SS Ulysses (1914)

The SS Ulysses (Panama Collier No. 1) was the first of two steel-hulled, twin screw colliers constructed at Sparrows Point, Maryland by the Maryland Steel Company for the Panama Canal Company.[note 1] The ships were to a Navy design and built under naval supervision but with major differences from the two previously constructed Navy colliers, Jason and Orion. Unlike the Navy ships and many colliers the ships had ten cargo handling king posts rather than the tall, specialized coaling booms as the ships were designed to transport coal to the Panama Canal and be unloaded by equipment there.

History
Name: Ulysses
Namesake: Ulysses of Homer's Odyssey
Owner: Panama Canal Company
Operator: Panama Canal Company
Route: Hampton Roads–Cristóbal, Colón
Builder: Maryland Steel Company, Sparrows Point
Yard number: 144
Laid down: 19 May 1914
Launched: 12 December 1914
Acquired: 17 April 1915
Out of service: 1929
General characteristics
Type: Collier
Tonnage:
Displacement: 19,585 long tons (19,899 t) full load
Length: 536 ft (163 m)
Beam: 65 ft (20 m)
Draft: 28 ft 1 in (8.56 m)
Installed power: 3 x double ended Scotch boilers
Propulsion: 2 x triple expansion steam engines, 2 x screws, combined 7,200 indicated hp
Speed: 14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h)
Complement: 32 officers, 146 men (design accommodation)
Armament:
  • during World War I
  • 1 × 5 in (130 mm) gun
  • 1 × 3 in (76 mm) gun

Construction

The keel was laid 19 May 1914 as hull number 144 with launch on 12 December 1914 and trials 14–15 April 1915.[1] On 17 April 1915 was delivered at the Norfolk Navy Yard to the Panama Canal Company.[1][2]

Ulysses (and Achilles) were registered at 11,081 GRT, 13,563 DWT, 536 ft (163.4 m) length overall, 514 ft (156.7 m) length between perpendiculars, 65 ft (19.8 m) beam, 39 ft 6 in (12.0 m) molded depth with a loaded draft of 28 ft 1 in (8.6 m).[1][3]

Steam power was by means of three double ended 16 ft (4.9 m) diameter Scotch marine boilers that were 22 ft 1 in (6.7 m) long operating under forced draft. Main propulsion was by two triple expansion steam engines with combined indicated 7,200 horsepower driving two 17 ft (5.2 m) screws with pitch adjustment from 16 ft (4.9 m) to 18 ft (5.5 m) for a design speed of 14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h). On trials Ulysses averaged 14.99 kn (17.25 mph; 27.76 km/h) on the standardization course. Two 25 kilowatt generators provided electrical power and a two-ton refrigeration unit was installed for ship's stores. Accommodation was designed for 32 officers and 146 men.[1]

The ship was designed to transport coal to the Panama Canal and then be unloaded by equipment there and thus did not have the coaling booms so characteristic of colliers designed for direct ship to ship coaling operations.[1][4] Acceptance test for the unloader towers in Panama took place on 28 February 1916 first using Ulysses and then Achilles. Problems with the unloading towers were revealed during that test that delayed acceptance.[4] Four cargo holds for coal and two oil holds forward were covered by hatches designed to hinge upward and served by ten king posts for raising and lowering the covers.[1]

Operation

Ulysses shuttled between Hampton Roads and the Panama Canal Zone, carrying coal to Cristobal, into 1917. During World War I the ship received a main battery of one 5-inch gun and a 3-inch gun and a Navy armed guard crew to man them while the ship continued to discharge her longstanding duties. The guns were apparently removed shortly after the Armistice ended hostilities. Throughout the War, Ulysses belonged to the Panama Canal Company and operated under the control of the Panama Railroad. She continued in this status after peace returned until 1929, the last year in which her name appeared on shipping registers.[5]

Footnotes
  1. The second was Achilles laid down 21 May 1914, launched 6 February 1915 with trials 8–9 June and delivery 10 June 1915. Both deliveries were well in advance of the contract delivery date of 9 August 1915.

References
  1. "The Panama Colliers Ulysses and Achilles". International Marine Engineering. Vol. 11 no. 6. June 1916. pp. 283–288. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  2. Colton, Tim (October 5, 2014). "Bethlehem Steel Company, Sparrows Point MD". ShipbuildingHistory. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  3. Forty Eighth Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, Year ended June 30, 1916. Washington, D.C.: Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of Navigation. 1916. p. 465. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  4. Annual Report of the Governor of the Panama Canal for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1916 (Report). Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 30 June 1916. p. 261. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  5. Naval History And Heritage Command (October 20, 2015). "Ulysses". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 13 January 2019.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

See also
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