ss "New Bedford"
The Steamer "New Bedford", a near sister ship of the NOBSKA, was built in 1928 at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts. Her floor plan was similar to the "Islander" (1923) and NOBSKA (1925), but her lunchroom was on the saloon deck, leaving more room for cars and freight on the main deck. When the NOBSKA was rebuilt in 1950, her floor plan was rearranged like the "New Bedford".
She served the islands until August of 1942, when the Navy requisitioned her and the big steamer "Naushon" for war service. The steamers were modified to cross the Atlantic and placed under the British flag. They then went north to St. Johns, Newfoundland to join a convoy of coastal steamers bound for the British Isles. The largest in that fleet were the Eastern Steamship Lines' "Boston" and "New York", well-remembered as the famous "New York Boats" which passed through the Cape Cod Canal each evening. Both were sunk by German torpedoes on September 25, 1942. "New Bedford", smallest and most expendable of the convoy, acted as a rescue vessel for their crews. It was thought that her shallow draft fooled the Germans, and that their torpedoes passed under her. She made port at Greenock, Scotland after nine days at sea.
"New Bedford" and "Naushon" served as transports on the English Channel, as hospital ships after the Normandy landings, and finally as transports under the American flag. After the War they returned to the United States and were laid up in the reserve fleet in Virginia's James River.
Peace Time
When purchased back from the Government, "New Bedford" was
so infested with rats that she was first anchored off the coast and
fumigated. An eyewitness confirmed that they saw many rats jumping
overboard. After a time, a crew went aboard and shoveled the
remaining carcasses into the sea.
The "New Bedford" next went to work for Sound Steamship Lines making a daily, round-trip excursion from Providence down Narragansett Bay to Newport and on to Block Island. She served there in the summers of 1949 through 1955. She was never fully converted for peacetime use. Passenger accommodations were spartan, and there was little enclosed space.
Then followed over a decade laid up at Perth Amboy, New Jersey. In 1967 she was sold and moved to the Witte junkyard at Rossville, Staten Island, New York. Her remains, long partially sunk, still lie there today. A photograph of "New Bedford" in the junkyard hangs in the entry at NESF's New Bedford headquarters.
Some parts from the "New Bedford" were acquired by the Steamship Authority for the NOBSKA and subsequently sold to NESF in 1976. Hopefully these will one day find use on the restored NOBSKA, providing a lasting memorial to this veteran of both peacetime and gallant war service.
Look for issues of "NOBSKA News", around the turn of the century, to read about the post-Island Line careers of "Martha's Vineyard" (Summer '99 issue) originally named "Islander" (1923), "Naushon" (Fall '99 issue) later renamed "John A. Meseck" (1929), and the restored English paddle steamer "Waverley" (1947).