SS Yale, a 3,731 gross ton coastal passenger steamship, was built by the Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding and Engine Works in 1906, for service between New York and Boston. In March 1918 the U.S. Navy acquired her from the Pacific Steamship Company of Seattle, Washington, placing her in commission later in that month as USS Yale (ID-1672).
 SS Yale, shown underway prior to World War I, served as USS Yale (ID-1672), 1918–1920 and as USS Greyhound (IX-106), 1943–1944.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | SS Yale |
| Namesake | Yale University |
| Builder | Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding and Engine Works |
| Cost | $1,750,000[1] |
| Laid down | 1906 |
| Launched | 1 December 1906 |
| Commissioned | 25 March 1918 |
| Decommissioned | 1920 |
| Recommissioned | 8 August 1943 |
| Decommissioned | 31 March 1944 |
| Out of service | 9 March 1948 |
| Stricken | 18 June 1948 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 3,731 gross tons |
| Length | 407 ft (124 m) |
| Beam | 61 ft 3 in (18.67 m) |
| Draft | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 5,000hp steam turbines, 2 screws[2] |
| Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Capacity | 800 |
USS Yale served between March 1918 and September 1919. During World War I, the ship made 31 round-trip voyages transporting troops between Britain and France. Yale was decommissioned in early September 1919 and, in June 1920, together with her sister ship Harvard sold for commercial operation along the Pacific Coast between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Steamship Company spent $8,000,000 to turn the troop ships into high-speed luxury liners, able to make the one way trip in 18 hours.
World War II edit
After 15 years of fast passenger service along the West Coast, Yale was laid up in 1935; in 1940 the national emergency resulting from the outbreak of World War II in Europe brought her back into use. She was used this time as a dormitory ship in Alaskan waters. The United States Navy again acquired her in April 1943 and in August she was commissioned as USS Greyhound (IX-106) on 8 August 1943. She was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the greyhound, a breed of tall, slender, swift hound with a narrow pointed head.
After brief service Greyhound decommissioned on 31 March 1944, and began duty as a floating barracks for personnel at various Puget Sound training schools. She was placed out of service on 9 March 1948 and her name was struck 18 June 1948. She was turned over to the Maritime Commission 12 November 1948 and placed with the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Washington until 5 June 1949 when she was sold for scrapping. She departed Olympia on 13 July 1949, towed by the Red Stack tug Hercules, bound for the Walter W. Johnson Company scrap yard at Stockton, California, where she was due to arrive 18 July. The salvaged steel was to go to the Columbia steel mill at Pittsburg, California.[3]
Sources edit
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entries can be found here and here.
- Naval Historical Center
- Naval Historical Center
See also edit
- SS Harvard (1907) - sister ship[4]
References edit
- ^ United Press, "OLD COASTAL STEAMER YALE WILL BE SCRAPPED", The San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Friday 15 July 1949, Volume LV, Number 272, p. 6.
- ^ "Turbine Engines for Cargo Vessels". Marine Review. January 1919. p. 31.
- ^ United Press, "OLD COASTAL STEAMER YALE WILL BE SCRAPPED", The San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Friday 15 July 1949, Volume LV, Number 272, p. 6.
- ^ "Turbine Engines for Cargo Vessels". Marine Review. January 1919. p. 31.
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