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USS ''West Lianga'' (ID-2758) was a cargo ship for the United States Navy during World War I. She was later known as SS ''Helen Whittier'' and SS ''Kalani'' in civilian service under American registry, as SS ''Empire Cheetah'' under British registry, and as SS ''Hobbema'' under Dutch registry. ''West Lianga'' was launched for the in May 1918 as a part of the ''West'' boats, a series of steel-hulled cargo ships built on the West Coast of the United States for the World War I war effort. ''West Lianga'' briefly had the distinction of being the fastest-launched and fastest-completed ocean-going ship in the world. Pressed into cargo service for the US Navy, USS ''West Lianga'' was commissioned into the and completed four round-trip voyages to France for the Navy. After decommissioning in mid 1919, she was briefly in cargo service out of Seattle before being laid up in late 1921. ''West Lianga'' was sold to the in early 1929, refurbished, and renamed ''Helen Whittier'' for intercoastal cargo service. When Matson Navigation Company purchased in 1931, ''Helen Whittier'' frequently sailed on Matson's Hawaiian sugar routes. She was renamed ''Kalani'' in 1938 and continued in Hawaiian service until 1940 when she was sold to British interests to help fill the United Kingdom's urgent need for merchant ships. After sailing to the UK as ''Kalani'', the ship was renamed ''Empire Cheetah'' and sailed in transatlantic convoys, making three round trips between February 1941 and May 1942. At that time, ''Empire Cheetah'' was transferred to Dutch interests and renamed ''Hobbema''. She successfully completed one transatlantic roundtrip under Dutch registry and was on the homeward leg of her second in Convoy SC 107, when that convoy was attacked by a wolf pack of German submarines. Shortly after midnight on 4 November 1942, ''Hobbema'' was struck in the engine room by a single torpedo fired by . Of ''Hobbema''s complement of 44 men and British gunners aboard, only 16 survived the attack. ''Hobbema'' was one of 19 Allied ships in the convoy sunk by German submarines. == 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 for emergency use during World War I. All were given names that began with the word ''West'', like ''West Lianga'',〔Crowell and Wilson, pp. 358–59.〕 one of some 24 ''West'' ships built by Skinner & Eddy of Seattle, Washington.〔 ''West Lianga'' (Skinner & Eddy No. 21; No. 1176)〔 was laid down on 14 February 1918. When she was launched on 20 April with an elapsed time of 55 working days—65 calendar days—from keel laying to launch, it was in world-record time, beating the launch of Columbia River Shipbuilding's , launched after 61 working days in March.〔 The article refers to the ship as ''Westgrove'' but (Haworth ) and (Colton ) refer to the ship as ''West Grove''.〕 When ''West Lianga'' was completed on 4 May, 67 working days after her keel laying, it was another world record, shaving 18 days off of Columbia River Shipbuilding's previous record. By 1920, ''West Lianga'' had fallen to third-fastest when Edward N. Hurley, the wartime chairman of the , compiled a list of the ten fastest-constructed ocean-going vessels for his 1920 book ''The New Merchant Marine''. Skinner & Eddy received a $71,600 bonus for completing the ship early.〔Shipping Board Operations, p. 624.〕 ''West Lianga'' was ,〔 and was long (between perpendiculars) and abeam. ''West Lianga'' had a steel hull and a deadweight tonnage of .〔 The ship had a single steam turbine that drove her single screw propeller which moved the ship at an pace.〔 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 Lianga (ID-2758)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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