USS West Lianga ( ID - 2758 ) USS " West Lianga " ( ID - 2758 ) was a cargo ship for the United States Navy during World War I . She was later known as SS " Helen Whittier and SS " Kalani in civilian service under American registry , as SS " Empire Cheetah under British registry , and as SS " Hobbema under Dutch registry . " West Lianga " was launched for the in May 1918 as a part of the " West " boats , a series of steel - hulled cargo ships built on the West Coast of the United States for the World War I war effort . " West Lianga " briefly had the distinction of being the fastest - launched and fastest - completed ocean - going ship in the world . Pressed into cargo service for the US Navy , USS " West Lianga " was commissioned into the and completed four round - trip voyages to France for the Navy . After decommissioning in mid 1919 , she was briefly in cargo service out of Seattle before being laid up in late 1921 . " West Lianga " was sold to the in early 1929 , refurbished , and renamed " Helen Whittier " for intercoastal cargo service . When Matson Navigation Company purchased in 1931 , " Helen Whittier " frequently sailed on Matson ' s Hawaiian sugar routes . She was renamed " Kalani " in 1938 and continued in Hawaiian service until 1940 when she was sold to British interests to help fill the United Kingdom ' s urgent need for merchant ships . After sailing to the UK as " Kalani " , the ship was renamed " Empire Cheetah " and sailed in transatlantic convoys , making three round trips between February 1941 and May 1942 . At that time , " Empire Cheetah " was transferred to Dutch interests and renamed " Hobbema " . She successfully completed one transatlantic roundtrip under Dutch registry and was on the homeward leg of her second in Convoy SC 107 , when that convoy was attacked by a wolf pack of German submarines . Shortly after midnight on 4 November 1942 , " Hobbema " was struck in the engine room by a single torpedo fired by . Of " Hobbema " s complement of 44 men and British gunners aboard , only 16 survived the attack . " Hobbema " was one of 19 Allied ships in the convoy sunk by German submarines . Design and construction . The " West " ships were cargo ship s of similar size and design built by several shipyards on the West Coast of the United States for the for emergency use during World War I . All were given names that began with the word " West " , like " West Lianga " , one of some 24 " West " ships built by Skinner & Eddy of Seattle , Washington . " West Lianga " ( Skinner & Eddy No . 21 ; No . 1176 ) was laid down on 14 February 1918 . When she was launched on 20 April with an elapsed time of 55 working days — 65 calendar days — from keel laying to launch , it was in world - record time , beating the launch of Columbia River Shipbuilding ' s , launched after 61 working days in March . When " West Lianga " was completed on 4 May , 67 working days after her keel laying , it was another world record , shaving 18 days off of Columbia River Shipbuilding ' s previous record . By 1920 , " West Lianga " had fallen to third - fastest when Edward N . Hurley , the wartime chairman of the , compiled a list of the ten fastest - constructed ocean - going vessels for his 1920 book " The New Merchant Marine " . Skinner & Eddy received a $ 71 , 600 bonus for completing the ship early . " West Lianga " was , and was long ( between perpendiculars ) and abeam . " West Lianga " had a steel hull and a deadweight tonnage of . The ship had a single steam turbine that drove her single screw propeller which moved the ship at an pace . World War I . " West Lianga " s activities after her 4 May delivery to the are not entirely clear . Many " West " ships , to avoid sailing empty to the East Coast , loaded grain products intended for the United Kingdom , France , and Italy and sailed to Europe without unloading or transferring their cargo , but it is not known whether " West Lianga " did so or not . Whatever her early activities , " West Lianga " was handed over to the United States Navy at Brooklyn in August 1918 and assigned the identification number 2758 . USS " West Lianga " was commissioned into the on 19 August with Lieutenant Commander Louis Laverge , , in command . At New York , " West Lianga " took on a load of 6 , 882 tons of materiel for the United States Army and a deck - load of 32 trucks and departed for France in a convoy . After unloading her cargo at Bordeaux , she returned to New York on 16 October . After voyage repairs , she loaded another 6 , 685 tons of cargo for the Quartermaster Corps and departed for Europe on 3 November . " West Lianga " was en route to France when the Armistice that ended fighting was signed on 11 November . " West Lianga " delivered her cargo to Saint - Nazaire and took on a load of 1 , 700 tons for delivery to the United States . After departing from France on 21 December , " West Lianga " arrived at New York on 4 January 1919 . After shifting to New Orleans and taking on a load of cargo there , " West Lianga " began her third voyage to France . After making her delivery at Brest , the cargo ship took on a load of steel rails and sand as ballast and sailed for Newport News , Virginia , where she arrived on 21 March . She loaded railroad supplies for the Quartermaster Corps and sailed on 4 April on what would be her final trip to France . After delivery at La Pallice , " West Lianga " returned to New York on 10 June . Two weeks later , she was decommissioned , struck from the Navy list , and returned to the . Interwar career . After her return to the in June 1919 , " West Lianga " returned to Seattle and was based out of there for several years of operation . The United States Official Number 216274 was allocated . On 7 September 1921 , the ship was laid up in the reserve fleet at Norfolk . On 19 February 1929 , the sold " West Lianga " to the for $ 100 , 000 on the basis of unrestricted operation . , which announced plans for a $ 50 , 000 overhaul and reconditioning of the ship for operation on its Arrow Line intercoastal cargo service , paid ten percent in cash and signed a note for the balance to be paid over the next ten years . On 12 March , changed " West Lianga " s port of registry from Seattle to Los Angeles , and on 26 March , announced that the ship had been renamed " Helen Whittier " after the daughter of California oil pioneer Max Whittier . The Code Letters LKQR were allocated . also announced that " Helen Whittier " , to be operated by Sudden and Christenson Steamship Company for , was scheduled to sail from Baltimore on 25 April to begin her intercoastal service . " Helen Whittier " s activities over the next two years were not recorded in contemporary newspaper accounts , but she was affected by the absorption of into its former competitor , Matson Navigation Company , on 1 January 1931 . In late August 1931 , " Helen Whittier " was added to Matson ' s Hawaiian sugar service to Gulf Coast and North Atlantic ports . " Helen Whittier " had returned to intercoastal service by early 1934 when " The New York Times " reported that she had sailed from San Francisco on 23 March and arrived at New York on 25 April . In June that same year , " Helen Whittier " was one of the Matson ships added to carry food cargo to Hawaii . Shipments of food from the mainland — which accounted for up to 90 % of Hawaii ' s needs — had been curtailed as a coastwise strike had affected all ports except Los Angeles . " Helen Whittier " sailed on her first food delivery on 23 June with 2 , 500 tons of food from Los Angeles to Honolulu . Duringh 1935 , her Code Letters were change to LKAO . In February 1935 , " Helen Whittier " was returned to the Hawaiian sugar service full - time . During her time on this service , " Helen Whittier " often called at New York . One typical voyage , as tracked in " The New York Times " , began when she departed New York on 23 November for Honolulu , passed through the Panama Canal on 4 December , and arrived at Honolulu . " Helen Whittier " departed there on 11 January 1936 and arrived at New York again on 16 February . Occasionally , " Helen Whittier " would make side trips to Baltimore for voyage repairs between her arrival at New York and her next departure for Hawaii . The cargo ship continued her Honolulu – New York service through September 1936 . In 1938 , Matson renamed the ship " Kalani " , and continued using her in Hawaiian service through 1940 . On 15 July 1940 , Matson received the permission of the , a successor to the , to sell " Kalani " to Sir R . Ropner & Co . , Ltd . , of West Hartlepool . Six days after the approval , " Kalani " , now under British registry , departed from Los Angeles for New York . World War II . " Kalani " , acquired to fill the United Kingdom ' s urgent need for merchant vessels , was operated by Ropner under the authority of the Ministry of War Transport . After departing Panama on 4 August , " Kalani " arrived at New York on 13 August . " Kalani " shuttled between New York , Albany , and Boston , ending up at Baltimore on 25 August . Sailing from there on 15 September with a load of pig iron , she arrived at Halifax five days later . She departed from Halifax for Liverpool as a part of convoy HX 78 on 4 October but had to turn back and put in at Sydney , Nova Scotia . " Kalani " set out again on 15 October as a part of Convoy SC 8 , a Sydney – Liverpool convoy . " Kalani " departed the convoy and arrived at Clyde on 31 October . " Empire Cheetah " . " Kalani " was renamed " Empire Cheetah " on 12 November , two weeks into a three - and - a - half - month stay at Clyde . Her port of registry was London . The United Kingdom Official Number 168041 and Code Letters GMJT were allocated . " Empire Cheetah " departed on her first transatlantic voyage under her new name when she sailed with convoy OB 288 on 18 February 1941 . After the convoy came under attack by German bombers and the convoy escorts departed , the convoy dispersed . Although nine convoy ships were sunk by six German and two Italian submarines on 23 – 24 February , " Empire Cheetah " safely reached her destination of Philadelphia on 10 March . After taking on a load of steel , " Empire Cheetah " sailed for Halifax , and then on to Newport as a part of convoy HX 122 , arriving on 9 May . She sailed for Swansea on 27 May , and on to Milford Haven on 9 June . On 26 June , she sailed as a part of convoy OB 339 but put back into Milford Haven with defects . " Empire Cheetah " tried again as a part of convoy OB 343 on 6 July but had to return once again , putting in at Clyde on 9 July . After a month at Clyde , " Empire Cheetah " set out a third time for North America in convoy ON 7 which , although dispersed mid - ocean , lost no ships to submarines . " Empire Cheetah " successfully reached her destination of Boston on 3 September . From there she made her way to Philadelphia on 3 October , and on to Sydney on 23 October . There she joined convoy SC 51 sailing for Holyhead and Manchester the same day with a cargo of grain , steel , and cotton . She arrived at Holyhead on 8 November , but departed for Liverpool three days later . After returning to Holyhead later in the month , " Empire Cheetah " sailed in convoy BB 106 to Barry , where she arrived on 1 December . " Empire Cheetah " spent two and a half months at Barry before sailing to Swansea on 14 February 1942 . Heading to Milford Haven on 23 February , she sailed the next day as a part of convoy ON 70 headed to Portland , Maine , where she safely arrived on 20 March after an intermediate stop at Halifax from 15 – 18 March . Four days later , " Empire Cheetah " sailed for Boston . She departed Boston on 12 April for Halifax and departed from there in convoy SC 80 five days later for Hull with a general cargo . " Empire Cheetah " arrived at Loch Ewe on 2 May and sailed the next day for Methil . After arriving at Methil on 6 May , she headed to her destination of Hull on 7 May . " Hobbema " . On 18 May at Hull , " Empire Cheetah " was transferred to the Dutch government and assigned to the Netherlands Shipping & Trading Committee . The ship ' s name was changed to " Hobbema " and the port of registry changed to Den Haag , even though the Netherlands were under German occupation . " Hobbema " was placed under the management of the British & Continental Shipping Agency Ltd . " Hobbema " departed Hull on 23 May and called at Methil and Loch Ewe before sailing for New York as a part of convoy ON 100 on 2 June . After an intermediate stop at Halifax , " Hobbema " arrived at the Cape Cod Canal on 19 June and proceeded on to New York where she arrived the next day . After making two trips to Philadelphia and back , she departed for Cape Cod Bay to form up with convoy BX 28 for Halifax , where she arrived on 11 July . " Hobbema " sailed from Halifax to Sydney , Nova Scotia , in convoy HS 28 , and from there sailed on 17 July for Liverpool with convoy SC 92 . After her arrival on 31 July , she spent nearly a month at Liverpool before joining convoy ON 126 for New York , arriving at that destination on 19 September . " Hobbema " sailed the next day for Newport News and took on of general cargo and ammunition and returned to New York on 15 October . She sailed nine days later as a part of convoy SC 107 headed for Liverpool . On 30 October , German submarine sighted the eastbound convoy and relayed the convoy ' s position to the Wolf pack Veilchen of thirteen U - boats and to two other U - boats — and — patrolling nearby . After getting into position and dodging convoy escorts over the next two days , the wolf pack attacked the convoy on the night of 1 – 2 November and sank seven ships . Another ship was sunk during the day on 2 November . On the night of 2 – 3 November the convoy sailed through thick fog that concealed its location and kept the U - boats at bay . At dawn the fog had lifted and another ship was sunk . After dark , the wolf pack struck again . After midnight on 4 November closed in and launched torpedoes at three ships , including " Hobbema " . At 00 : 15 , a single torpedo from " U - 132 " hit " Hobbema " on the starboard side in the engine room , immediately knocking out power to the ship , and caused her to begin rapidly sinking . The lifeboats and several life rafts from the port side were launched with 16 men on board . The ship ' s master and 20 crewmen along with 7 British gunners died in the attack and sinking . US Navy tugs and rescued " Hobbema " s survivors . In all , 19 Allied ships were sunk from convoy SC 107 . External links .