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USS ''West Carnifax'' (ID-3812) was a cargo ship in the United States Navy shortly after World War I. After she was decommissioned from the Navy, the ship was known as SS ''West Carnifax'', SS ''Exford'', and SS ''Pan Royal'' (or sometimes ''Pan-Royal'') in civilian service under American registry. ''West Carnifax'' was one of the ''West'' boats, a series of steel-hulled cargo ships built for the on the West Coast of the United States. The ship was the first ship built at Southwestern Shipbuilding in San Pedro, California, and was launched in October 1918 and delivered to the US Navy upon completion in late December. After commissioning, ''West Carnifax'' sailed from California with a load of wheat flour for the East Coast of the United States and, from there, to Europe. When she docked at Hamburg, Germany, in March 1919, she became the first American ship to dock at Hamburg since before the start of World War I. At the conclusion of her trip to Germany she was decommissioned and returned to the . ''West Carnifax'' sailed to European ports for a time and in South American service for the American Republics Line while under ownership. After her sale for operation by the American Export Lines in 1928, she began sailing in Mediterranean service. After a rename to SS ''Exford'' later in 1928, she was used on a cargo service to Soviet Black Sea ports, and became the first American ship to dock in the Soviet Union since World War I. After a brief stint in intercoastal service, the ship was renamed ''Pan Royal'' in 1933 for service with a subsidiary of the Waterman Steamship Company. In convoy sailing during World War II, ''Pan Royal'' made two roundtrips between the United States and the United Kingdom, and one roundtrip to North Africa. At the beginning of her second voyage to Africa in February 1943, ''Pan Royal'' was accidentally rammed by two other convoy ships and sunk. Eight crewmen lost their lives in the accident. == 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'',〔Crowell and Wilson, pp. 358–59.〕 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.〔〔''West Carnifax''s launching ceremony had been delayed by seven days by the Emergency Fleet Corporation for public health considerations: public gatherings had been banned in order to combat the spread of Spanish flu. When the ceremony did take place, it was before a private crowd; the invitations of guests had all been withdrawn.〕 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 ,〔 and was long (between perpendiculars) and abeam. ''West Carnifax'' had a steel hull, a mean draft of ,〔 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 .〔 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 West Carnifax (ID-3812)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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