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MS ''West Grama'', sometimes spelled as ''West Gramma'', was a diesel-powered cargo ship of the that was sunk as part of the "gooseberry" breakwater off Utah Beach during the Normandy invasion. Prior to her diesel conversion, she was known as SS ''West Grama''. In 1919, she was briefly taken up by the United States Navy under the name USS ''West Grama'' (ID-3794). SS ''West Grama'' was built as a steam-powered cargo ship in 1918 for the , a predecessor of the . She was part of the ''West'' boats, a series of steel-hulled cargo ships built on the West Coast of the United States for the World War I war effort, and was the 9th ship built at Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company in San Pedro, California. She was commissioned into the of the United States Navy as USS ''West Grama'' (ID-3794) in January 1919. She became the first American-flagged vessel to enter Bulgarian waters when she delivered a load of wheat flour to Varna in early 1919. After her one overseas trip for the Navy, she was decommissioned in June 1919 and returned to the . SS ''West Grama'' sailed between Genoa and New York early in her civilian career. In 1927, ''West Grama'' was outfitted with a diesel engine that replaced her original steam engine as part of a pilot program by the . After her conversion, she sailed primarily between East Coast ports and South America. By the late 1930s, she had been laid up, but was reactivated for merchant service during World War II. She sailed primarily in the Caribbean until March 1944 when she sailed from the United States for the final time. She was scuttled in June as part of the "gooseberry" breakwater off Omaha Beach during the Normandy invasion, earning a battle star in the process. == Design and construction == The ''West'' ships were cargo ships of similar size and design built by several shipyards on the west coast of the United States for the for emergency use during World War I.〔Crowell and Wilson, pp. 358–59.〕 All were given names that began with the word ''West'', like ''West Grama'',〔 the ninth of some 40 ''West'' ships built by the Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company of Los Angeles.〔 ''West Grama'' (Los Angeles Shipbuilding yard number 9)〔 was one of three Los Angeles Shipbuilding ships launched on 4 July 1918,〔The other two ships launched on 4 July 1918 were and .〕 and was completed in December.〔 ''West Grama'' was , and was long (between perpendiculars)〔 and abeam. She had a steel hull that displaced 12,225 t with a mean draft of .〔 Her hold was deep and she had a deadweight tonnage of .〔〔 ''West Grama''s power plant, as built, consisted of a single triple-expansion steam engine driving a single screw propeller, which moved the ship at up to .〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「MS West Grama」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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