SS Dakota

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A broadside image of the SS Dakota
A broadside image of the SS Dakota
History
Name: SS Dakota
Operator: Great Northern Steamship Company
Route: Pacific
Builder: Eastern Shipbuilding Company
Launched: 7 February 1904[1]
Christened: 6 February 1904
Maiden voyage: 20 September 1905
Fate: Sank off Yokohama on 3 March 1907
General characteristics
Tonnage: 20,700
Displacement: 33,000 tons at load[1]
Length:
  • 630 ft (190 m) over all
  • 608 ft (185 m) between perpendiculars[1]
Beam: 73 ft (22 m) molded[1]
Draft: 73 ft (22 m)[1]
Propulsion: Twin propellers
Speed: 14.6 knots (27.0 km/h)
Capacity:
  • 200 first-class passengers
  • 1,800 steerage passengers

SS Dakota was a steamship built by the Eastern Shipbuilding Company in Groton, Connecticut and owned by railroad magnate James J. Hill of the Great Northern Steamship Company.[2]

History

SS Dakota and her sister ship, SS Minnesota,[2][3] were described as the largest ships ever built in America.[2][3] Dakota was built "to give impetus to the trade with the Orient", trading with Japan and Hong Kong[3] and travelling the Pacific route. Launched in 7 February 1904,[1] she was a twin screw vessel with four masts and one funnel, capable of 14.6 knots.[4]

She was wrecked when she struck a reef[2] off the coast of Yokohama on 3 March 1907[3][5] on her seventh journey. The ship was close enough to shore to avoid any deaths and the passengers and cargo were evacuated before she sank.[2] The passengers returned to the United States aboard the Japanese steamship Hakuai.[6] Eighty bags of mail later washed ashore.[7]

File:SS DAKOTA one hour after going on the reef.png
Dakota one hour after going on the reef.

After the ship was lost, Hill vowed not to make any more ships under the American flag, noting the high cost of maintaining a ship in America compared to Japan due to restrictions he regarded as "onerous".[8] Hill did eventually build more ships such as the SS Great Northern and the SS Northern Pacific


Engines

File:SS Dakota Propulsion Units.JPG
Main engines of the SS Dakota

The Dakota's main engines consisted of two units of three vertically positioned triple expansion cylinders. The cylinders had a stroke of 57 inches and diameters of 29, 51, and 89 inches and were designed to run at 78 RPM, developing approximately 4,800 horsepower each at a steam pressure of 230 pounds per square inch. The engines were designed to drive the ship at 14 knots.[9]

References

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External links

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