|
MS ''West Honaker'' was a diesel-powered cargo ship of the that was part of the "Corncob Fleet" of old ships sunk as part of the "gooseberry" breakwater off Utah Beach during the Normandy invasion. The ship was originally built as SS ''West Honaker'', a steam-powered cargo ship built for the , a predecessor of the . At the time of her completion in 1920, the ship was inspected by the United States Navy for possible use as USS ''West Honaker'' (ID-4455) but was neither taken into the Navy nor ever commissioned under that name. ''West Honaker'' was built in 1920 for the , as a 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 28th ship built at Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company in San Pedro, California. In 1926, ''West Honaker'' was outfitted with diesel engines that replaced her original steam engines as part of a pilot program by the . After her conversion, she sailed on a New York – Australia route. On her second trip to Australia, from August 1927 to March 1928, she became the first diesel ship to circumnavigate the globe. In 1929, she began sailing for an around-the-world cargo service from the Pacific coast to South Africa By the late 1930s, she had been laid up, but was reactivated for merchant service prior to World War II. She sailed to Australia and New Zealand until after the United States' entry into World War II, and in transatlantic service to the United Kingdom for most of the time after that. In March 1944, she sailed from the United States for the final time, and was incorporated into the Corncob Fleet of old ships scuttled in June to make the "gooseberry" breakwater off Utah Beach during the Normandy invasion. This last voyage earned the West Honaker a battle star. == 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. All were given names that began with the word ''West'', like ''West Honaker'',〔Crowell and Wilson, pp. 358–59.〕 the one of some 40 ''West'' ships built by the Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company of Los Angeles. ''West Honaker'' (Los Angeles Shipbuilding yard number 28) was completed in December 1920.〔 ''West Honaker'' was , and was long (between perpendiculars)〔 and abeam. She had a steel hull and a deadweight tonnage of .〔 Sources do not give ''West Honaker''s other hull characteristics, but , a sister ship also built at Los Angeles Shipbuilding had a displacement of 12,225 t with a mean draft of , and a hold deep. ''West Honaker''s power plant was a single triple-expansion steam engine that drove 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 Honaker」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|