Empire State I
USS Empire State (1931-1946)
[Former USS PROCYON (AG-11)]
The original Empire State had a length of 390’ and a beam of 54’. Her displacement was 5,524 gross tons. She was the 37th keel laid on July 18, 1918 on slipway #17. She was launched on May 13, 1919. The 27th “Hog Islander” launched, she was christened Shaume by Mrs. W. H. White. Through extensive research, there appears to be no actual service record for the Empire State under its original launch name of Shaume. She was reassigned to serve a cargo ship for the Navy and was commissioned on November 30, 1921 as the U.S.S. Procyon. The Procyon’s new assignment was to serve as Flagship of the Commanders Fleet Base Force, U.S. Battle Fleet. Her duty was basically to lead the supply train in the Pacific.
On April 1, 1931, the U.S.S Procyon was decommissioned after 10 years of naval service and was passed to the New York State Education Department. She was renamed Empire State on the suggestion of Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt. Her maiden voyage as the Empire State was in 1932 where she visited the ports of Albany, NY; Washington, Baltimore, MD; Norfolk, VA; Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa, FL; New Orleans, LA; Galveston, TX; Gravesend, England; Le Havre, France. When the United States entered World War II, the government needed Merchant Marines to sail on their merchant fleet and supply the troops, so the Empire State was turned over to the Maritime Commission and renamed the American Pilot. The training was accelerated to meet the demand of sailors that the war needed. The ship became not only a New York Maritime Training ship but became the training ship for Maine and Massachusetts Maritime schools as well. The ship trained some 2,000 men. During this time of war, the now American Pilot, the former Empire State, was confined to the waters of the Long Island Sound. In 1948, the Empire State went for demolition at the Wilmington, Delaware scrap yards of American Shipbreakers.
