SS Panaman

SS Panaman in 1913 at Baltimore, Maryland
History
Name	SS Panaman
Owner	American-Hawaiian Steamship Company
Ordered	September 1911[3]
Builder	Maryland Steel Sparrows Point, Maryland
Cost	$715,000[4]
Yard number	128[2]
Launched	28 June 1913
Completed	September 1913[2]
Identification	Official number: 211629[1]
Fate	Chartered by U.S. Army
History
United States
Name	USAT Panaman
Fate	Transferred to U.S. Navy, 12 August 1918[5]
History
United States
Name	USS Panaman (ID-3299)
Acquired	12 August 1918
Commissioned	12 August 1918
Decommissioned	18 September 1919
Fate	Returned to American-Hawaiian
History
Name	1919–1947: SS Panaman 1947–1954: SS Marcella
Owner	1919–1947: American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. 1947–1954: Italian government[5]
Port of registry	1919–1949: United States 1949–1952: Italy
Fate	Scrapped at Baltimore, 15 September 1954[1]
General characteristics
Type	Cargo ship
Tonnage	6,535 GRT[4] 10,175 LT DWT[4]
Length	407 ft 7 in (124.23 m) (LPP)[1] 429 ft 2 in (130.81 m) (overall)[5]
Beam	53 ft 8 in (16.36 m)[5]
Draft	29 ft 6 in (8.99 m)[5]
Installed power	4,000 ihp (2,983 kW)
Propulsion	3 × oil-fired single-ended boilers[6][7] 1 × quadruple-expansion steam engine[1] 1 × screw propeller[6]
Speed	12 knots (22 km/h)[5]
Capacity	Cargo: 492,255 cubic feet (13,939.1 m3)[4]
Crew	18 officers, 40 crewmen
Notes	Sister ships: Dakotan, Montanan, Pennsylvanian, Minnesotan, Washingtonian, Iowan, Ohioan[2]
General characteristics (as USS Panaman)
Displacement	14,495 t[8]
Complement	70[5]
Armament	1 × 5-inch (130 mm) gun 1 × 3-inch (76 mm) gun[5]

SS Panaman was a cargo ship built in 1913 for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company. The ship was sometimes incorrectly referred to as SS Panamanian. During World War I she was known as USAT Panaman in service for the United States Army and USS Panaman (ID-3299) in service for the United States Navy. Late in her career she was known as SS Marcella for the Italian government.

She was built by the Maryland Steel Company as one of eight sister ships for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company, and was employed in inter-coastal service via the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Panama Canal after it opened. In World War I, USAT Panaman carried cargo and animals to France under charter to the U.S. Army. When transferred to the U.S. Navy in August 1918, USS Panaman continued in the same duties, but after the Armistice, was converted to a troop transport and returned over 11,000 American troops from France. Returned to American-Hawaiian in 1919, Panaman resumed inter-coastal cargo service.

During World War II, Panaman was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration and initially sailed between New York and Caribbean ports, but with two trips to African ports mixed in. Beginning in mid 1943, Panaman sailed from New York or Boston to ports in the United Kingdom. In late 1946, she was sailing in the Pacific Ocean. In July 1947, American-Hawaiian sold Panaman to the Italian government. Renamed Marcella at that time, she was scrapped in September 1954 at Baltimore.