USS George F. Elliott (AP-13)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
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| Name: |
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| Namesake: | USMC Commandant George F. Elliott (1846–1931) |
| Ordered: | as SS War Haven |
| Laid down: | 1918 |
| Launched: | 4 July 1918 as Victorious |
| Acquired: |
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| Commissioned: |
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| Struck: | 2 October 1942 |
| Identification: | O/N 217060 |
| Fate: | Lost to enemy action, 8 August 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 7,630 t.(lt) 16,400 t.(fl) |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 56 ft (17 m) |
| Draft: | 29 ft 9 in (9.07 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 10.5 knots (19 km/h). |
| Capacity: | 150,000 cu. ft., 2,900 t. |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: | one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount; four single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts; eight .50 cal machine guns |
USS George F. Elliott (AP-13) was a Heywood-class transport acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War I and then reacquired by the Navy for service as a troop carrier during World War II. In 1942 she was attacked off Guadalcanal by Japanese planes and sank shortly thereafter.
The ship was laid down in 1918 as SS War Haven at Bethlehem Steel Company's (Union Iron Works into 1917), Alameda, California yard as hull # 163A for the British Shipping Controller, London, requisitioned during construction and completed by the United States Shipping Board (USSB). The ship was launched 4 July 1918 as Victorious, completed in October and assigned official number 217060. Installed propulsion was by geared steam turbines developing about 3,000 shaft horsepower for a speed of about 11 knots.
Victorious was acquired by the US Navy and commissioned USS Victorious (ID-3514), 19 October 1918. The ship was operated by the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) the ship made one trip, after the armistice ended the war, from the United States West Coast to New York from which departed after Christmas 1918 on a voyage to London with arrival on 14 January 1919 with a load of flour.Victorious departed London 30 January loaded with 2,300 tons of steel billets and 200 steel rails with arrival in New York on 13 February. Subsequently, she was decommissioned and simultaneously struck from the Naval Register, 25 February 1919, at New York and returned to the United States Shipping Board for disposal.
Victorious was one of five ships acquired by the Baltimore Mail S.S. Co. in 1930 from the USSB for its North Atlantic service with Victorious being renamed SS City of Havre. The ship was lengthened another 50 feet (15 m) with bow and stern lines modified according to designs by Gibbs and Cox, Inc., of New York City with propulsion machinery replaced by De Laval cross compound, double reduction gear turbines developing 9,500 shaft horsepower at 95 rpm on the shaft for a speed of better than 16 knots. Steam was provided by four Babcock and Wilson oil fired water tube boilers. Accommodations for 63 passengers were added with final dimensions of 506 feet (154.2 m) length over all (LOA), 486 feet 7.5 inches (148.3 m) length between perpendiculars (LBP), 56 feet (17.1 m) molded beam, a normal draft of 24 feet (7.3 m) and of 8,424 GRT. All five of the ships acquired by Baltimore Mail had new short and medium wave radio equipment and radio direction finders installed.
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