Hog Islander
USS Samaritan (AH-10) in San Francisco Bay, late 1945 or early 1946
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| Class overview | |
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| Builders: | American International Shipbuilding |
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| Built: | 5 August 1918 – 29 January 1921 |
| Planned: | 180 |
| Completed: | 122 |
| Cancelled: | 58 |
| Lost: | 58 |
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| Installed power: | Oil-fired geared turbine 2,500 shp (1,900 kW) |
| Speed: | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
Hog Islanders is the slang for ships built to Emergency Fleet Corporation designs number 1022 and 1024. These vessels were cargo and transport ships, respectively, built under government direction and subsidy to address a shortage of ships in the United States Merchant Marine during World War I. American International Shipbuilding, subsidized by the United States Shipping Board, built an emergency shipyard on Hog Island just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the site of the present-day Philadelphia International Airport.
No ships were produced in time to participate in World War I, but many ships were active in World War II, with roughly half of those produced at Hog Island being sunk in that conflict. During the planning stage names based on the "aboriginal inhabitants of the United States" for 120 ships to be built at Hog Island were selected by First Lady Edith Wilson (Mrs. Woodrow Wilson), although most were changed before completion.
Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) was formed by the US Shipping Board to acquire, design and build sufficient shipping for the US to conduct operations in World War I. The EFC found that US shipyards were too few and small to meet the needs; contracts were awarded to foreign yards in Japan and China. The EFC also contracted with private companies to form new yards, called "Agency Yards". These would be assembly yards, building prefabricated ships, rather than using traditional methods.
Hog Island in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the first shipyard ever built for mass production of ships from fabricated parts and sub-assemblies, produced at dozens of subcontractors. It had 50 slipways, seven wet docks and a detention basin. Only two basic designs, EFC 1022 and EFC 1024, were to be fabricated at the yard, these became collectively known as "Hog Islanders". The Type A design (1022) was a cargo carrier and the Type B (1024) was designed to transport troops. Both were simple designs geared toward mass production and aesthetic considerations were ignored. These were very modern in design except for the aesthetics. The vessels were fueled by oil rather than coal, with modern geared turbines of 2,500 shaft horsepower (1,900 kW) capable of producing up to 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).
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