SS President Wilson

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).

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: November 27, 1944
Launched: November 24, 1947
Sponsored by: Mrs. E. Russell Lutz
Completed: April 27, 1948
Identification:
Fate: Scrapped, 1984
General characteristics [1]
Tonnage:
Displacement: 23,504 long tons (23,881 t)
Length:
  • 609 ft 6 in (185.78 m) o/a
  • 573 ft (175 m) p/p
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:
  • 579 passengers (379 first class, 200 economy class)
  • 193,984 cubic feet (5,493 m3) cargo
Notes: sister ship: SS President Cleveland

The ship was laid down on November 27, 1944 at the Bethlehem Steel shipyard in Alameda, California, but was cancelled on December 16,1944.[2] The ship was finally launched on November 24,1947,[3] completed and delivered to the Maritime Commission on April 27, 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 April 27, 1973, and renamed Oriental Empress. Laid up at Hong Kong, the ship was eventually scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in 1984.[1]

References
  1. "APL: History - 1944-52 SS President Wilson". apl.com. 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  2. "Admiral F. B. Upham". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
  3. "Bethlehem Launches the President Wilson" (PDF). Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco, California: Pacific American Steamship Association: 33–37. January 1947. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  4. "Proposed Work on the S.S. President Cleveland and S.S. President Wilson" (PDF). General Accounting Office. October 20, 1952. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
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