Description
The Ruth Alexander (built 1913; steamship) anchor shackle and link plan (SAFR 21361, HDC1302) is a blueprint drawn by "J.E."
in May 1924 for the Moore Shipbuilding Co. in Oakland, California. The collection is open for use.
Background
The RUTH ALEXANDER (built 1913; steamship), a passenger liner was part of the Pacific Steamship Company's Admiral Line. As
an ocean liner, it carried passengers along the West Coast, from San Francisco to Seattle and Victoria (and, perhaps, down
the coast, to Los Angeles, San Diego and Ensenada, Mexico) between 1923 and 1938. The ship was built in 1913, in Stettin,
Germany by A.G. Vulcan. It was the North German Lloyd ship, SIERRA CORDOBA and served as a passenger liner, traveling between
Germany and South America. In September 1917, the ship was seized by Peruvian authorities. The U.S. Shipping Board charted
it from the Peruvian government and turned it over to the U.S. Navy for use as troop transport in April 1919. At that time,
it was commissioned as the U.S.S. CALLAO and made two voyages between the U.S. and France before it was decommissioned in
September 1919. In 1921, the ship was sold to the American-owned Dollar Line and, subsequently, chartered to the Admiral Line
in Seattle for coastal passenger
services. In 1923, Admiral Line owner H.F. Alexander rechristened the ship, RUTH ALEXANDER. In 1938 the Dollar Line was taken
over by the U.S. Maritime Commission, and in 1939 the American President Lines took over the RUTH ALEXANDER, rebuilt it as
a cargo ship and placed it under the Panamanian flag. The ship was sunk by Japanese torpedo bombers off Balikpapan in December
1941.