USS West Carnifax (ID-3812) - Design and Construction

Design and Construction

The West ships were cargo ships of similar size and design built by several shipyards on the West Coast of the United States for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) for emergency use during World War I. All were given names that began with the word West, like West Carnifax, the first of some 18 West ships built by Southwestern Shipbuilding.

West Carnifax (Southwestern Shipbuilding No. 1) was laid down on 17 July as the first ship of the new Southwestern Shipbuilding shipyard. She was launched at 09:30 on 19 October 1918 by sponsor Marcoreta Hellman, the six-year-old daughter of yard superintendent Marco Hellman. When West Carnifax was delivered to the United States Navy upon completion in late December, the Los Angeles Times heralded the 134-workday completion time as a "world record" for the completion of a new ship in a new shipyard.

West Carnifax was 5,799 gross register tons (GRT), and was 410 feet 5 inches (125.10 m) long (between perpendiculars) and 54 feet 6 inches (16.61 m) abeam. West Carnifax had a steel hull, a mean draft of 24 feet 1 inch (7.34 m), and a displacement of 12,211 t. The ship had a single triple-expansion steam engine that drove a single screw propeller, and moved the ship at up to 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph).