SS Montanan SS " Montanan was a cargo ship built in 1912 for the American - Hawaiian Steamship Company . During World War I service for the United States Army , she was known as USAT " Montanan . " Montanan " was built by the Maryland Steel Company as one of eight sister ships for the American - Hawaiian Steamship Company , and was employed in inter - coastal service via the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Panama Canal after it opened . In World War I , USAT " Montanan " carried cargo and animals to France , and was in the first American convoy to sail to France after the United States entered the war in April 1917 . While in another eastbound convoy in August 1918 , USAT " Montanan " was torpedoed and sunk by some west of Le Verdon - sur - Mer , France . Of the 86 men aboard the ship , 81 were rescued by a convoy escort ; five men died in the attack . Design and construction . In September 1911 , the American - Hawaiian Steamship Company placed an order with the Maryland Steel Company of Sparrows Point , Maryland , for four new cargo ships — , , " Montanan " , and . The contract cost of the ships was set at the construction cost plus an 8 % profit for Maryland Steel , but with a maximum cost of $ 640 , 000 per ship . The construction was financed by Maryland Steel with a credit plan that called for a 5 % down payment in cash , with nine monthly installments for the balance . The deal had provisions that allowed some of the nine installments to be converted into longer - term notes or mortgages . The final cost of " Montanan " , including financing costs , was $ 73 . 62 per deadweight ton , which came out to just over $ 692 , 000 . " Montanan " ( Maryland Steel yard no . 126 ) was the second ship built under the original contract . She was launched on 25 January 1913 , and delivered to American - Hawaiian in April . " Montanan " was , and was in length and abeam . She had a deadweight tonnage of , and her cargo holds , which had a storage capacity of , were outfitted with a complete refrigeration plant so that she could carry perishable products from the West Coast — such as fresh produce from Southern California farms — to the East Coast . " Montanan " had a single steam engine powered by oil - fired boilers which drove a single screw propeller at a speed of . Early career . When " Montanan " began sailing for American - Hawaiian , the company shipped cargo from East Coast ports via the Tehuantepec Route to West Coast ports and Hawaii , and vice versa . Shipments on the Tehuantepec Route arrived at Mexican ports — Salina Cruz , Oaxaca , for eastbound cargo , and Coatzacoalcos , Veracruz , for westbound cargo — and traversed the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on the Tehuantepec National Railway . Eastbound shipments were primarily sugar and pineapple from Hawaii , while westbound cargoes were more general in nature . " Montanan " sailed in this service on the east side of North America . While headed from New York to Coatzacoalcos in October 1913 , " Montanan " ran aground on Mantanilla Reef , north of The Bahamas . Answering " Montanan " s distress calls , the Standard Oil Company tanker " Rayo " assisted in freeing " Montanan " from the reef . Although she was leaking slightly , " Montanan " continued on to her destination , and put in for repairs after a return trip to New York . Following the United States occupation of Veracruz on 21 April 1914 ( which took place while six American - Hawaiian ships were being held in various Mexican ports ) , the Huerta - led Mexican government closed the Tehuantepec National Railway to American shipping . This loss of access , coupled with the fact that the Panama Canal was not yet open , caused American - Hawaii to return to its historic route of sailing around South America via the Straits of Magellan in late April . With the opening of the Panama Canal on 15 August , American - Hawaiian ships switched to the canal route . On 2 December , " The Washington Post " reported an incident involving " Montanan " . While headed down the Pacific coast of Mexico with a cargo of dried fruits and canned goods , " Montanan " was approached by a Japanese warship , which fired a warning shot for " Montanan " to stop . After doing so , a boarding party with Japanese officers in a launch headed to " Montanan " . When the American identity of " Montanan " was established to the satisfaction of the Japanese , they returned to their ship without boarding " Montanan " . The news report did not identify the type or the name of the Japanese warship , which had been searching for a German vessel thought to be operating in the area . On " Montanan " s next trip , the ship allide d with a wharf in Los Angeles Harbor . " Montanan " had arrived in Los Angeles from Puget Sound on 22 January 1915 to complete her load before sailing for New York and Boston . The almost fully loaded ship was slow to respond to the helm and ended up " ploughing through " of Municipal Pier A on Mormon Island channel before coming to a stop at a stone bulkhead . One hull plate on " Montanan " was dented , but the ship was otherwise undamaged . " Montanan " s captain , who had a local license , did not take on a harbor pilot and American - Hawaiian was liable for the damage , estimated by the harbor engineer to be $ 2 , 500 . Contemporary news reports offer hints at cargoes that " Montanan " carried during this period . In April 1915 , the " Los Angeles Times " reported on the sailing of " Montanan " with a full cargo . The majority of the cargo was rice — from Japan , China , and California — which was destined for the United Kingdom to feed Indian troops fighting in Europe . In June , " The Wall Street Journal " reported that " Montanan " and ( of the Grace Line ) had sailed from Tacoma , Washington , with 2 , 500 tons of copper between them . In October 1915 , landslides closed the Panama Canal and all American - Hawaiian ships , including " Montanan " , returned to the Straits of Magellan route again . " Montanan " s exact movements from this time through early 1917 are unclear . She may have been in the half of the American - Hawaiian fleet that was chartered for transatlantic service , or she may have been in the group of American - Hawaiian ships chartered for service to South America , delivering coal , gasoline , and steel in exchange for coffee , nitrate s , cocoa , rubber , and manganese ore . U . S . Army service . After the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917 , the United States Army — needing transports to get its men and materiel to France — had a select committee of shipping executives pore over registries of American shipping . The committee selected " Montanan " , her sister ship " Dakotan " , and 12 other American - flagged ships that were sufficiently fast , could carry enough fuel in their bunker s for transatlantic crossings , and , most importantly , were in port or not far at sea . After " Montanan " discharged her last load of cargo , she was officially handed over to the Army on 29 May . Before troop transportation began , all of the ships were hastily refitted . Of the fourteen ships , four , including " Montanan " and " Dakotan " , were designated to carry animals and cargo ; the other ten were designated to carry human passengers . Ramps and stalls were built on the four ships chosen to carry animals . Gun platforms were installed on each ship before docking at the Brooklyn Navy Yard , where the guns were put in place . All the ships were manned by merchant officers and crews but carried two U . S . Navy officers , Navy gun crews , quartermaster s , signalmen , and wireless operators . The senior Navy officer on board would take control if a ship came under attack . The American convoy carrying the first units of the American Expeditionary Force was separated into four groups ; " Montanan " was in the fourth group with her sister ship " Dakotan " , Army transports and , and escorts consisting of cruiser , U . S . Navy transport , and destroyer s , , and . " Montanan " departed with her group on the morning of 17 June for Brest , France , steaming at an pace . A thwarted submarine attack on the first convoy group , and reports of heavy submarine activity off of Brest , resulted in a change in the convoy ' s destination to Saint - Nazaire where the convoy arrived 2 July . " Montanan " departed Saint - Nazaire on 14 July in the company of her convoy mates " El Occidente " , " Dakotan " , and " Edward Luckenbach " . Joining the return trip were Army transport , Navy armed collier , Navy oiler , and cruiser , the flagship of Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves , the head of the Navy ' s Cruiser and Transport Force . Sources do not reveal " Montanan " s movements over the next months , but on 1 August 1918 , " Montanan " sailed in Convoy HB - 8 with U . S . Navy cargo ships , , and 13 others for France . Escorted by armed yacht , destroyers and , and French cruiser , the convoy was west of its destination of Le Verdon - sur - Mer by the end of the day on 15 August . At sundown , shortly before 18 : 00 , German submarine launched three torpedoes at " Montanan " . The first two , spotted by lookouts aboard " Montanan " , missed , but a third , unseen torpedo struck " Montanan " amidships on her port side , opening a large hole . " Montanan " began to settle and was abandoned quickly . Two of " Montanan " s Naval Armed Guard smen drowned when their lifeboat capsized in the heavy seas ; three of her civilian crewmen also died in the attack . " Montanan " s 81 survivors were rescued by convoy escort " Noma " . Shortly after " Montanan " was attacked , " West Bridge " , which had previously developed engine trouble and was drifting , was torpedoed by and abandoned . By the morning of 16 August both " Montanan " and " West Bridge " , with decks awash , were still afloat some apart . " Montanan " s captain and several officers reboarded the ship the next morning for an attempt to get her under tow , but despite their efforts , the ship sank later that morning .