USAT General John McE. Hyde

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USAT General Frank M. Coxe
Sister-ship General Frank M. Coxe calls at Alcatraz, circa 1935
Career (United States)
Name: General John McE. Hyde
Builder: Charles Ward Engineering Works
Launched: 1921
Commissioned: 1921
Decommissioned: 1942
Fate: Sunk by Japanese artillery, Corregidor, Philippines 1942
General characteristics
Class and type: Troop ferry
Tonnage: 539 long tons (548 t) gross
366 long tons (372 t) net
Displacement: 900 long tons (914 t)
Length: 144 ft (44 m)
Beam: 28 ft (8.5 m)
Depth: 12 ft (3.7 m)
Propulsion: Steam boilers

The General John McE. Hyde was a 144-foot (44 m) long ferry boat built for the United States Army in 1921, to provide transportation services among the military facilities in Manila Bay, Philippines.

The General John McE. Hyde was sunk during World War II during the Battle of Corregidor [1], by Japanese artillery on April 15, 1942[2].

Design and construction

The General John McE. Hyde was not a navy ship, but it was among the thousands of vessels owned and operated by the US Army for specific logistical purposes[3]. This vessel along with a sister-ship, the General Frank M. Coxe, was designed and built shortly after World War I, to ferry army personnel within strategic harbors, in answer to the increasing military importance of the Pacific ports. It was designed by the New York firm of Cox & Stevens [4], who were renowned Naval Architects specializing in yachts and small commercial and military craft. The Hyde was built in 1921, followed in 1922 by the Coxe, to Cox & Stevens design #244. The ships were built on the Kanawha River, by Charles Ward Engineering Works [4] of Charleston, West Virginia,[5] a firm which specialized in shallow draft vessels such as ferries, riverboats, and tugs[6].

References

Notes
  1. U.S. Army ships and Watercraft of World War II by David H. Grover (page 75); Published: Annapolis, Md. by the Naval Institute Press, 1987 (ISBN 0870217666).
  2. "MOBILE" Battery “M” 60th coast artillery (a.a.) by Lt. Col. E. L. Barr, describes the sinking of the Hyde
  3. Steamboat reopens as restaurant Oakland Tribune, Dec 4, 2007 by Aaron Kinney
  4. 4.0 4.1 Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc. Coll. 34, Daniel S. Gregory Ships Plans Library
  5. US Coast Guard records location of Charles Ward Engineering Works
  6. West Virginia State Archives Description of Charles Ward Engineering.
Bibliography