Built as a passenger- cargo vessel under yard No 340 by Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News for the Dollar Steamship Line, San Francisco.
26 October 1929 ordered.
21 April 1930 keel laid down.
21 February 1931 launched under the name PRESIDENT COOLIDGE, named after the 30th President of the United States Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933).
The ship was christened by his wife Mrs. Grace Anna Coolidge, with the smash of a bottle of water from her husband farm in Vermont. At that time Prohibition did not allow to use champagne.
Tonnage 21.963 grt., dim. 199.3 x 24.7m., length bpp. 187.4m., draught 34 feet.
Powered by two steam turbines, manufactured by Westinghouse Electric Manufacturing Company, 33.000 bhp., twin screws, speed 22 knots.
Bunker capacity 6.240 tons.
Passenger accommodation for 307 first, 133 tourist, 170 third and 380 tweendeck passengers. Crew 385.
Cargo capacity 608.850 cubic feet.
10 September 1931 completed, building cost $7.050.000.
01 October 1931 delivered to the Dollar Line.
She was built for the liner service across the Pacific between the USA and the Far East.
15 October 1931 under command of Capt. Karl A. Ahlin she sailed from New York for her maiden voyage to San Francisco her homeport.
06 November 1931 she left from San Francisco for her first voyage across the Pacific, first to Honolulu what took 5 days then through to Yokohama, Japan what she reached after an other 9 days at sea.
In the Far East she made calls at Kobe, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Manila, before returning to the Sates.
1932 She made the record voyage from east to west when she sailed from Yokohama to San Francisca in just over 12 days.
January 1933 she set down a new record from Honolulu to San Francisco of 4 days, 2 hours and 58 minutes.
One of the famous passengers who used the ship was Baron Henry de Rothschild; he arrived on her in San Francisco on 11 May 1935.
06 March 1937 when she left the port of San Francisco she came in collision with the tanker FRANK H BUCK when she approached the Golden Gate Bridge, in which the tanker sank.
The PRESIDENT COOLIDGE got severe bow damage, and steamed back to San Francisco, where her passengers disembarked before she was towed to the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Dry Dock for repairs.
25 March 1937 after her repairs she sailed again from San Francisco.
Her next voyage from San Francisco she carried on board General Douglas Macarthur and his wife to Manila to resume his post as special US Military Adviser.
During that year she made also her fastest crossing from Yokohama to San Francisco in 9 days, 9 hours and 51 minutes.
During the Depression years the Dollar Steamship Line came in financially trouble, and on 03 June 1938 the PRESIDENT COOLEDGE was not allowed to sail from San Francisco due to a debt of $35.000, a bond of $70.000 was put up, so the vessel could leave for her voyage to the Far East.
1938 The Dollar Line was taken over by a new formed Government owned company, the American President Line.
From October 1940 till the end of 1941was she used to evacuate Americans from Japan and China.
End January 1941 she arrived with 832 passengers at San Francisco and in March with more as 1.000.
June 1941 she encountered over 100 Japanese warships in the Strait of Formosa.
28 May 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared a state of national emergency.
02 June 1941 The PRESIDENT COOLIDGE was taken over by the Maritime Commission as a troopship for the Army.
15 August 1941 chartered by the American War Department and she made a voyage to Honolulu and Manila, returned end August at San Francisco.
Mid September left for an other voyage to Honolulu and Manila, under escort.
01 November 1941 sailed from San Francisco bound for Honolulu and Manila, on her return voyage under escort of the heavy cruiser USS LOUISVILLE the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour on 07 December, she made a call at Honolulu after the attack to pick up 125 wounded seamen on 19 December. She sailed out in convoy to the US where she safely arrived on Christmas morning in San Francisco. One man of the wounded had died during the passage from burns he had received during the attack on Pearl Harbour.
January 1942 was she converted to a troopship; she got an armament and was painted in the gray navy colour. After her conversation she could carry over 5000 troops.
The next nine months she carried troops and supply across the Pacific to Australia, New Zealand, French Polynesia and Fiji.
12 January 1942 she left for her first voyage with troops to Melbourne, Australia and Wellington, New Zealand, and returned 7 March in San Francisco.
All together she made 6 voyages.
06 October 1942 under commanded of Capt. Henry Nelson she sailed from San Francisco for Fiji, then to Noumea, New Caledonia (White Poppy named in war code) before heading to Espiritu Santo (Button named in war code) and now named Vanuatu. It was occupied by American forces on 18 March 1942, and the harbour was very important for the supply of troops and equipment for the war zone.
When she entered the Segond Channel it approach channel to the port she had 5.340 or 5.355 persons on board needed for the relief of the mariners on the island, and reinforcements for the American assault on Guadalcanal.
On 26 October 1942 at 09.06 a.m. the PRESIDENT COOLIDGE entered the approach channel, on 09.30 an explosion was heard and a few minutes later an other explosion, she had struck two mines laid by USS GAMBLE.
The vessel got quickly a list to port side, and Capt. Nelson tried to beach the ship, at 09.35 she grounded on the coral reef, and the order was given to abandon the ship.
She slipped off the coral reef around 10.50 and at 10.53 she was under water and lost.
Two men lost their (an other source gives five) lives, and a small monument was erected on shore near the place were the ship sank remembering the lost men.
The loss was a heavy blow to the American forces, while most men were rescued, the ship was also loaded with all sorts of supply, like jeeps, trucks, artillery guns and ammunition with a total weight of about 10.000 tons which all was lost.
An investigation in the loss of the vessel revealed that the American Navy did not tell Capt. Nelson that the channel was mined.
The port office of Noumea did not warn Capt. Nelson for the laid mines, or did give the captain a save route through the mines. Before sailing from Noumea Capt. Nelson received a sailing order, but the rider (attachment) belonging to the document and which did give the position of the mines he never received.
Today the wreck is on her portside with her bow 70 feet from the surface, and she is a very popular diving site.
Vanuatu 1986 45v and 55v sg 434 and 435.
1997 140v sg 743.
2006 MS sg?
Source: Many web-sites of which the best is http://www.quancentral.com/SS_Coolidge/ ... lidge1.htm
The MS you can find on Bjoern Moritz maritime side http://www.shipsonstamps.org/Topics.html/marken0701.htm