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USS ''Princess Matoika'' (ID-2290) was a transport ship for the United States Navy during World War I. Before the war, she was a that sailed as SS ''Kiautschou'' for the Hamburg America Line and as SS ''Princess Alice'' (sometimes spelled ''Prinzess Alice'') for North German Lloyd. After her World War I Navy service ended, she served as the United States Army transport ship USAT ''Princess Matoika''. In post-war civilian service she was SS ''Princess Matoika'' until 1922, SS ''President Arthur'' until 1927, and SS ''City of Honolulu'' until she was scrapped in 1933. Built in 1900 for the German Far East mail routes, SS ''Kiautschou'' traveled between Hamburg and Far East ports for most of her Hamburg America Line career. In 1904, she was traded to competitor North German Lloyd for five freighters, and renamed SS ''Princess Alice''. She sailed both transatlantic and Far East mail routes until the outbreak of World War I, when she was interned in the neutral port of Cebu in the Philippines. Seized by the U.S. in 1917, the newly renamed USS ''Princess Matoika'' carried over 50,000 U.S. troops to and from France in U.S. Navy service from 1918 to 1919. As an Army transport after that, she continued to return troops and repatriated the remains of Americans killed overseas in the war. In July 1920, she was a last-minute substitute to carry a large portion of the United States team to the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. From the perspective of the Olympic team, the trip was disastrous and a majority of the team members published a list of grievances and demands of the American Olympic Committee in an action known today as the Mutiny of the ''Matoika''. After her Army career ended, ''Princess Matoika'' was transferred to the United States Mail Steamship Line for European passenger service in early 1921. After that company's financial troubles resulted in her seizure, ''Princess Matoika'' was assigned to the newly formed United States Lines and resumed passenger service. In 1922, the ship was renamed SS ''President Arthur'', in honor of the 21st U.S. President, Chester A. Arthur. When changes in U.S. laws severely curtailed the number of immigrants that could enter the country in the early 1920s, the ship was laid up in Baltimore in late 1923. ''President Arthur'' was purchased in October 1924 by the Jewish-owned American Palestine Line to begin regular service between New York, Naples, and Palestine. On her maiden voyage to Palestine, she reportedly became the first ocean liner to fly the Zionist flag at sea and the first ocean liner ever to have female officers. Financial difficulties for American Palestine ended the service after three roundtrips, and the liner was sold to the Los Angeles Steamship Company for Los Angeles–Honolulu service. Following three years of carrying tourists and freight, the liner burned in Honolulu Harbor in 1930. She was deemed too expensive to repair and was eventually scrapped in Japan in 1933. == Hamburg America Line == In March 1900 the announced the plans for 22 new ships totaling at a cost of $11,000,000. One of the two largest ships announced was SS ''Kiautschou'' at an announced . The ship was laid down at AG Vulcan Stettin in Stettin, Germany (present-day Szczecin, Poland).〔 During her construction, renamed the ship twice before finally settling on Kiautschou, the German colony in China, as her namesake.〔Bonsor (Vol. 1, p. 408) identifies the two names as ''Borussia'' and ''Teutonia'', while Drechsel (Vol. 1, p. 338) gives them as ''Bavaria'' and ''Teutonia''.〕 Built, along with sister ship , for 's entry into the Deutsche Reichspost's Far East routes, ''Kiautschou'' was launched on 14 September 1900, and sailed on her maiden voyage from Hamburg to the Far East on 22 December 1900.〔Bonsor, Vol. 1, p. 408.〕 The ship was long and featured twin screws powered by two quadruple expansion steam engines that generated . The liner also featured bilge keels that helped stabilize her ride. On the interior, ''Kiautschou''s first-class state rooms were described as "light and large" and located in the center of the ship. She had two large promenade decks, a music room, and a library. Her smoking room was at the rear of the upper promenade deck, and her large dining room featured a balcony where the ship's orchestra could serenade diners. ''Kiautschou'' sailed on the Hamburg–Far East route until May 1902. For one round trip that month, ''Kiautschou'' replaced fellow steamer on Hamburg–New York service, calling at Southampton and Cherbourg on her eastbound trip, and at Cherbourg and Plymouth on her westbound return. After this one transatlantic excursion, ''Kiautschou'' was returned to Hamburg–Far East service.〔 On 20 February 1904, in exchange for abandoning the mail routes shared with North German Lloyd, traded ''Kiautschou'' for Lloyd freighters ''Bamberg'', ''Königsberg'', ''Nürnberg'', ''Stolberg'', and ''Strassburg''.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS Princess Matoika (ID-2290)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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