USS Craster Hall

{{short description|Cargo steamship that served in the United States Navy}} {{Use American English|date=July 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}

{{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image= SS Craster Hall (1909).jpg |image_caption= ''Craster Hall'' in civilian service between 1909 and 1918 }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |name= ''Craster Hall'' |namesake= |owner= *1909: CG Dunn & Co *1914: [[U.S. Steel|US Steel Products Co.]] |operator= *1918: [[United States Navy]] |registry= *1909: {{flagicon|UK|civil}} [[Port of Liverpool|Liverpool]] *1914: {{flagicon|US}} [[New York City|New York]] |route= |ordered= |builder= [[William Hamilton and Company|Wm Hamilton & Co]], [[Port Glasgow]] |original_cost= |yard_number= 203 |laid_down= |launched= 4 February 1909 |completed= May 1909 |acquired= for US Navy, 25 April 1918 |commissioned= by US Navy, 9 May 1918 |decommissioned= by US Navy, 5 February 1919 |maiden_voyage= |refit= |in_service= |out_of_service= |identification= *'''1909:''' UK [[official number]] 127964 *[[code letters]] HNRD *{{ICS|Hotel}}{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|Romeo}}{{ICS|Delta}} *'''1914:''' US official number 212886 *code letters LDQC *{{ICS|Lima}}{{ICS|Delta}}{{ICS|Quebec}}{{ICS|Charlie}} *'''1918:''' pennant number ID-1496 *[[Maritime call sign|call sign]] KLK |fate= beached after collision, 1927 |notes= }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |type= [[cargo ship]] |tonnage= {{GRT|4319}}, {{NRT|2759}} |displacement= 9,700 tons |length= {{cvt|380.0|ft|abbr=on}} |beam= {{cvt|50.0|ft|abbr=on}} |height= |draft= {{cvt|24|ft|0|in|2|abbr=on}} |depth= {{cvt|26.2|ft|abbr=on}} |decks= |power= 414 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]], 2,200 [[Horsepower#Indicated horsepower|ihp]] |propulsion= [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion engine]] |speed= {{convert|11|kn|km/h}} |capacity= |complement= in US Navy service: 62 |armament= *1 × [[5-inch/51-caliber gun]] *1 × [[6-pounder gun]] |sensors= |notes= }} }}

'''USS ''Craster Hall'' (ID-1486)''' was a [[Cargo ship|cargo]] [[steamship]] that was built in [[Scotland]] in 1909 and served in the [[Merchant navy|merchant]] fleets of first the [[United Kingdom]] and then the [[United States]]. From 1918 to 1919, she served in the [[United States Navy]]. In 1927, she was damaged in a collision off the coast of [[Peru]], was beached to prevent her sinking, but was wrecked.

==Building and first owner== [[William Hamilton and Company]] built the ship in [[Port Glasgow]] on the [[River Clyde]], launching her on 4 February 1909.<ref name=SBS>{{cite web |url= http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?&ref=8588 |title=Craster Hall |work=Scottish Built Ships |publisher=Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=17 September 2022}}</ref> Her registered length was {{cvt|380.0|ft|abbr=on}}, her beam was {{cvt|50.0|ft|abbr=on}} and her depth was {{cvt|26.2|ft|abbr=on}}. Her [[tonnage]]s were {{GRT|4319}} and {{NRT|2759}}.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1910|loc=CRA–CRE}}

She had a single [[Propeller|screw]], driven by three-cylinder [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion steam engine]] that was rated at 414 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|NHP]]{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1910|loc=CRA–CRE}} and gave her a speed of {{convert|11|kn|km/h}}.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

The ship's first owners were Charles G Dunn and Company of [[Liverpool]], who named their ships after [[English country house]]s whose name ended in "Hall". "Craster Hall" may refer to Dunstan Hall in the parish of [[Craster]] in [[Northumberland]]. Dunn & Co [[Ship registration|registered]] her at [[Port of Liverpool|Liverpool]]. Her [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] [[official number]] was 127964, and her [[code letters]] were HNRD.{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1910|loc=CRA–CRE}}{{sfn|''Mercantile Navy List'' 1911|p=124}}

==US ownership== In 1914, the [[U.S. Steel|United States Steel Products Co]] bought three of CG Dunn's ships: {{USS|Charlton Hall|ID-1359|2}}, ''Craster Hall'' and ''Crofton Hall'', and registered them in [[New York City|New York]].{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1914|loc=CRA}} ''Craster Hall''{{'}}s US official number was 212886 and her code letters were LDQC. By 1917, she was equipped for [[wireless telegraphy]].{{sfn|''Lloyd's Register'' 1917|loc=CRA–CRE}} By 1918 her [[Maritime call sign|call sign]] was KLK.{{sfn|The Marconi Press Agency Ltd|1918|p=769}}

On 25 April 1918, the [[United States Shipping Board]] transferred ''Craster Hall'' to the US Navy. On 9 May, she was [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] as USS ''Craster Hall'', with the Identification Number (ID) 1486. She was [[Defensively equipped merchant ship|defensively armed]] with one [[5-inch/51-caliber gun]] and one [[6-pounder gun]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.navsource.net/archives/12/171486.htm |last=Yarnall |first=Paul R |title=Craster Hall (ID 1486) |website=NavSource |access-date=17 September 2022}}</ref>

Between 25 May 1918 and 7 January 1919 ''Craster Hall'' made three voyages from the US to [[French Third Republic|France]] with the [[Military Sealift Command|Naval Overseas Transportation Service]]. She took [[Semi-finished casting products|steel billets]], mail, [[flatcar]]s, Army trucks, engines and airplanes to [[Bordeaux]] and [[Le Verdon-sur-Mer]], Army supplies to [[Quiberon]], [[Saint-Nazaire]], and [[Nantes]], and 353 horses to [[Pauillac]]. On 5 February 1919, the Navy decommissioned ''Craster Hall'' and returned her via the Shipping Board to her owners.

On 27 June 1927 ''Craster Hall'' was involved in a collision with [[Imperial Oil]]'s [[Motor ship|motor]] [[Tanker (ship)|tanker]] ''Reginolite'' off the coast of Peru, and was beached at [[Talara]] Point.<ref name=SBS/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Bibliography== *{{cite book |year=1910 |title=Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping |volume=I–Steamers |place=London |publisher=[[Lloyd's Register]] of Shipping |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1911ST/page/n280/mode/1up |via=[[Internet Archive]] |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1910}} }} *{{cite book |year=1914 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=I–Steamers |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1915ST/page/n263/mode/1up |via=Internet Archive |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1914}} }} *{{cite book |year=1917 |title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |volume=I–Steamers |place=London |publisher=Lloyd's Register of Shipping |url= https://archive.org/details/HECROS1918ST/page/n243/mode/1up |via=Internet Archive |ref={{harvid|''Lloyd's Register'' 1917}} }} *{{cite book |author=The Marconi Press Agency Ltd |author-link=Marconi Company |year=1918 |title=The Year Book of Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony |place=London |publisher=The Wireless Press, Ltd}} *{{cite book |year=1911 |title=Mercantile Navy List |place=London |url= https://www.crewlist.org.uk/data/viewimages?name=Craster+Hall&year=1911&submit=Enter |via=Crew List Index Project |ref={{harvid|''Mercantile Navy List'' 1911}} }}

==External links== *{{cite web |url= https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/craster-hall.html |title=Craster Hall |publisher=[[Naval History and Heritage Command]] |date=27 January 2022}}

[[Category:1909 ships]] [[Category:Cargo ships of the United States Navy]] [[Category:Merchant ships of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Merchant ships of the United States]] [[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]] [[Category:Shipwrecks of Peru]] [[Category:Steamships of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Steamships of the United States]] [[Category:World War I cargo ships of the United States]]