SS President Wilson
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name: | SS President Wilson |
| Namesake: | Woodrow Wilson |
| Operator: | American President Lines |
| Route: | Trans-Pacific |
| Builder: | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co, Alameda, California |
| Yard number: | 9510 |
| Laid down: | 27 November 1944 |
| Launched: | 24 November 1947 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs. E. Russell Lutz |
| Completed: | 27 April 1948 |
| Identification: | Official number: 255039 |
| Fate: | Scrapped, 1984 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Tonnage: | |
| Displacement: | 23,504 long tons (23,881 t) |
| Length: | |
| Beam: | 75 ft 6 in (23.01 m) |
| Draft: | 30 ft 2 in (9.19 m) |
| Installed power: | 20,000 hp (14,914 kW) |
| Propulsion: | |
| Speed: | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Capacity: |
|
| Notes: | sister ship: SS President Cleveland |
SS President Wilson was an American passenger ship originally ordered by the Maritime Commission (MC hull 687) during World War II, as one of the Admiral W. S. Benson-class Type P2-SE2-R1 transport ships, and intended to be named USS Admiral F.B. Upham (AP-128).
The ship was laid down on 27 November 1944 at the Bethlehem Steel shipyard in Alameda, California, but was cancelled on 16 December 1944.[2] The ship was finally launched on 24 November 1947,[3] completed and delivered to the Maritime Commission on 27 April 1948.[2] Under the name SS President Wilson, she was bareboat chartered by the Maritime Commission to American President Lines.[4]
She was sold to Oceanic Cruise Development, Inc. (C.Y. Tung Group) on 27 April 1973, and renamed Oriental Empress. Laid up at Hong Kong, the ship was eventually scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in 1984.[1]
References
- 1 2 "APL: History - 1944-52 SS President Wilson". apl.com. 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- 1 2 "Admiral F. B. Upham". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ↑ "Bethlehem Launches the President Wilson" (PDF). Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco, California: Pacific American Steamship Association: 33–37. January 1947. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ↑ "Proposed Work on the S.S. President Cleveland and S.S. President Wilson" (PDF). General Accounting Office. October 20, 1952. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.