SS Illinois was an iron passenger-cargo steamship built by William Cramp & Sons in 1873. The last of a series of four Pennsylvania-class vessels, Illinois and her three sister ships—Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana—were the largest iron ships ever built in the United States at the time of their construction, and amongst the first to be fitted with compound steam engines. They were also the first ships to challenge British dominance of the transatlantic trade since the American Civil War.
Though soon outclassed by newer and larger vessels, Illinois was destined to enjoy a long and distinguished career, first as a transatlantic passenger liner and later as the U.S. Navy's auxiliary vessel . In the 1870s, Illinois may have been the first ship to successfully transport a shipment of fresh meat from the United States to Europe, twenty years before the introduction of refrigeration. As USS Supply, the ship served in both the Spanish–American War and the First World War, and crew members may have been the first United States personnel to fire a hostile shot in the latter. Illinois was scrapped in 1928.
Development
The four Pennsylvania class liners were constructed at a cost of $520,000 each by William Cramp & Sons on behalf of the American Steamship Company (ASC), a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The Railroad intended to utilize the vessels to bring European immigrants direct to Philadelphia, thus ensuring the company a steady stream of customers. In recognition of this purpose, the four ships—Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio—were named after the four states serviced by the Railroad. Design of the ships was entrusted to Charles H. Cramp of the Cramp & Sons shipyard, and Barnabas H. Bartol, a director of the ASC.
Construction
At 3,000 gross tons apiece, the ships were 1,000 tons larger than any iron ship previously constructed in the United States, and Cramp & Sons was forced to undertake a substantial upgrade of its facilities to complete them. The company established an entirely new shipyard for construction of the vessels, serviced by its own blacksmith, engine, boiler and carpentry shops, as well as providing it with a 700-foot outfitting wharf. Cost of the real estate alone was in excess of $265,000, and Cramp & Sons was obliged to incorporate as the William Cramp & Sons Engine and Ship Building Company in order to limit the financial risk involved. Fortuitously, Cramp & Sons had only recently built its first compound marine steam engine, and consequently the shipyard was able to install the vessels with the latest in engine technology.
The original contract called for Pennsylvania to be completed by January 1, 1873, but the schedule proved optimistic. A short-lived shipbuilding boom in the early 1870s made it difficult for the Cramp shipyard to obtain iron plates and other materials, and the yard was also affected by shortages of skilled labor. As a result, the ship would not be ready for delivery until almost a year later.
Service history
Illinois was launched in June 1873. She commenced her maiden voyage on January 23, 1874 on the Philadelphia–Queenstown–Liverpool route, a route she would maintain for the next twelve years.
1870s
Like her sister ships Pennsylvania and Ohio, Illinois also had an eventful first year of operation. In April 1874, she was making her way down the Delaware River when, just opposite the Philadelphia Naval Yard, she encountered four canal boats coming in the opposite direction. Illinois promptly collided with and sank all four vessels in short order. Fortunately, there were no deaths, and the hull of Illinois was undamaged by the collisions, enabling her to continue the voyage to Liverpool.
After the wooden bridge of Illinois' sister ship Pennsylvania was destroyed in an 1874 hurricane, a new iron bridge was installed on all four of the Pennsylvania class vessels. In 1875, a decision was made to increase the first class complement of all Pennsylvania class vessels from 75 to 100.
Experimental meat shipments
With the American Line struggling to turn a profit in the wake of the 1873 financial panic, the company decided to experiment with some novel exports. A glut of peaches in the summer of 1875 encouraged the company to try and export some of the surplus fruit to Great Britain on the Ohio, but the experiment was a costly failure.