History of the Coolidge
The SS President Coolidge was
built by the Dollar Steamship
Company in 1931. Its identical
twin was the SS President Hoover
- both were approximately 198
meters (654 feet) long and the
largest merchant ships the US
had to that time.
 The
ship was tastefully decorated in
art deco style and no expense
was spared on the lavish
furnishings in the spacious
public rooms, staterooms and
lounges. Each room had its own
telephone and many had
connecting bathrooms. Every need
was catered for. On board there
were two saltwater swimming
pools, a barbers shop, stock
exchange, gymnasium, beauty
salon and soda fountain.
The Coolidge was aimed at
holiday makers seeking sun in
the Pacific and Far East. During
her time as a luxury liner, she
broke several speed records on
her frequent trips to Japan from
San Francisco. Her WWII efforts
began by evacuating Americans
from Hong Kong when
Japanese-British relations
became strained in 1940. She was
later to assist in the
evacuations of many people from
Asia as the Japanese increased
aggression.
In June 1941, the Coolidge went
into service with the American
Army as a transport ship for
reinforcing garrisons in the
Pacific. A few months later the
Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour.
After this, the Coolidge was
stripped of her finery, painted
gray, mounted with guns and
turned into a troop ship. Many
of the fixtures and fittings
were removed or boarded up for
protection. After full
conversion in 1942, she could
carry over 5000 troops.
She carried troops from the US
to the Pacific and during one
such occasion in October 1942,
she hit a friendly mine and sank
in less than 90 minutes. There
was no panic as the 5000 troops
disembarked - many even walked
to shore. The captain's attempts
to beach the ship were
unsuccessful due to the coral
reef.
After the war came salvage
operations which recovered items
such as the propeller blades,
bunker oil, brass casings of
shells, electric motors,
junction boxes and copper
tubing. However, from 18
November 1983 the Vanuatu
government declared that no
salvage or recovery of any
artefact is allowed from the
Coolidge. Since then the ship
has been used for recreational
diving.
For a more in depth account of
the ship, we recommend reading '
The Lady and the President - The
Life and Loss of the SS
President Coolidge' by Peter
Stone.
Facts and figures
|
Built |
Oct 1931 |
 |
|
Sank |
Oct 1942 |
|
Overall length |
198.2 meters/654 feet |
|
Gross tons |
21,936 |
|
Speed |
20.5 knots |
|
Radius (miles) |
14,400 miles |
|
Construction cost |
US$8,017,690 |
|
Passenger capacity |
305 first class
133 tourist class
402 steerage
Over 5000 troops |
SS President Coolidge
A must dive! This is the largest
accessible shipwreck in the
world. Dive with us on the
Coolidge and you will be diving
with the President Coolidge
experts.
Allan alone has more
than 15,000 dives on her and has
shown more than 20,000 divers
The Lady.
The Coolidge is close to the
shore and is virtually intact.
Sunk by a friendly mine in
Santo
waters, the ship lies in 20 - 70
meters (66 - 231 feet) of clear,
calm water and offers divers the
chance to explore the remnants
of a World War II troop ship,
which was formally a luxury
liner.
The ship is so big that even if
you dived it ten times in
different locations, you would
still only view a part of it.
Its night dive is also awesome
with flashlight fish lighting up
the bridge, cargo holds and bow.
Allan Power and his team have
guided on the Coolidge for over
30 years. As most of the dives
are over 30 meters (100 feet),
decompression stops are
necessary. These stops are made
on the
coral garden
built by Allan and his team.
Here you can see a colourful
array of hard coral, fish life.
|
