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A guide to the Michael J. Ryan specifications for reconversion of SS Sea Star, 1948 April
HDC1669 (SAFR 23828)
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Title: Michael J. Ryan specifications for reconversion of SS Sea Star
Date: 1948 April
Identifier/Call Number: HDC1669 (SAFR 23828)
Naval architect:
Ryan, Michael J.
Physical Description:
1 item.
Repository:
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department
Building E, Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA 94123
Abstract: The Michael J. Ryan specifications for reconversion of SS SEA STAR (SAFR 23828, HDC 1669) consists of one bound volume of
the allowance list section of the specifications for the reconversion of the troop transport SS SEA STAR from military use
by the War Shipping Administration to commercial use by the Luckenbach Steamship Company, Inc.
Physical Location: San Francisco Maritime NHP, Historic Documents Department
Language(s):
In English.
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[Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item
Number], HDC1669 (SAFR 23828), Michael J. Ryan specifications for reconversion of SS Sea Star, San Francisco Maritime National
Historical Park
SAFR-02202
Field collection
Historical or Biographical Note
Michael J. Ryan conducted an inspection and wrote the specification documents for the reconversion of the SS SEA STAR from
a military transport vessel to a commercial cargo vessel for the Luckenbach Steamship Company in April 1948.
Michael J. Ryan was a Naval Architect and Marine Engineer who worked out of the Alameda Naval Shipyard in the late 1940's
inspecting a number of former military use vessels that were sold to commercial shipping companies under the Merchant Sales
Act of 1946.
The SS SEA STAR was built in 1943 at the Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi by the United States War Shipping Administration
as a 7,868 ton, 492 foot long, 69 foot wide troop transport ship with 2 steam turbines, reduction geared to a single shaft.
She had two decks and an open shelter deck, and was built solely for transporting troops across the Atlantic Ocean for the
invasion of North Africa and Italy during World War II. She also was involved in the transport of troops to England in preparation
for the Normandy invasion of 1944. In 1946, the SS SEA STAR was transferred to the U.S. Maritime commission, and in 1948 underwent
an extensive overhaul in preparation for her sale to the Luckenbach Steamship Company of New York. The Luckenbach Steamship
company renamed the ship the GEORGE LUCKENBACH and operated her from 1948 to 1960 as a cargo transport ship making transit
runs between New York, San Francisco and the Philippines. In 1960, the GEORGE LUCKENBACH was sold to the States Marine Lines,
who
renamed her the BUCKEYE STATE and operated her out of New York harbor as a cargo transport ship until 1973 when she was sold
for scrap to the Yung Tai Steel & Iron Works Company of Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
The Michael J. Ryan specifications for reconversion of SS SEA STAR (SAFR 23828, HDC 1669) consists of one bound volume of
the allowance list section of the specifications for the reconversion of the troop transport SS SEA STAR from military use
by the War Shipping Administration to commercial use by the Luckenbach Steamship Company, Inc.
The Allowance List Section of Specifications for Reconversion of USMC Hull No. 249 (SS SEA STAR - Troop Transport) to Design
C3-S-A2 Cargo Vessel for the Luckenbach Steamship Company, Inc. is a report printed in April 1948 and lists in an orderly
and sytematic fashion all of the equipment and spare parts for engine mechanical and engine electrical systems onboard the
SS SEA STAR. The allowance list consists of 320 pages of tabulated data enumerating every piece of equipment onboard, from
main engines and air compressors down to every spare bolt and washer, divided by department and space. The list includes all
the main engineering spaces, the ship's messing facilities, berthing compartments and electrical storerooms and is a comprehensive
list of any and all equipment onboard. The list was used by the Luckenbach Steamship company in preparing for the ship's overhaul
and transfer of ownership. The bound volume is open for use without restriction.
Single item
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Cargo ships
Ryan, Michael J.
Alameda (Calif.)
Specifications
Naval architecture
Naval architects
Administrative records