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Identification Numbered Ships Photo Archive

Callao (ID 4036)



Navy call sign:
George - Jig - Dog - Pup



Ruth Alexander call sign (1927):
Mike - Cast - Hypo - Jig

Ruth Alexander call sign (1933):
William - Affirmative - Dog - William

Transport:

  • The second Callao was built in 1913/1914 as Sierra Cordoba by Vulkan Werke, Stettin, Germany for Nord-deutscher Lloyd, Bremen, Germany
  • Acquired in 1917 by the Peruvian Government
  • Towed to California in September 1918 for repairs inflicted by the German crew in 1917
  • Acquired by the United States Shipping Board (USSB)in 1918
  • Transferred to the Navy 26 April 1919 and commissioned USS Callao (ID 4036)
  • Decommissioned 20 September 1919 at Norfolk, VA and returned to the USSB
  • Acquired in 1922 by the Dollar Steamship Lines, Ltd. of San Francisco, CA as the passenger vessel Ruth Alexander
  • Acquired in 1938 by the President Terminal Steamship Co. Of San Francisco
  • Bombed by Japanese aircraft and abandoned on 31 December 1941 off Balikpapan, Indonesia
  • Sank 2 January 1942.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 13,269 t.
    1933 - 8,135 t.
  • Length 455' 9"
    1933 - 439.1'
  • Beam 55' 9"
    1933 - 56'
  • Draft 26'
    1933 - 26.2'
  • Speed 13.5 kts.
  • Complement 184
    1933 - 143
  • Propulsion: Two 588hp triple expansion steam engines, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Callao 77k In port, possibly in the New York City area at the time she was inspected for U.S. service, circa April 1919
    U.S. Navy photo NH 99172    		 Naval Historical Center
    View the Callao (ID 4036)
    DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command website
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