EFC Design 1136 (Requisitioned):
Notes & Illustrations
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Notes: In its annual report for the year ending 30 June 1920 the Shipping Board stated that the two 4,500 IHP 6-cylinder 4-cycle Diesel engines and their component of auxiliaries which had been purchased in Europe were to be installed in the 12,500 ton cargo vessel William Penn building at the Gloucester yards of the Pusey & Jones Co. On completion of the hull her Burmeister & Wain diesels were to be installed by their American licensee, the Cramp shipyard. The two engines had cylinders of 29.5" diameter and 45.25" stroke and each was directly connected to a propeller through shafting. They were designed to develop together 4500 IHP when turning at 115 RPM. They made her the first American vessel with an installation of such type and power and the first large American motor ship suitable for deep sea cargo trade. She was probably designated EFC Design 1136 at this time. She was conditionally accepted from Pusey & Jones at Gloucester City, N.J., on 29 September 1920 and sent to Cramp's for installation of her experimental diesel machinery. Cramp's delivered her on 23 June 1921, ending the requisitioned ship program. To demonstrate the potential savings of motorships, the Shipping Board sent William Penn around the world on her maiden voyage. She was operated on this voyage by the Barber Steamship Lines. She left New York on 3 September 1921 and completed the trip on 19 March 1922 in 197 days of which 106 were at sea, covering 28,500 miles without major repairs and with a saving in fuel alone of $70,000. She made her best speed on the day before her return to New York with her diesels developing 4700 IHP for a speed of 12.8 knots. Following this voyage, a 6 June 1924 amendment to the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 authorized the Shipping Board to install internal combustion (Diesel) engines in more of its ships, both to find an acceptable type for use in the American merchant marine and to create competition in the development and manufacture of diesel engines in the U.S. Further details of this program are on the pages for Designs 1013, 1027, 1032, and 1037. (Special sources: Shipping Board annual reports; Geneva [N.Y.] Daily Times, 4 May 1922, at www.nyshistoricnewspapers.org.) Specifications: Design 1136 (S.S. William Penn, Yard no. 17): Steel Cargo. Deadweight tons: 12373. Dimensions: 439.5' length pp x 60' beam mld. x 36.7' depth mld., 28.4' draft loaded. Propulsion: 2 screws, 2 Burmeister & Wain diesels, 4200 IHP, 11 kts. Configuration: 3-island, 2 decks (3 decks in Nos. 1, 2, and 3 holds), 5 holds, 5 hatches. |
| S.S. William Penn (EFC Design 1136, Yard no. 17). This, the ninth of the eleven large freighters of the Daniel Webster type, was modified with diesel propulsion with two propellers and thin diesel exhaust pipes instead of a smokestack. This photo is from a 1925 EFC sales catalog.(NHHC: Photo Collection, S-528-A) (Click photo to enlarge) |
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S.S. William Penn (Yard no. 17) Photographed between the wars. The flag painted on her side is the house flag of the Barber Steamship Lines, which operated her for the Shipping Board on her maiden voyage in 1921-22 and may have continued to operate her later. Photo No. None Source: Shipscribe |
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S.S. William Penn (Yard no. 17) Photographed on 26 June 1942 by a blimp from ZP-12 based at NAS Lakehurst, New Jersey. She had been converted to a tanker by National Bulk Carriers in 1940. The deck layout is reminiscent of that of the tankers built with cylindrical tanks at Chester, N.J. during World War I. Photo No. 80-G-420169 Source: U.S. National Archives, RG-80=G |
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