SS Manhattan (1931)

SS Manhattan was a 24,189 GRT luxury ocean liner of the United States Lines, named after the Manhattan borough of New York City. On 15 June 1941 she was commissioned as USS Wakefield and became the largest ship ever operated by the US Coast Guard. In 1942 she caught fire and was rebuilt as a troop ship. Manhattan never saw commercial service again.

For other ships with the same name, see Manhattan (ship).
A postcard of Manhattan
History
United States
Builder: New York Shipbuilding Corp, Camden
Yard number: 405
Laid down: 6 December 1930
Launched: 5 December 1931
Sponsored by: Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, Sr.
Acquired: 27 July 1932 (Delivered)
Out of service: 1959
Renamed: USS Wakefield (1941)
Identification:
Fate: Sold for scrap 1965
General characteristics
Tonnage: 24,289 GRT, 13,924 NRT
Length:
  • 705 ft (214.9 m) o/a
  • 666 ft (203.0 m) p/p
  • 668.4 ft (203.7 m) registry
  • 685 ft (208.8 m) on water line
Beam: 86 ft (26 m)
Draft: 32 ft (9.8 m) light load
Depth: 79 ft (24 m) to promenade deck
Decks: 9
Propulsion: steam turbines – twin screw
Speed: 20 knots (37 km/h) standard
Capacity: 1,300 passengers
Crew: 481
Notes: sister ship: Washington

Construction

When they were built, Manhattan and her sister ship SS Washington, also built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation, were the largest liners ever built in the United States, and Manhattan was the first large liner built in the US since 1905.[1] Manhattan and Washington were two of the few pure liners built by New York Shipbuilding, which had previously built a large number of cargo liners. United States Lines signed contracts in 1931 for the two ships at a cost of about $21 million (equivalent to $353 million in 2019) each. This was considered an extreme cost in the Depression, and a gamble.[2]

The ship's keel was laid as New York Shipbuilding's hull 405 on 6 December 1930 with launch on 5 December 1931 and delivery to the owners on 27 July 1932.[3] Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. christened the ship with speakers representing shipping lines joining interest into the new United States Lines. Those lines were International Merchantile Marine Company, Roosevelt Lines, and the Dollar Lines.[4]

The ship was 705 ft (214.9 m) length overall, 666 ft (203.0 m) length between perpendiculars and 685 ft (208.8 m) on water line. Eleven water tight bulkheads created twelve water tight compartments.[5] Manhattan had nine decks: sun, boat, promenade, and decks A through F.[6] Her tonnages were 24,289 GRT and 13,924 NRT, her registered length was 668.4 ft (203.7 m), her US official number was 231779 and until 1933 her code letters were MJSG.[7] In 1934 these were superseded by the call sign WIEA. She carried a crew of 481.[8]

Manhattan was designed to carry 1,239 passengers; 582 cabin rooms, 461 tourist rooms, and 196 third class. The main cabin class public rooms, including a grand salon, library, palm court, verandah cafe, and open recreation or dance space aft, were on the promenade deck. Cabin class state rooms were forward on A deck with tourist class game space aft. B deck had tourist class public rooms. Cabin class entrance foyer, state rooms and dining were forward on C deck with tourist class entrance foyer, state rooms and dining aft. Third class lounge and an open promenade were aft of the tourist class spaces on C deck. D deck contained some cabin class state rooms, a swimming pool, and gymnasium, with tourist class state rooms aft. Crew quarters and mess hall/station were on E deck with third class dining room and state rooms aft.[6]

The ship had general cargo capacity of 380,000 cubic feet (11,000 m3), 47,000 cubic feet (1,300 m3) refrigerated cargo space and 16,000 cubic feet (450 m3) for ship's cold storage.[6]

Prior to commercial passenger operation, the ship made a special twenty-four-hour cruise off New York with over seven hundred passenger agents representing companies and offices from across the nation. The guests were entertained with the full services passengers could expect, including dancing and viewing a new movie in the ship's theater.[9]

Commercial career
Manhattan beached at Palm Beach

Beginning in August 1932 Manhattan operated the New York – Hamburg route, a route she would continue to serve with only one short break until December 1939, when President Roosevelt invoked the Neutrality Act against Germany. In 1936, the ship carried the US Olympic team to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. In 1938 she carried some of the Kennedy family to the United Kingdom when Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. was appointed US Ambassador to the UK.

Travel writer Douglas Ward claims in his book Berlitz Guide to Cruising that the alcoholic cocktail "Manhattan" was named after the ship. However, there is little evidence to confirm this. A one way trip, off-season, in the cheapest room available cost roughly the equivalent of $1,800USD in 2019.[10]

Kindertransport

On 22 March 1939 passengers embarking on Manhattan in Hamburg included 88 unaccompanied children who were Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany.[11] This roughly 24-hour journey from Hamburg to Southampton was part of the Kindertransport, as it later came to be known, between December 1938 and the outbreak of war in September 1939.

70% of the children (62 individuals) had been born in Berlin.[11]

Early WWII

In October 1939 Manhattan carried passengers, mostly Americans, from England (then at war with Germany) to New York. On 4 February 1940, the ship was seized by British forces in Gibraltar and released after 390 sacks of mail bound for Germany were confiscated. From January 1940 until Italy's entry into World War II in June 1940 Manhattan sailed between New York and Genoa. On 12 July 1940, “Manhattan” transported passengers, including Eugene Bullard, fleeing Europe from Lisbon to New York City. [12]On 12 January 1941, while in coastal service on the Atlantic seaboard, she ran aground 9 nmi (17 km) north of Palm Beach, and was re-floated 22 days later. On 6 March 1941, the commander of the marine inspection bureau suspended the master and first officer after finding them guilty of negligence in the grounding. The master received an eight-month suspension while the first officer was suspended for one month.[13]

Troopship
Main article: USS Wakefield (AP-21)

On 14 June 1941 Manhattan was delivered to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) which immediately delivered the ship to the US Navy for operation under bareboat charter.[14] The ship was subsequently commissioned as the troopship USS Wakefield on 15 June 1941. Assigned a Coast Guard crew under Commander Wilfrid N. Derby, she became the largest vessel ever operated by the Coast Guard.[15] On 18 September 1942 the ship was purchased by the Navy.[14]

The Manhattan would never re-enter commercial service. On 3 September 1942, while en route from Clyde to New York as part of convoy TA-18, a fire broke out aboard. Taken in tow by the Canadian Salvage vessel Foundation Franklin, the Wakefield reached Halifax five days later, still burning. By the time the last flames were extinguished, her hull was effectively gutted. Paid off by the US Navy, she was towed to Boston Navy Yard and rebuilt to troopship specifications.[15]

See also

References
  1. "The SS Manhattan… created the "Manhattan" cocktail… right out of Prohibition…". Cruise Line History. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  2. "Uncle Sam Enters The Atlantic Race", February 1931, Popular Mechanics article on the new construction in the 1930s
  3. Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (September 1932). "New York Shipbuilding Company". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco: JS Hines: 355. Retrieved 22 August 2019.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. McKinnon, H.C.; Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (January 1933). "Steamship Manhattan Launched". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco: JS Hines: 33. Retrieved 22 August 2019.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (December 1931). "Largest American Built Liner". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco: JS Hines: 491–492. Retrieved 22 August 2019.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (September 1932). "The Largest American Built Liner". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco: JS Hines: 322–336. Retrieved 22 August 2019.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. "Steamers and Motorships". Lloyd's Register (PDF). II. London: Lloyd's Register. 1933. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  8. Merchant Vessels of the United States. Washington, DC: Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation. 1933. pp. 88–89. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
  9. Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast (October 1932). "Unique Introduction to a New Passenger Liner". Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco: JS Hines. Retrieved 22 August 2019.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. "s.s. Manhattan, Washington, USL, Benny Goodman, Goody Goody, Swing, Jazz". Youtube.
  11. "German Jewish Refugee Children Who Arrived in Southampton From Germany on the S.S. Manhattan". USHMM. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  12. Keith, Phil. All Blood Runs Red: The Legendary Life of Eugene Bullard - Boxer, Pilot, Soldier, Spy. Toronto: Harlequin, 2019. p 213
  13. Associated Press, "2 are suspended in grounding of S.S. Manhattan", Chicago Daily Tribune, Friday 7 March 1941, Volume C, Number 57, p.3.
  14. Maritime Administration. "Wakefield". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  15. Naval History And Heritage Command (23 October 2015). "Wakefield". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  16. "The Story of a Transport - USS Wakefield". Youtube.
  • Gibbs, CR Vernon (1957). Passenger Liners of the Western Ocean (2nd ed). London: Staples Press Limited. LCCN 57001880
  • New York Shipbuilding Corporation (1948). 50 Years: New York Shipbuilding Corporation. Camden:house publication
  • Newell, Gordon (1963). Ocean Liners of the 20th Century (1st ed.). Seattle: Superior Publishing Company. LCCN 63-18494
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