Design 1023 ship

The Design 1023 ship (full name Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1023) was a steel-hulled cargo ship design approved for mass production by the United States Shipping Board's (USSB) Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) in World War I. Like many of the early designs approved by the EFC, the Design 1023 did not originate with the EFC itself but was based on an existing cargo ship designed by Theodore E. Ferris for the United States Shipping Board (USSB).[3][4] The ships, to be built by the Submarine Boat Corporation of Newark, New Jersey, were the first to be constructed under a standardized production system worked out by Ferris and approved by the USSB.[5]

Total output was planned to be 154 ships with 150 ships contracted to the Submarine Boat Corporation. Of the 150 ships, EFC hulls 547-596 and 785-884, planned for Submarine Boat 118 ships, yard numbers 1-118, were completed for the USSB between 30 May 1918 and 27 Mar 1920. The 32 Submarine Boat hulls numbered 119-150 were cancelled by the USSB and completed for Submarine Boat's shipping subsidiary, Transmarine, between 30 March 1920 and 11 April 1921. All the Submarine Boat ships were steam turbine propelled.[3][6][7] The first vessel, Agawam, was completed in 1918.[1][2] The government and Submarine Boat reached an agreement by which the company would take over the USSB owned yard that it had been operating. It would pay a rental of $4,000,000 for three years and then buy the plant. It would also buy the fabricated steel at the plant for half price and complete the 32 cancelled hulls on its own account.[8]

Four Design 1023 hulls, EFC 773-776, were under construction by New York Harbor Drydock Company, formerly Bayles Shipyards, when they were cancelled and sold on the ways.[2][9] The ships were powered by triple expansion steam engines rather than the steam turbine of the basic design.[2]

A number of the ships were lost and known or presumed captured by the Japanese in World War II. For example, Surico, later Admiral Gove and Ramona was sunk at Shanghai, salvaged and named Hitora Maru. The ship survived the war after being burned out, salvaged again to be repaired in Panama and operating as Valles into the late 1950s.[10][11] Another became a Japanese ship and a casualty of the war. Buffalo Bridge went to Japan for break up under the temporary name Buffalo Bridge Maru but was not scrapped and became Kosei Maru which was sunk by the USS Sunfish.[12]