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Will H. Point, seen here in August 1943, was a United States Army transport ship during World War II. The ship was previously named West Corum.
Will H. Point,seen here in August 1943, was aUnited States Armytransport ship duringWorld War II.The ship was previously namedWest Corum.
History
United States
NameUSSWest Corum(ID-3982)
Builder
Yard number13[1]
Launched2 January 1919[2]
CompletedFebruary 1919[1]
Acquired10 February 1919[3]
Commissioned10 February 1919[3]
Decommissioned9 June 1919[3]
FateReturned to USSB
History
NameSSWest Corum
Owner1919: USSB
AcquiredReturned from US Navy, 9 June 1919
IdentificationUS Official number: 2217533[2]
FateTransferred to the U.S. Army
United States
Name
  • 1940: USATWest Corum
  • 1941: USATWill H. Point
AcquiredNovember 1940[4]
FateSold for scrapping, July 1948
General characteristics
TypeDesign 1013 ship
Tonnage5,795GRT[2]
Displacement12,424 t[3]
Length
Beam54 ft (16.5 m)[2]
Draft24 ft (7.3 m) (mean)[3]
Propulsion
Speed10.5 knots (19.4 km/h)[2]
Complement82 (as USSWest Corum,1919)[3]
Armament
  • as USSWest Corum,1919:[3]
    • None
  • World War II:[5]
    • 1 × 3-inch (76 mm) gun
    • 4 ×20 mmAAguns

USSWest Corum(ID-3982)was acargo shipfor theUnited States Navyin 1919. The ship was built asSSWest Corumand reverted to that name at the end of her Navy service. DuringWorld War II,the ship wasUnited States Armytransport shipUSATWest Corum,later renamed toWill H. Point(sometimes listed asWilliam H. Point).

SSWest Corumwas asteam-powered ship built for theUnited States Shipping Board(USSB) as part of theWestboats, a series of steel-hulledcargo ships built on theWest Coast of the United Statesfor theWorld War Iwar effort. She was the 13th ship built byColumbia River Shipbuilding CompanyinPortland, Oregon.She wascommissionedinto theNaval Overseas Transportation Service(NOTS) of theUnited States Navyin January 1919. After one overseas trips for the Navy, she was decommissioned in May 1919 and returned to the USSB.

Early in her civilian career, she sailed betweenNew York CityandBordeaux,but later shifted to sailing toAntwerp.For most of the 1920s,West Corumsailed toArgentineports. By 1939,West Corumhad been laid up inNew Orleans.In 1940, she was reconditioned, transferred to theUnited States Army,and renamed USATWill H. Point.During World War II, the ship sailed primarily in thePacific Ocean,calling at ports inAustralia,Alaska,and the U.S. West Coast.Will H. Pointwas laid up in thereserve fleetinAstoria, Oregon,in January 1947 and sold for scrapping in July of that same year.

U.S. Navy career

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Upon completion ofWest Corumin February 1919,[1]three months after the end of fighting in World War I, she was handed over to theUnited States Navyfor use in the NOTS on 10 February. She wascommissionedas USSWest Corum(ID-3982) the same day.[3]

West Corumtook on a load ofwheat flourand sailed on 24 February for theEast Coast.[3][Note 1]After transiting thePanama Canal,she arrived atNorfolk, Virginia,on 19 March. Sailing soon after, she headed forConstantinople,Turkey, where she delivered her cargo on 18 April. On 1 May,West Corumset out from Constantinople for the United States viaGibraltar.She arrived in Norfolk on 6 June and was decommissioned three days later and returned to the USSB. [3]

Civilian career

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Many details ofWest Corum's post-Navy career are unknown, but mentions in shipping reports in contemporary newspapers offer hints at her activities.The New York Timesreports onWest Corum's impending arrival fromBordeauxin October 1919,[6]and fromAntwerpin May and August 1920.[7]By November 1920,West Corumhad apparently begun sailing toArgentineports.[8]

Most newspaper mentions ofWest Corumdo not report what sorts of cargo she carried, but a January 1922Associated Pressstory inThe Christian Science Monitorreveals her cargo for one voyage from Argentina. In what the news item said was the first full load of cargo leaving Buenos Aires in nearly a year,West Corumcarried 107,000 animal hides, estimated to be enough for 1,000,000 pairs of shoes, along with consignments of wool andlinseed.[9]The ship continued calling atBuenos AiresandSanta Fe, Argentina,as late as 1927,[10]but by 1939,West Corumhad been laid up in areserve fleetatNew Orleans.[11][12]

World War II

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Will H. Pointin February 1942

In June 1940, theUnited States Maritime Commission(USMC) opened bidding for the reconditioning of ten laid up cargo ships, which includedWest Corum.[12][Note 2]According to theLos Angeles Times,the USMC, a successor to the USSB, was forced to act because of a "critical shortage" of U.S. Navyauxiliary ships.[13]Though there is no specific information available regardingWest Corum,the cost of reconditioningWest Honaker,another of the laid upWestboats, was $77,777.[14]In November,West Corumwas one of different group of ten ships taken up by theUnited States Armyfor defense service.[4][Note 3]

The ship's movements under Army control are largely unknown, but in January 1941,The New York Timesreported that USATWest Corumhad arrived in New York fromPuerto Rico.[15]Between February and March 1941,[16]the ship was renamed USATWill H. Point(though some sources indicateWilliam H. Pointinstead) in honor of a former officer in theQuartermaster Corps.[17]

Some other destinations forWill H. Pointduring her Army service are known. On 15 June 1941, the ship became the first ship to dock at the newly completed port facilities atAnchorage, Alaska.[18]From September 1943 to January 1944,Will H. Pointsailed between ports inAustraliaandNew Guinea.Sailing mostly in convoys,Will H. PointvisitedGladstone,Brisbane,Caloundra,Townsville,andMilne Bay.[19]

After the war's end,Will H. Pointis listed in theChicago Daily Tribuneas returning 11 U.S. Army personnel fromPearl HarbortoSan Franciscoin July 1946.[20]The following January,Will H. Pointentered theNational Defense Reserve Fleet(NDRF) atAstoria, Oregon,and was withdrawn for scrapping in August.[21]

Notes

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  1. ^TheWestships, to avoid sailing empty to theEast Coast,loaded grain products intended for European ports and sailed from the East Coast without unloading or transferring their cargo. To avoid extra handling of the cargo, theUnited States Shipping Board,by prior arrangement, received an equivalent amount of cargo space in foreign ships for other American cargos. See: Crowell and Wilson, pp. 358–59.
  2. ^The other nine laid up ships selected for reconditioning wereWaukegan,West Honaker,Deer Lodge,West Celeron,Vincent,Siletz,West Cheswald,Mount Evans,andWest Segovia.(See ref #13)
  3. ^The other nine ships taken up by theUnited States ArmywereChirikof,Etolin,Liberty,Waukegan,Edenton,West Segovia,America,President Roosevelt,andPresident Jefferson.(see ref #4)

References

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  1. ^abcColton, Tim."Columbia River Shipbuilding Company, Portland OR".Shipbuildinghistory.com.The Colton Company. Archived fromthe originalon 17 December 2009.Retrieved26 September2008.
  2. ^abcdefg"West Corum(2217533) ".Miramar Ship Index.Retrieved26 September2008.Haworth lists the later name of the ship asWilliam H. Point.
  3. ^abcdefghijklNaval Historical Center."West Corum".DANFS.
  4. ^abCave, Wayne B. (7 November 1940). "Shipping news and activities at Los Angeles Harbor".Los Angeles Times.p. A12.
  5. ^"Australian War Memorial"(ID Number 304140).Australian War Memorial.Retrieved29 September2008.[dead link]
  6. ^"Shipping and mails".The New York Times.4 October 1919. p. 23.
  7. ^"Shipping and mails".The New York Times.31 May 1920. p. 15."Shipping and mails".The New York Times.21 August 1920. p. 14.
  8. ^"Shipping and mails".The New York Times.17 November 1920. p. 23.
  9. ^"Significance seen in Argentine cargo".The Christian Science Monitor.Associated Press.6 January 1922. p. 4.
  10. ^"Shipping and mails".The New York Times.13 July 1927. p. 46."Shipping and mails".The New York Times.15 May 1923. p. 39.
  11. ^Jordan, p. 432.
  12. ^ab"Laid-up cargo ships to be reconditioned".The New York Times.Associated Press. 7 June 1940. p. 14.
  13. ^Drake, Waldo (5 June 1940). "Shipping news and activities at Los Angeles Harbor".Los Angeles Times.p. A13.
  14. ^"Maritime Commission contracts".The Wall Street Journal.11 June 1940. p. 2.
  15. ^"Shipping and mails".The New York Times.26 January 1941. p. S8.
  16. ^In February, stillWest Corum("U. S. purchases another liner for a transport".Chicago Daily Tribune.27 February 1941. p. 7.) In March,Will H. Point("Arrivals and clearances at Pacific ports".Los Angeles Times.Associated Press. 15 March 1941. p. 12.)
  17. ^"Recommendations for promotions in Army to be secret".The Washington Post.29 March 1925. p. 60.
  18. ^Mighetto et al., p. 69.
  19. ^"Port Arrivals/Departures: West Corum".Arnold Hague's Ports Database.Convoy Web.Retrieved26 September2008.
  20. ^"5,100 veterans due today at N. Y., San Francisco".Chicago Daily Tribune.Associated Press. 14 July 1946. p. 23.
  21. ^"Will H. Point".Property Management & Archive Record System (PMARS).United States Maritime Administration.

Bibliography

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