EFC Design 1020 (Standard Lake "A"): Notes & Illustrations
Click here for larger and more complete plans from the 1920 USSB ship register: Sheet 1, Data
Click here for a plan with the Fredrikstad rig from Int'l Marine Engineering, April 1919: Sheet 1
Click on the photographs below to prompt larger views of the same images.
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Notes: EFC Design 1020 (Standard Lake "A") was built by the EFC at the yards of the American Ship Building Co. (AmShip) at Cleveland, Lorain, Chicago, Detroit (Wyandotte), Buffalo, and Superior (Superior Shipbuilding), plus those of Toledo Shipbuilding (managed by AmShip), Globe Shipbuilding (also at Superior), McDougall-Duluth, and Saginaw Shipbuilding. Together these yards built 92 Design 1020 ships under EFC contracts awarded between August 1917 and May 1918. Previously the six AmShip yards built 60 Lakers in two configurations for Norwegian, British, French, and American interests of which 34 were requisitioned, and Toledo, Globe Superior, and McDougall-Duluth added another 24 in four configurations, of which 23 were requisitioned. In its December 1915 report on contracts for new ships in American shipyards, the American monthly International Marine Engineering reported that Norwegian ship brokers were swamped with orders which they were unable to fill in Europe. A design for coastal ships for the Baltic timber trade developed in 1912 by the Fredriksstad Mekaniske Verksted in Fredrikstad, Norway, and called the Fredrikstad type had become popular in Norway. The first of these, the flush decked Sarpen, measured by Lloyd's at 265.0'pp x 42.1' x 17.9' depth with a capacity of 3050 deadweight tons, suggesting that the type could be modified for construction on the American Great Lakes. The size of ships built there for ocean service was limited to 260' x 43.5' by the locks in the Welland Canal which connected Lakes Erie and Ontario. In March 1916 I.M.E. reported that the American Ship Building Co. (AmShip) had received contracts from Norwegian companies to build seven steamships for use in the coasting trade abroad (they were probably built at its Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago yards), and that the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. had received a contract to build six ships of Welland Canal size for Norwegian owners. In April 1916 AmShip was reported to have received a contract from a U.S. shipowner for four steamers of full canal size to be built from plans drawn by Theodore E. Ferris, naval architect at New York. (These were probably Manta, Ozama, Sioux, and Carib, with orders for two more, Kiowa and Choctaw, being reported in January 1917.) Lloyd's measured the three-island Manta at 251.0' pp x 43'6' x 18.2' depth, essentially a shortened and widened Sarpen. (Her moulded depth to the upper deck was 20.1'.) More orders from abroad for the "improved Fredrikstad type" followed, now mostly from the British, and in May 1917 it was reported that Great Lakes shipyards had recently received orders to build about 70 steel ships for the overseas trade for delivery during 1918, most of these being of Welland Canal size. This process was interrupted on 3 August 1917 when all of the steel ships over 2500 tons in U.S. yards not already delivered were requisitioned by the United States (see details below) as it put together its own wartime shipbuilding program. As of 3 August 1917, 84 Welland Canal size ships had been ordered from the shipyards that later produced Design 1020 ships along with 28 from the Great Lakes Engineering Works and 14 from Manitowoc for a total of 126, nearly all foreign orders. The initial ships ordered by foreign and private American interests at the future Design 1020 yards had the original Fredrikstad rig, which consisted of two tall masts at the extreme ends of the ship, one on the forecastle and one on the poop, and two pairs of derrick posts, one pair at each end of the bridge house amidships. This arrangement left the forward and aft decks clear for large deck cargoes like timber, which were handled with eight long booms, two on each mast and one on each derrick post. (See the drawing of EFC Design 1044 and the photo of Monark, below, for representations of this design.) Toledo and McDougall-Duluth joined by Globe Superior and Manitowoc Shipbuilding later adopted a wartime variant of this rig in which the masts at the ends were shortened to derrick posts and a telescoping mast was added amidships, mainly to support radio antennas. (This wartime variant is shown in the 1919 I.M.E. drawing linked above.) However the EFC evidently thought that the usual two-masted cargo ship rig was better suited to wartime needs in the Atlantic, and with two exceptions (one order for Design 1042 and a pair for Design 1044) the EFC used only the two-masted rig (shown above) in its contract program. The later requisitioned ships at the six AmShip yards were also completed with the two-masted rig, presumably as their state of advancement permitted. Toledo exceptionally built three of its earlier British-ordered ships with a four-masted lumber schooner rig. Design 1020 was one of four standard types of cargo ships of regular construction for which Ferris prepared preliminary plans while serving as the naval architect and consulting engineer of the EFC between April 1917 and January 1918. (Another of these, Design 1033, was a "Spliced Laker," a longer ship designed to be cut into two parts for transiting the Welland Canal and then reassembled, though none of these were built.) In developing Design 1020 from his 1916 design Ferris as noted above changed the rig from the Fredrikstad type to a two-masted type. More importantly, he increased the capacity of the ship from about 3000 to 3500 deadweight tons (the same as his standard Design 1001 wood cargo ship) by increasing the depth of the hull. An early Design 1020 ship, Lake Ennis, was measured by Lloyd's at 251' pp x 43.8' x 22.2' depth, four feet deeper than the requisitioned ships like Manta, above. (Her moulded depth to the upper deck was 24.2'.) Curiously some drawings sent to Lloyd's to represent Design 1020 ships, while having the increased depth and the two masted rig, were first traced on 26 and 27 May 1916 and may have originated with Ferris's original design. The first EFC contract for Design 1020 was issued on 20 August 1917 for six ships to be built by the Saginaw Shipbuilding Co. of Saginaw, Michigan, which had received no European orders. On 20 November 1917 the EFC ordered 40 Design 1020 ships from AmShip, which distributed them to its yards at Buffalo (5), Chicago (9), Cleveland (6), Detroit/Wyandotte (8), Lorain (8), and Superior (4). Orders for 24 more followed in January 1918 to Toledo Shipbuilding (8), AmShip's yards (10), and Saginaw (6). In February and March respectively the Globe Shipbuilding Co. of Superior, Wisc. and the McDougall-Duluth Co. of Duluth, Minn. joined the program, the former with four ships and the latter with ten. AmShip got six more ships in March, and Globe brought up the rear with two additional ships in May. All together 92 ships of Design 1020 were ordered, and all were completed. The six AmShip yards subsequently built ships of the larger- capacity Designs 1093 (coal) and 1099 (oil), McDougall-Duluth and Toledo went directly from Design 1020 to AmShip's Design 1099, and Globe Superior and Saginaw went to Great Lakes Engineering Works's Design 1074, also of larger capacity. (Special source: Lloyd's Register Foundation, hec.lrfoundation.org.uk/archive-library/documents/) Requisitioned Sisters: During 1916-1917 Norwegian, British, French, Danish, and American interests placed orders for a total of 84 small cargo ships from eight Great Lakes yards to a design based on the Norwegian Fredrikstad type that later evolved into EFC Design 1020. 27 of these ships including 6 American (Sioux, Kiowa, Manta, Levisa, Ozama, and Carib), 4 British, 11 Norwegian, and 6 French were delivered to their purchasers before the other 57 were requisitioned by the Shipping Board on 3 August 1917. These, Yard nos. 467-470 at American Ship Building, Cleveland; 725-733 at AmShip Lorain; 81 and 83-86 at Chicago Shipbuilding; 209-220 at Detroit Shipbuilding (Wyandotte, Mich.); 528-531 at Superior Shipbuilding (Superior, Wisc.); 139-148 at Toledo Shipbuilding; 101-104 at Globe Shipbuilding (Superior, Wisc.); and 2-10 at the McDougall-Duluth Co. are covered in the Requisitioned Ships portion of the McKellar list. Chicago Yard no. 61 and Toledo Yard no. 139 were released to their owners. Specifications: Design 1020 (S.S. Lake Pachuta, EFC Hull 409): Steel Cargo. Deadweight tons: 3500 designed, 3540 actual. Dimensions: 261' length oa, 251' pp x 43.5' beam mld. x 24.2' depth mld., 21.25' draft loaded. Propulsion: 1 screw, 1 triple expansion engine, 2 Wickes water tube boilers, 1400 IHP, 10 kts. Configuration: 3-island, 1 deck, 2 holds, 4 hatches. |
| S.S. Lake Gormania (Design 1020, EFC Hull 1581), probably photographed in the early 1920s. This "Laker" was completed by the Detroit S.B. Co., Wyandotte, Mich. in October 1918. She and many of her sisters were scrapped by the Ford Motor Co. in 1926-27. Large numbers of Lakers, including some requistioned ships, were built to this design and its later variants, Designs 1074, 1093, and 1099. (Shipscribe) (Click photo to enlarge) |
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S.S. Monark (Fredriksstad Mekaniske Verksted, 1914) A classic early Norwegian-built Fredrikstad type ship in the ice with a deck load of timber while under the Swedish flag between 1928 and 1938. Note the cargo booms stowed on top of the deck load and the vertical timbers on the sides of the load that keep it in place. She was launched as Gemma and entered service as Freda. Photo No. None Source: Facebook, posted by Kjell-Ake Schonbeck |
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S.S. War Chant, later Lake Champlain (Design 1020 precursor, Yard No. 528) This requisitioned ship was built by Superior Shipbuilding at Superior, Wisc., with the original Fredrikstad rig. Photo No. NH 101995 Source: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, from NARA RG-19-LCM |
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S.S. Lake Worth (Design 1020 precursor, Yard No. 83) This requisitioned ship was built at Chicago with the original Fredrikstad rig. In this photo, taken in 1919, it appears that the after well deck has been filled in with a low deckhouse. She also has a light mast for signal flags over the bridge. A photo of Lake Champlain in camouflage paint (NH 69588) shows that ship with the same modifications. Photo No. NH 103041 Source: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command |
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S.S. Lake Catherine (Design 1020 precursor, Yard No. 147) This requisitioned ship was built at Toledo with the wartime Fredrikstad rig, which had short derrick posts instead of tall masts at the ends. Photo No. NH 101994 Source: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, from NARA RG-19-LCM |
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S.S. Lake Traverse (Design 1020 precursor, Yard No. 3) This requisitioned ship was built by McDougall-Duluth with the wartime Fredrikstad rig. Photo No. None Source: U.S. National Archives, RG-19-A-27 |
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USS Lake Borgne (Design 1020 precursor, Yard No. 102) This requisitioned ship was built by Globe Shipbuilding at Superior, Wisc., with the wartime Fredrikstad rig. She served as a NOTS cargo ship until sunk on 22 October 1918. Photo No. NH 65592 Source: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command |
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S.S. Lake Bridge ex War Rifle (Design 1020 precursor, Yard No. 142) This requisitioned ship was one of three built at Toledo with a lumber schooner rig consisting of four tall masts. She is shown here under construction on 25 October 1917 with the masts in place and with work in progress in the two well decks.Lake Superior and Lakeshore also had this rig and several Design 1044 and 1049 ships received it during the 1920s. Photo No. None Source: Shipscribe |
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USS Tuluran (AG 46), ex S.S. Lake Superior (Design 1020 precursor, Yard No. 141) This World War II view shows the four-masted lumber schooner rig used in three World War I requisitioned Lakers. Sailing lumber schooners had unobstructed holds and enough stability to carry half their lumber cargo on deck. Their booms were stepped high enough to clear the deck cargo. Tuluran was photographed on 8 April 1944. Photo No. None Source: U.S. National Archives, RG-19 |
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S.S. Lake Tulare (Design 1020 precursor, Yard No. 530) This requisitioned ship was built by Superior Shipbuilding at Superior, Wisc., with the two masted rig that became standard in Design 1020. She is shown at Danzig in 1919 while assigned to the U.S. Food Administration. Photo No. NH 107026 Source: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command |
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S.S. War Penguin, later Lakeport (Design 1020 precursor, Yard No. 467) Probably photographed around the time of her completion in October 1917. This requistioned "Laker" was the first of her type at AmShip's Cleveland yard to be completed with a standard two-masted rig instead of the Fredrikstad rig. Photo No. NH 94487 Source: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, from Navy SP/ID card file |
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S.S. Lake Fernwood (Design 1020 precursor, Yard No. 730) This requisitioned ship was built at Lorain, Ohio, with the Design 1020 two masted rig but without its increased hull depth. Photo No. NH 107021-A Source: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command |
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S.S. Lake Duncan (Design 1020, EFC Hull 916) This and the ships below were contract-built EFC Design 1020 ships, all with a two-masted rig. Lake Duncan is shown fitting out by the American Ship Building Co. at Cleveland, Ohio, on 24 June 1918. Photo No. 165-WW-499A-126 Source: U.S. National Archives, RG-165-WW |
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S.S. Lake Dymer (Design 1020, EFC Hull 921) Passing under the aerial lift bridge at Duluth, Minn. She was built across the river from Duluth at Superior, Wisc., delivered on 27 August 1918, and commissioned in the Navy at Montreal on September 16, 1918. She arrived at Brest, France, on 21 October 1918 and entered the Army coal trade, carrying coal from her base at Cardiff and from Belfast to France. Photo No. NH 101996 Source: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, from NARA RG-19-LCM |
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USS Lake Gakona (Design 1020, EFC Hull 910) In port with other freighters, circa 1919. She arrived at Brest on 19 September 1918 and then transported coal from her base at Cardiff and from Belfast to France. She arrived at Antwerp on 21 July 1919 and returned to the U.S. for decommissioning in August 1919. Photo No. NH 103921 Source: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command |
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USS Lake Garza (Design 1020, EFC Hull 925) At her base at Cardiff, Wales, while engaged in transporting coal to France. The sender of this post card wrote on 7 May 1919 that he was the figure in the bow of the small boat and that they were just knocking off from painting sides. Photo No. NH 107025 Source: U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command |
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S.S. Proctor (Design 1020, EFC Hull 1226) Probably shown fitting out at her builder's yard in Superior, Wisc. She was delivered to the EFC on 21 May 1919 and to her operator on 30 June 1919. Originally named Coolspring, she was renamed in January 1919 after a suburb of Duluth. Photo No. 165-WW-498A-053 Source: U.S. National Archives, RG-165-WW |
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S.S. Marjory, ex Chamberino (Design 1020, EFC Hull 1331) Entering a U.S. port on 24 January 1942. This ship was delivered by the McDougall-Duluth Co. in June 1919. Photo No. Marjory_9700_007 Source: vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/9700 |
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S.S. Marjory, ex Chamberino (Design 1020, EFC Hull 1331) Departing a U.S. port on 7 September 1943. Photo No. Marjory_9700_012 Source: vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/9700 |
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