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Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive

Ancon (ID 1467)



Navy call sign:
George - Have - Dog - Vice



Civilian call sign:
King - Rush - Nan - Tare

Ancon served both the U. S. Army and Navy.

Freighter:

  • Built in 1902 as Shawmut by the Maryland Steel Co., Sparrows Point, MD for Kidder, Peabody and Co. of Massachusetts
  • Completed 29 March 1902
  • Sold to the Panama Railroad Co. in 1910 and renamed Ancon
  • Acquired by the Navy from the War Department 16 November 1918 at New Orleans, LA
  • Commissioned 28 March 1919
  • Decommissioned 25 July 1919 at New York, NY and returned to the War Department
  • Renamed Permanente in 1941
  • Renamed Tidewater in 1946
  • Renamed Continental in 1948
  • Scrapped in 1950.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 9,332 t.
  • Length 489.5''
  • Beam 58'
  • Draft 30'
  • Speed 13 kts.
  • Complement 126
  • Armament: Three 6-pounders
  • Propulsion: One 4,000ihp vertical triple expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Ancon
    Ancon 77k 15 August 1914
    SS Ancon. The first ship to transit the Panama Canal, ocean to ocean. Seen here passing the Chagres River Bridge
    Ancon 122k 15 August 1914
    Officially Opening The Panama Canal
    The old Ancon passes a slide in the area known as Gaillard Cut. Since mud and rocks were still sliding into the canal, the Ancon was a rather snug fit in the channel. It was here that the devastating slides occured during construction days    		 Tommy Trampp
    Ancon 280k 15 August 1914
    SS Ancon entering west chamber, Miraflores lower locks, Panama Canal
    Library of Congress photo cph.3b17471    		 Robert Hurst
    Ancon 238k 15 August 1914
    SS Ancon leaving west chamber, Miraflores lower locks, Panama Canal
    Library of Congress photo cph.3b17470
    Ancon 113k Ancon transiting Gatun Locks on August 15, 1914. This is the first official passage through the Panama Canal. The Ancon's sister ship S.S. Cristobal had made an unofficial passage on August 3rd, delivering a load of cement, while an old French crane boat Alexandre La Valle had crossed the Canal from the Atlantic in stages during construction, finally reaching the Pacific on January 7th
    Library of Congress photo LC-B2-3212-14    		 Mike Green
    Ancon 152k Ancon in Gatun Lock
    Library of Congress photo LC-F81-1397
    Ancon 93k Stern view of Ancon in Gatun Lock
    Library of Congress photo LC-F81-1389
    Ancon 77k Heavily retouched pre-World War I photograph.
    U.S. Navy photo NH 76518    		 Naval Historical Center
    USS Ancon (ID 1467)
    Ancon 116k In port in 1919, while serving as a troop transport. A hand-written inscription on the reverse of the original card reads: "When my ship came in, July 7, 1919". Location may be New York City.
    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2005
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 103071    		 Robert Hurst
    Ancon 129k In port in 1919, while engaged in transporting U.S. troops home from Europe.
    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2005
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 103280
    Ancon
    Ancon 211k Aerial view of the SS Ancon on August 15, 1939, being maneuvered from a dock, during the 25th anniversary celebration ceremonies of the opening of the Panama Canal
    U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Museum/Naval Aviation Museum photo No.1986.014.028 (PO140151)    		 Mike Green
    Ancon 256k Overhead bow view of the SS Ancon on August 15, 1939, being maneuvered from a dock, during the 25th anniversary celebration ceremonies of the opening of the Panama Canal
    U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Museum/Naval Aviation Museum photo No.1986.014.028 (PO140154)
    Ancon 206k Underway on August 15, 1939, during the 25th anniversary celebration ceremonies of the opening of the Panama Canal
    U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Museum/Naval Aviation Museum photo No.1986.014.028 (PO140153)
    Ancon 1527k Following an unidentified warship and being overflown by a formation of PBY Catalinas on August 15, 1939, the SS Ancon approaches the Panama Canal to participate in the 25th anniversary canal opening
    U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Museum/Naval Aviation Museum photo No.1986.014.028 (PO140152)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: [The first] Ancon (Id. No. 1467)-a screw steamer built in 1902 at Sparrows Point, Md., by the Maryland Steel Co.-was acquired by the Navy from the Army at New Orleans on 16 November 1918, five days after the armistice ended World War I. The ship was outfitted as a troop transport and commissioned on 28 March 1919, Lt. Comdr. Milan L. Pittman, USNRF, in command.

    Ancon's brief Navy career lasted just four months. Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet 's Cruiser and Transport Force, she made two round-trip voyages from the United States to France to bring American servicemen back home. Following her second voyage, she was decommissioned at New York City on 25 July 1919 and was returned to the War Department.

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