Design and Construction
To replace shipping tonnage lost to German submarines during World War I, the British Shipping Controller sought newly built ships from American shipyards. As part of 700,000 long tons (710,000 t) of shipping which had been ordered by March 1917, an order for nine vessels of 8,800 long tons deadweight (DWT) was placed with J. F. Duthie & Company of Seattle. Because the United States had not yet entered World War I, the Shipping Controller, to skirt neutrality laws, placed orders through various British shipping companies. Although the specific company that placed the order with Duthie is not reported in secondary sources, the company most often used for these orders was the Cunard Steamship Company. As one of the nine ships ordered, J. F. Duthie & Company laid down the keel of War Topaz as the eleventh ship begun at their shipyard.
On 6 August 1917, the Emergency Fleet Corporation—an entity created by the United States Shipping Board shortly after the United States entered the war on 6 April and tasked with overseeing U.S. shipbuilding—requisitioned most ships under construction in the United States; included among those was War Topaz. By the time of her 24 April 1918 launch, the ship had been renamed West Bridge, becoming one of the West ships, cargo ships of similar size and design built by several shipyards on the West Coast of the United States. Just a bit over one month later, on 26 May, the finished West Bridge was delivered to the United States Navy.
As completed, the steel-hulled ship was 409 feet 5 inches (124.79 m) long (between perpendiculars), 54 feet (16.5 m) abeam, and drew 24 feet 1 inch (7.34 m). West Bridge had a displacement of 12,200 long tons (12,400 t), and her 29-foot-9-inch (9.07 m)-deep hold allowed the ship to be rated at 5,799 gross register tons (GRT). The ship was powered by a single triple-expansion steam engine built by the Hooven, Owens, & Rentschler Company of Hamilton, Ohio. The engine, with cylinders of 24 1⁄2, 41 1⁄2, and 72 inches (62, 105, and 180 cm) diameter with a 48-inch (120 cm) stroke, was capable of generating up to 2,500 horsepower (1,900 kW), allowing the single screw propeller to move the ship at up 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h). For her U.S. Navy service in World War I, West Bridge was equipped with one 4-inch (102 mm) and one 3-inch (76 mm) gun.
Read more about this topic: USS West Bridge (ID-2888)
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