West Carnifax (Id. No. 3812)
1918-1919
The Navy retained the name carried by this vessel at the time of her acquisition.
(Id. No. 3812: displacement 12,211; length 427'0"; beam 54'0"; draft 24'1" (mean); speed 10.5 knots; complement 83; armament none)
West Carnifax, a single-screw, steel-hulled cargo ship built in 1918 under a United States Shipping Board contract at San Francisco, Calif., by the Southwestern Shipbuilding Co., was taken over by the Navy for duty with the Naval Overseas Transportation Service; and, having been given the identification number (Id. No.) 3812, was commissioned at San Pedro, Calif., on 31 December 1918, Lt. Cmdr. Robert H. Cowan, USNRF, in command.
West Carnifax got underway on 31 January 1919 for Norfolk, Va., with a cargo of foodstuffs. Transiting the Panama Canal soon thereafter, the cargo vessel arrived at Hampton Roads on 15 March. Four days later, she stood out to sea, bound for Europe.
While originally routed to Danzig, via Falmouth, England, and the Hook of Holland, West Carnifax was diverted to Hamburg, Germany, where she unloaded her cargo from 31 March to 2 April 1919. The freighter returned via Plymouth, England, to New Orleans, La., on 5 May. On 9 May 1919, West Carnifax was decommissioned and stricken from the Navy Register and returned to the Shipping Board, in whose custody she remained until acquired by the Export Steamship Corp., of New York, N.Y., in late 1927 or early 1928, being renamed Exford.
Acquired by the Pan Atlantic Steamship Co. of Mobile, Alabama, in the 1930s, Exford was renamed Pan Royal. At 12:01 a.m. on 3 March 1942, she was transferred to the War Shipping Administration, to be operated by the Waterman Steamship Agency, Ltd.. under a term charter agreement.
On 9 February 1943, while steaming in Convoy UGS-5, Pan Royal suffered damage in collisions with motor vessel Evita and freighter George Davis. The destroyer Boyle (DD-600) rescued Pan Royal's 54 survivors, including the 26-man Navy armed guard; eight merchant sailors had perished in the mishap.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
1 February 2024
