseas . . . . . . . . . . . . .65West Coast . . . . . . . . . . .66 Great Lakes / Seaway . . .68Southeast & Gulf Ports . .71Southwest Pacific . . . . . . .74Western Rivers . . . . . . . . .76

TugboaTs . . . . . . . . .79

reViews. . . . . . . . . . .81

heard on The fanTail . . . . . . .86

shiP sTore . . . . . . . . 52

The Sinking of the Cunard Liner Oregon by Jane Mitchell LaSure. . . . .40

sshsa donors . . .54

The SS United States: the Last Queen of the Merchant Marine by Larry Driscoll. . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Q-Ships: Undercover Naval Warfare by the Merchant Marine by Louis C. Kleber . . . . . . . . .44

USS Olympia Summit by Robert Foley . . . . . . . . . . .48

Meeting of Namesakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

on The coVer: Moore-McCormack freighter Mormacwave a) sea Pike. – Edward O. Clark Collection, SSHSA Archives.

n Grace Line’s Santa Isabel underway on the Delaware River. – Edward O. Clark Collection, SSHSA Archives.

by John A. Fostik . . . . . . . . 24

PowerShipsT H e M Ag A z I N e o F T H e S T e A M S H I p H I S To r I c A l S o c I e T y o F A M e r I c A

Cargo Liners to Remember

PowerShips8 • Summer, 2011

The SS UNITED STATES THE LAST QUEEN OF THE U.S. MERCHANT MARiNE

n The United States departed on most of her transatlantic voyages during the daylight hours, but in this evocative scene by longtime SSHSA member William G. Muller, the American flagship is making an evening cruise departure from New York in 1963. – Courtesy of William G. Muller, www.williamgmuller.com

www.powerships.com Summer, 2011 • 9

n June 23, 1952, the new superliner United States sailed into her home port. New Yorkers lined parks and

streets along the Hudson river giving a boisterous welcome to the ship described by Life magazine as “a proud present to the Nation on her anniversary of independence.” From the skyscrapers and high apartment buildings, thousands more cheered, waved, and tossed streamers. An uproar of saluting toots, whistle blasts and sirens from escorting boats and shore factories filled the air. The slim, trim American beauty made her way up the river, acknowledging the cheers with a distinct bellowing baritone roar of her fog horn. At sea it had a range of three miles. In the confines of New York Harbor it rattled windows, scared small children and sent dogs howling. Third Officer John Tucker manned the ship’s horn. “I was blowing enough so I had to listen to what was being said on the bridge so as not to interrupt an order.” she ProJecTed eVeryThing that New

Yorkers love—beauty, attitude, style and charisma. Her well-proportioned 53,300 tons stretched along a sleek 990 feet hull, just short of the length of five city blocks. from her keel to the top of her tall red, white and blue smokestacks, she stood 175 feet, the height of a 12-story building. The clipper bow and low-cut black hull provided the appearance of a serious rac-ing machine. Above the hull ran a snow white, streamlined superstructure.

by Larry Driscoll

The SS UNITED STATES THE LAST QUEEN OF THE U.S. MERCHANT MARiNE

O

PA rT O N eThe Story of the fastest

Liner from Design & Build

to Departure for Her

Historic maiden Voyage