Mongolia (ship, 1904-1946)
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The Mongolia was a passenger ship put into service in 1904 by the US shipping company Pacific Mail Steamship Company . She served in the First World War under the tactical identification ID-1615 as a troop transport for the US Navy and after the war drove again as a passenger ship for various shipping companies under the names President Fillmore and Panamanian . In 1946 she was scrapped in Shanghai after a serious fire on board .
Planning and construction
The 13,639 GRT steamship was ordered on December 18, 1900 from the New York Shipbuilding yard in Camden , New Jersey , and laid down on Ramp J on June 7, 1902 under the name Minnelora . The ship was ordered by the ship magnate Bernard N. Baker, who wanted to put it into service for his shipping company Atlantic Transport Line (ATL), founded in Baltimore in 1881 . At the same time, an identical sister ship was ordered, which was laid down at the same shipyard on September 9, 1902 as Minnekahda .
Baker wanted to add the two steamers to his ATL fleet, whose ship names all began with "Minne-" and with which he wanted to profit from the booming trade in the North Atlantic at the turn of the century. In contrast to the existing ships , the two new ships were not built in Great Britain , but in the USA , despite much higher construction costs . Baker believed that the Shipbuilding Subsidy Bill, which was being voted on in Congress at the time, would result in US government grants for shipbuilding for construction and operations.
After the bill was rejected by Congress, the two sister ships were immediately offered for sale during construction and bought by Edward Henry Harriman's Pacific Mail Steamship Company. The Minnelora was launched on July 24, 1903 as Mongolia and the Minnekahda on November 2, 1903 as Manchuria . The completion of the Mongolia took place in January 1904 and the handover on February 5, 1904.
Early years of service in the Pacific
The ship had a funnel, four masts and two propellers and could reach a speed of 16 knots. It was driven by two eight-cylinder quadruple expansion steam engines and had four double-end and four single-end steam boilers with a total of 36 firings. The ship was four decks high, had nine watertight doors and was equipped with a cellular double floor. 300 passengers could be carried in the cabin class and 1,450 in the third class.
On May 7, 1904, the Mongolia ran out on her maiden voyage. Together with the Manchuria , she drove on the transpacific route from San Francisco via Hawaii to Hong Kong . On September 16, 1906, she ran aground on the Midway Islands , but was released again under her own steam before the ships Buford , Iroquois and Restorer arrived, which were sent to her aid from Honolulu . On April 23, 1907, she stranded in front of the city of Moji on the Japanese coast and on July 16, 1910 again in front of the Japanese province of Izu .
In August 1915, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company sold its five largest steamers to the Atlantic Transport Line, including Mongolia , Manchuria , Korea , Siberia and China, due to increasing competition from Japanese shipping lines . She also cited disadvantages from Senator Robert La Follette 's Seaman's Act (officially Act to Promote the Welfare of American Seamen in the Merchant Marine of the United States ) of March 4, 1915 as a reason. The Atlantic Transport Line in turn needed compensation for the war losses it had suffered so far. She paid 1.5 million US dollars for Mongolia alone .
In the first World War
The ship drove on November 9, 1915 from San Francisco via Cape Horn to New York , from where it set off on January 5, 1916 under the command of Captain Emery Rice for its first voyage to London . On March 18, 1917, the Mongolia ran out on its ninth and last crossing on this route. Since the German Reich had again declared unrestricted submarine war on February 1, 1917 , the Mongolia was equipped with three 150 mm deck guns for its defense, which were operated by a gun crew of the US Navy. Shortly afterwards, on April 19, 1917, the crew of the Mongolia shot (and possibly sunk) seven nautical miles southeast of Beachy Head in the English Channel with these guns at an unknown German submarine . It was the first shot from the cannon of an American ship after the United States entered the war on April 6, 1917.
The following month there was an accident on board. The Mongolia left New York on May 20, 1917, 265 soldiers, doctors and nurses towards Europe. A few hours after casting off, a target practice was carried out east of Nantucket . The cannon crew fired the rear gun at a floating target in the water. About 40 doctors and nurses followed the maneuver from their deck chairs on the boat deck. One or more projectiles hit the support pillars on deck, sending shrapnel flying around, struck by nurses Emma Matzen, Edith Ayers and Helen Wood. Ayers and Wood died in the incident. The Mongolia returned with the flag at half-mast go back to New York. Ayers and Wood were the first American nurses to die in World War I. They were buried with military honors.
For the next year, the Mongolia , which was still a civilian ship, was busy transporting troops and supplies to Europe. On April 27, 1918, she was requested as a troop transport by the US Navy and put into service as such on May 8, with the identification USS Mongolia (ID-1615). She carried out a total of 13 troop trips to France until she was discharged from the US Navy on September 11, 1919.
Late years
After the end of the war, the Mongolia was chartered to the American Line and set off on its first voyage from New York to Hamburg via Southampton and Antwerp in January 1920 . Her last crossing on this route began on December 31, 1924. From February 26, 1926, she drove for the Panama Pacific Line from New York via Panama to San Francisco. In October 1929 she was replaced on this route by the new, more than 20,000 ton motor ship Pennsylvania . Her final voyage for the Panama Pacific Line was marked by the death of a 37-year-old female passenger and the suicide of a young tourist class man.
Then the Mongolia was sold to the Dollar Line , converted and provided with passenger accommodation for 300 first-class passengers. Under the name of President Fillmore , she spent the next two years on the "Round the World" service of the Dollar Line from New York via Panama to California , Japan, China, through the Mediterranean Sea and back to New York. In November 1931 it was launched in New York. During this time it came into the possession of the American President Lines in 1938 , which took over the holdings of the bankrupt Dollar Line. In 1940 it was sold to the Compania Transatlantica Centroamericana, registered in Panama and given the new name Panamanian .
In January 1945 the Panamanian was badly damaged in a fire while she was being loaded in the port of Fremantle , Australia . The fire broke out at the jetty and spread to the superstructure of the ship via an oil puddle on the quay. Within a short time standing bridge , the saloon deck and the promenade deck in flames. After the fire was brought under control, strong winds fanned the flames again. The Panamanian was poorly repaired, but was finally sold to Shanghai for demolition .