SS Ohioan (1914)

SS Ohioan as she appeared before her U.S. Navy service in World War I
History
Name	SS Ohioan
Owner	American-Hawaiian Steamship Company
Port of registry	New York[2]
Ordered	May 1912[4]
Builder	Maryland Steel Sparrows Point, Maryland
Cost	$730,000[5]
Yard number	133[3]
Launched	18 April 1914[1]
Completed	30 June 1914[3]
Identification	US official number: 212314[1]
Fate	Requisitioned by U.S. Navy
United States
Name	USS Ohioan (ID-3280)
Acquired	5 August 1918
Commissioned	7 August 1918
Decommissioned	6 October 1919
Fate	Returned to American-Hawaiian
Name	SS Ohioan
Owner	American-Hawaiian Steamship Company
Acquired	22 September 1919
Fate	Grounded at San Francisco, October 1936
General characteristics
Type	Cargo ship
Tonnage	6,649 GRT[5] 9,920 LT DWT[5]
Length	407 ft 7 in (124.23 m) (LPP)[1] 428 ft 8 in (130.66 m) (overall)[7]
Beam	53 ft 8 in (16.36 m)[7]
Draft	29 ft 6 in (8.99 m)[7]
Propulsion	oil-fired boilers[6] 1 × quadruple-expansion steam engine[1] 1 × screw propeller[6]
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h)[7]
Capacity	Cargo: 438,154 cubic feet (12,407.1 m3)[5]
Crew	18 officers, 40 crewmen
Notes	Sister ships: Dakotan, Montanan, Pennsylvanian, Minnesotan, Washingtonian, Panaman, Iowan[3]
General characteristics (as USS Ohioan)
Troops	1,400[8]
Complement	70[7]
Armament	1 × 5-inch (130 mm) gun 1 × 3-inch (76 mm) gun[7]

SS Ohioan was a cargo ship built in 1914 for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company. During World War I, she was taken over by the United States Navy and commissioned as USS Ohioan (ID-3280).

Ohioan was built by the Maryland Steel Company as one of eight sister ships ordered by the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company for inter-coastal service cargo via the Panama Canal. When the canal was temporarily closed by landslides in late 1915, Ohioan sailed via the Straits of Magellan until the canal reopened in mid 1916. During World War I, USS Ohioan carried cargo, animals, and a limited number of passengers to France, and returned over 8,000 American troops after the Armistice, including the highly decorated American soldier Alvin York. After Ohioan's naval service ended in 1919, she was returned to her original owners.

Ohioan's post-war career was relatively uneventful until 8 October 1936, when she ran aground near Seal Rock at the Golden Gate, the entrance to San Francisco Bay. Attempts to free the ship were unsuccessful and, because of the close proximity of the wreck to San Francisco, the grounded Ohioan drew large crowds to watch salvage operations. Angelo J. Rossi, the mayor of San Francisco, toured the wreck on 19 October. Ohioan's hulk caught fire in March 1937, and the wreck broke into two pieces in a storm in December. As late as 1939, some of Ohioan's rusty steel beams were still visible on the rocks.