Illinois (1873)

Stern view of USS Supply (formerly the SS Illinois), probably taken just after the ship's recommission in August 1902.
History
Name:	SS Illinois
Namesake:	Illinois, USA
Owner:	American Line
Operator:	American Steamship Company
Port of registry:	United States
Builder:	William Cramp & Sons
Cost:	$520,000
Launched:	June 1873
Maiden voyage:	January 23, 1874
Refit:	1891
Fate:	Scrapped, 1928
General characteristics
Class and type:	Pennsylvania class passenger-cargo ship
Tonnage:	3,104 gross
Length:	343 ft
Beam:	43 ft
Depth of hold:	32 ft 2 in
Propulsion:	Compound (later triple expansion) steam engine, single screw, auxiliary sails
Speed:	11.5 knots
Capacity:	46 × 1st-, 132 2nd class and 789 steerage passengers

SS Illinois was an iron passenger-cargo steamship built by William Cramp & Sons in 1873. The last of a series of four Pennsylvania-class vessels, Illinois and her three sister ships—Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana—were the largest iron ships ever built in the United States at the time of their construction, and amongst the first to be fitted with compound steam engines. They were also the first ships to challenge British dominance of the transatlantic trade since the American Civil War.

Though soon outclassed by newer and larger vessels, Illinois was destined to enjoy a long and distinguished career, first as a transatlantic passenger liner and later as the U.S. Navy's auxiliary vessel USS Supply. In the 1870s, Illinois may have been the first ship to successfully transport a shipment of fresh meat from the United States to Europe, twenty years before the introduction of refrigeration. As USS Supply, the ship served in both the Spanish–American War and the First World War, and crew members may have been the first United States personnel to fire a hostile shot in the latter. Illinois was scrapped in 1928.

The four Pennsylvania class liners were constructed at a cost of $520,000 each by William Cramp & Sons on behalf of the American Steamship Company (ASC), a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The Railroad intended to utilize the vessels to bring European immigrants direct to Philadelphia, thus ensuring the company a steady stream of customers. In recognition of this purpose, the four ships—Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio—were named after the four states serviced by the Railroad. Design of the ships was entrusted to Charles H. Cramp of the Cramp & Sons shipyard, and Barnabas H. Bartol, a director of the ASC.