SS ''B.F. Jones'' was a steel-hulled

Great Lakes freighter Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carrier vessels that operate on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Since the late 19th century, lakers have carried bulk cargoes of ma ...

that was named after one of the founders of the

Jones and Laughlin Steel Company The Jones and Laughlin Steel Corporation began as the American Iron Company, founded in 1852 by Bernard Lauth and Benjamin Franklin Jones, a few miles (c 4 km) south of Pittsburgh along the Monongahela River. Lauth's interest was bought in ...

. She was launched on December 30, 1905 as hull #15. She operated from April 1906 to August 21, 1955 when she collided with the steamer ''Cason J. Callaway''. After inspection she was declared a

constructive total loss Marine insurance covers the physical loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination. Cargo insurance is the sub-branch o ...

, and

scrapped Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

History

''B.F. Jones'' (U.S. Registry #202839) was a product of the

Great Lakes Engineering Works The Great Lakes Engineering Works (GLEW) was a leading shipbuilding company with a shipyard in Ecorse, Michigan, that operated between 1902 and 1960. Within three years of its formation, it was building fifty percent of the tonnage of all ships ...

Ecorse, Michigan Ecorse ( ') is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,512 at the 2010 census. Ecorse is part of the Downriver community within Metro Detroit. The city shares a northwestern border with the city of Detroit ...

for the Interstate Steamship Company (a subsidiary of

) of Cleveland, Ohio. She was in length, having a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy * Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy ** Laser beam * Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized g ...

and height, with a gross register tonnage of 6,939 tons and a

net register tonnage Net register tonnage (NRT, nrt, n.r.t.) is a ship's cargo volume capacity expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated by subtracting non-revenue-earning spaces i.e. spaces not available for carrying cargo, ...

of 5,492 tons. She was powered by a

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

and fueled by two coal-fired

Scotch marine boiler A "Scotch" marine boiler (or simply Scotch boiler) is a design of steam boiler best known for its use on ships. The general layout is that of a squat horizontal cylinder. One or more large cylindrical furnaces are in the lower part of the boile ...

s. She entered service on April 20, 1906. ''B.H. Jones'' had a

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

named . On October 26, 1924 ''B.H. Jones'' rammed the steamer ''E.A.S. Clarke'' in heavy fog in the

Detroit River The Detroit River flows west and south for from Lake St. Clair to Lake Erie as a strait in the Great Lakes system. The river divides the metropolitan areas of Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario—an area collectively referred to as Det ...

near the Great Lakes Engineering Works. ''E.A.S. Clarke'' sank almost immediately. There were no deaths. In 1937 ''B.H. Jones'' had her cargo hatches rebuilt with a hatch cover crane and centers in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, she was also extended to in length. On October 23, 1941 ''B. H. Jones'' grounded off the east end of Belle Isle in the Detroit River. The

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

s ''America'' and ''Oregon'' arrived to assist her soon after the grounding. ''America'' got caught in the towline of ''Oregon'',

capsize Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fr ...

d and sank in five second into of water. Six of ''America''s crew members died. In 1949 the Interstate Steamship Company's fleet merged with their parent company, the Jones and Laughlin Steel Company of

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

. Her career with Jones and Laughlin lasted only three years. On November 15, 1952 Jones and Laughlin's fleet was sold to the Wilson Transit Company of Cleveland, Ohio (she was re-registered to

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

). On August 21, 1955 ''B.H. Jones'' was seriously damaged in a collision with the larger steamer ''Cason J. Callaway'', they collided because of heavy fog near

Lime Island Lime Island is an island in the St. Marys River in Raber, Chippewa County, Michigan. The 1.41 sq. mile island is home to the Lime Island State Recreation Area Lime Island State Recreation Area is a Most sources state , except the main website ...

in the St. Mary's River. After an inspection she was declared a

. She was sold for

scrap Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered m ...

to the Duluth Iron & Metal Company and scrapped in

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

. ''B.H. Jones''s

pilot house The interior of the bridge of the Sikuliaq'', docked in Ketchikan, Alaska file:Wheelhouse of Leao Dos Mares.jpg, Wheelhouse on a tugboat, topped with a flying bridge The bridge, also known as the pilothouse or wheelhouse, is a room or platfo ...

, one-piece steel hatch covers and deck crane were transferred to the steamer ''Sparkman D. Foster''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:B.F. Jones 1905 ships Ships built in Ecorse, Michigan Great Lakes freighters Steamships of the United States Merchant ships of the United States Maritime incidents in 1924 Maritime incidents in 1955 Ships powered by a triple expansion steam engine

History

See also

References