SS President Cleveland (1947)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | SS President Cleveland |
| Namesake | Grover Cleveland |
| Operator | American President Lines |
| Route | Trans-Pacific |
| Builder | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co, Alameda, California |
| Yard number | 9509 |
| Laid down | 28 August 1944 |
| Launched | 23 June 1946 |
| Completed | 1947 |
| Identification | Official number: 254296 |
| Fate | scrapped 1974 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | 23,504 long tons (23,881 t) |
| Length | |
| Beam | 75 ft 6 in (23.01 m) |
| Draft | 30 ft 2 in (9.19 m) |
| Installed power | 20,000 hp (14,914 kW) |
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Capacity |
|
| Notes | sister ship: SS President Wilson |
SS President Cleveland was an American passenger ship originally ordered by the Maritime Commission during World War II, as one of the Admiral-class Type P2-SE2-R1 transport ships, and intended to be named USS Admiral D. W. Taylor (AP-128).[1] The ship was laid down on 28 August 1944 at the Bethlehem Steel shipyard in Alameda, California, but was cancelled on 16 December 1944.[2]
Redesigned for passenger service long before, she was launched on 23 June 1946 as President Cleveland,[3] completed in 1947, and bareboat chartered to American President Lines.[4]
One of the ship's most famous passengers was the Nobel Prize–winning author Sigrid Undset, who fled the Nazis by travelling across Russia and sailed to the USA on the President Cleveland.[5]
The ship was used in the film "Susan Slade" filmed in 1961 featuring Connie Stevens,Troy Donahue,Dorothy Maguire and Lloyd Nolan.
The ship was featured in a 1962 Britannica Films production called "The Seaport", filmed in San Francisco.[6]
She was sold to Oceanic Cruise Development, Inc. (C.Y. Tung Group) on 9 February 1973, and renamed Oriental President. The ship was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in 1974.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "APL: History - 1944-52 SS President Cleveland". apl.com. 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
- ^ "Admiral D. W. Taylor". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
- ^ "Bethlehem Launches the President Wilson" (PDF). Pacific Marine Review. San Francisco, California: Pacific American Steamship Association: 33–37. January 1947. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
- ^ "Proposed Work on the S.S. President Cleveland and S.S. President Wilson" (PDF). General Accounting Office. October 20, 1952. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
- ^ Montreal Gazette Aug 27, 1940, p. 11. [1]
- ^ The Seaport - 1962 Educational Documentary - WDTVLIVE42. 21 August 2015 – via YouTube.