View source for USS Alloway (ID-3139)

{{short description|Cargo ship of the United States Navy}}
{{other ships|USS Alloway}}

{{Use American English|date=May 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
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|Ship image=S.S. Alloway (cropped).jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Alloway'' undergoing [[sea trial|builder's trials]] on 5 July 1918, probably in [[San Francisco Bay]]. She is flying the flag of her builder, the Moore Shipbuilding Company of [[Oakland, California]], from a short [[flagmast]] on her [[forecastle]]. The [[United States Shipping Board]] flag is flying from her forward mast, and a flag bearing her name is at the top of her after mast. Note the ship's [[dazzle camouflage]] scheme.
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|Ship ordered=as ''Shintaka''
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|Ship builder=Moore & Scott, Oakland, California
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|Ship laid down=1918
|Ship launched=14 March 1918
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|Ship acquired=11 July 1918
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|Ship fate=*Transferred to [[United States Shipping Board|U.S. Shipping Board]] 3&nbsp;March&nbsp;1919
*Wrecked 12&nbsp;February&nbsp;1929
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|Ship tonnage={{GRT|6,113}}<ref name=alaskashipwrecksa>[https://alaskashipwreck.com/shipwrecks-a-z/alaska-shipwrecks-a/ alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (A)]</ref> {{NRT|4,383}}<ref name=alaskashipwrecksa/>
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'''USS ''Alloway'' (Id. No. 3139)''' was a [[United States Navy]] [[Design 1015 ship]] [[cargo ship]] in commission from 1918 to 1919 that served during [[World War I]] and its immediate aftermath. After decommissioning, she served as the commercial cargo ship '''SS ''Alloway''''' until she was wrecked in 1929.

==Construction and commissioning==
SS ''Shintaka'', a [[screw steamer]] built in 1918 at [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], [[California]], for the [[United States Shipping Board]] by [[Moore Dry Dock Company|Moore & Scott]], was acquired by the U.S. Navy on 11 July 1918 for World War I service. Renamed USS ''Alloway'' ([[Naval Registry Identification Number|ID No.]] 3139), she was [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] at [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]], California, on 12 July 1918.

==Service history==
===U.S. Navy===

Assigned to the [[Naval Overseas Transportation Service]] (NOTS), ''Alloway'' departed from San Francisco soon after commissioning and set a course for the west coast of South America. She arrived at [[Arica, Chile|Arica]], [[Chile]], on 17 August 1918 and began loading a cargo of [[nitrate]]s. She left Arica near the end of August 1918 and arrived at [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], [[Virginia]], on 20 September 1918. She discharged the nitrates at Norfolk and moved on to [[New York City]] for repairs.

On 10 November 1918, the day before the [[armistice with Germany]] that ended World War I, ''Alloway'' departed New York City to begin her only voyage to [[Europe]] in U.S. Navy service. A little over a month later, on 11 December 1918, she entered port at [[Quiberon, France|Quiberon]], [[France]]. After unloading over 5,000 tons{{vague|which tons?|date=February 2010}} of [[United States Army]] cargo, she continued on to [[Brest, France|Brest]], France. She loaded new cargo there for the return voyage, then crossed the Atlantic and entered [[New York Harbor]] on 13 February 1919.  After discharging her cargo, she entered Schewan's [[drydock]] for overhaul.

On 3 March 1919, ''Alloway'' was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] and returned to the U.S. Shipping Board for disposition. Presumably, her name was struck from the [[Navy list]] that same day.

===Commercial service===
As SS ''Alloway'', the ship entered commercial service, and the U.S. Shipping Board operated her commercially until 1928,<ref>[https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?223240 wrecksite.eu SS Alloway (+1929)]</ref> when she was sold to the C. P. Box Corporation of [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]].<ref name=alaskashipwrecksa/>

''Alloway'' began her final voyage on 29 January 1929,<ref name=alaskashipwrecksa/> when she departed Seattle under the command of [[Sea captain|Captain]] H. S. Throckmorton carrying a crew of 35 and a cargo of 4,500 tons of [[lumber]] bound for [[Yokohama]], [[Japan]], where she was to be scrapped.Her [[steam engine]] broke down during the voyage on 10 February 1929, and on 11 February 1929 the [[American Mail Line]] steamer ''Montauk'' – which was on a voyage to [[Shanghai]], [[China]] – took her under [[Towing|tow]].The towline broke in [[Unimak Pass]] in the [[Aleutian Islands]] during a [[gale]] on 12 February, and ''Alloway'' collided with ''Montauk'' – which sustained US$10,000 in damage to her [[Superstructure (ship)|superstructure]] – immediately after the towline broke, then drifted quickly toward nearby [[Ugamak Island]]. Her crew attempted to anchor her, but she dragged the [[anchor]], and all but one member of her crew abandoned ship when it became impossible to stop her from running aground on the coast of Ugamak Island.<ref name=alaskashipwrecksa/>

One crewman, 20-year-old [[Oiler (occupation)|oiler]] James L. Posey, remained aboard ''Alloway'' after the rest of the crew abandoned ship and even after she ran aground, despite the danger to his life.<ref name=alaskashipwrecksa/><ref name=allowaydailycolonist>[https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist229uvic_14/page/n5 Anonymous, "Man Left on SS Alloway May Be Wise," ''The Daily Colonist'' (Victoria, British Columbia), February 14, 1929, p. 5 Retrieved June 7, 2019]</ref> ''Montauk'' radioed that Posey had become mentally deranged because of the stress of five days at sea in the gale and could not be forced to abandon ship,<ref name=allowaydailycolonist/> but [[merchant marine]]rs in Seattle offered the opinion that Posey had remained aboard in order claim a possibly significant share of the [[Marine salvage|salvage]] value<ref name=allowaydailycolonist/> of the US$200,000 ship<ref name=alaskashipwrecksa/> and her US$80,000 cargo<ref name=alaskashipwrecksa/> if any salvage attempt took place, and this motive eventually was confirmed.<ref name=alaskashipwrecksa/> Posey finally abandoned ship on 14 February 1929 and was rescued by a [[United States Coast Guard]] [[United States Coast Guard Cutter|cutter]] shortly before ''Alloway'' broke up in the surf.<ref name=alaskashipwrecksa/> She and her cargo were a [[total loss]].<ref name=alaskashipwrecksa/>

== References ==
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/a7/alloway-i.htm}}
*[http://www.amnwr.com/ShipwreckList.htm amnwr.com Shipwrecks on Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge]
*[http://shipbuildinghistory.com/merchantships/1pacific.htm shipbuildinghistory.com General Cargo Ships Built in Pacific Coast Shipyards]
{{reflist}}

{{Design 1015 ships}}
{{1929 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alloway (ID-3139)}}
[[Category:Design 1015 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Oakland, California]]
[[Category:1918 ships]]
[[Category:Design 1015 ships of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:World War I cargo ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1929]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Alaska coast]]