SS Great Northern information

	Great Northern running builder's trials, c. late 1914 or early 1915
History
United States
Name	1915: Great Northern; 1917: USS Great Northern (ID-4569); 1919: USAT Great Northern; 1921: USS Great Northern (AG-9); 1921: USS Columbia (AG-9); 1922: H. F. Alexander; 1942: USAT George S. Simonds;
Namesake	Great Northern Railway
Operator	1915: Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Company; 1917: U.S. Navy; 1919: U.S. Army; 1921: U.S. Navy; 1922: Pacific Steamship Company; 1942: U.S. Army;
Awarded	26 April 1913
Builder	William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia
Yard number	407
Laid down	22 September 1913
Launched	7 July 1914
Completed	April 1915
In service	April 1915
Out of service	Entered reserve fleet at Lee Hall, Virginia 5 March 1946
Fate	Sold to Boston Metals Company on 25 February 1948
General characteristics
Type	Passenger ship
Tonnage	8,255 GRT
Length	509 ft 6 in (155.30 m)
Beam	63 ft 1 in (19.23 m)
Draft	21 ft (6.4 m)
Speed	23 kn (26 mph; 43 km/h)
Complement	559 (Navy)
Armament	4 × 6-inch (150 mm) guns (Navy)

Great Northern was a passenger ship built at Philadelphia by William Cramp & Sons under supervision of the Great Northern Pacific Steam Ship Company for the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Company, itself a joint venture of the Great Northern Railway and Northern Pacific Railway. Great Northern, along with sister ship Northern Pacific, were built to provide a passenger and freight link by sea between the northern transcontinental rail lines via the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway terminal at Astoria, Oregon and San Francisco beginning in spring of 1915.

The ship was acquired for military service in September 1917 and served as USS Great Northern (AG-9), USAT Great Northern and USS Columbia before returning to commercial Pacific Coast service as H. F. Alexander. In 1942 the ship was acquired by the War Shipping Administration and again became an Army transport, USAT George S. Simonds. After layup in the reserve fleet 5 March 1946 the ship was sold to Boston Metals Company on 25 February 1948 for scrapping.

^ ^a ^b Clay 2011, p. 2153.
^ Maritime Administration.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d DANFS: Great Northern.
^ International Marine Engineering 1914.

[FOOTNOTEClay20112153-1] Clay 2011, p. 2153.

[FOOTNOTEMaritime_Administration-2] Maritime Administration.

[FOOTNOTEDANFS:_''Great_Northern''-3] DANFS: Great Northern.

[FOOTNOTEInternational_Marine_Engineering1914-4] International Marine Engineering 1914.

SS Great Northern information

and 18 Related for: SS Great Northern information

SS Great Northern

SS Great Britain

SS Great Eastern

SS Northern Pacific

List of passenger ships built in the United States

List of SS personnel

Schutzstaffel

List of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes

1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler

SS Eastland

SS Edmund Fitzgerald

Great Northern Expedition

SS Keewatin

21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg

Ahnenerbe

SS Bannockburn

SS Politician

List of storms on the Great Lakes

History
Great Northern running builder's trials, c. late 1914 or early 1915
United States
Name	1915: Great Northern 1917: USS Great Northern (ID-4569) 1919: USAT Great Northern 1921: USS Great Northern (AG-9) 1921: USS Columbia (AG-9) 1922: H. F. Alexander 1942: USAT George S. Simonds^[3]
Namesake	Great Northern Railway
Operator	1915: Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Company 1917: U.S. Navy 1919: U.S. Army 1921: U.S. Navy 1922: Pacific Steamship Company 1942: U.S. Army^[3]
Awarded	26 April 1913
Builder	William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia
Yard number	407
Laid down	22 September 1913
Launched	7 July 1914
Completed	April 1915^[1]
In service	April 1915^[1]
Out of service	Entered reserve fleet at Lee Hall, Virginia 5 March 1946^[2]
Fate	Sold to Boston Metals Company on 25 February 1948^[4]
General characteristics
Type	Passenger ship
Tonnage	8,255 GRT
Length	509 ft 6 in (155.30 m)
Beam	63 ft 1 in (19.23 m)
Draft	21 ft (6.4 m)
Speed	23 kn (26 mph; 43 km/h)
Complement	559 (Navy)^[3]
Armament	4 × 6-inch (150 mm) guns (Navy)^[3]