SS Corvus (1919)

During and right after World War I, the Shipping Board's sales campaigns urged Americans to buy ships for wealth and patriotism. Other ethnic groups set up shipping lines by appealing to group solidarity. So, Irish businessmen created the "Green Star Line" and purchased five steel steamers, the Corvus being one of them.[5]

• 18 January 1920. The newspaper "The Sunday Oregonian", Portland, wrote on the page 46:

GREEN STAR WILL PLY ATLANTIC

Four Steamers Purchased Here to Sail From Baltimore.

[...]
The three other steamers purchased here by the Green Star line are the Corvus, which went in ballast to Arica, Chile, to load nitrates for Europe; the Centaurus, which took a part cargo of lumber here and went to San Francisco to finish a general cargo for the west coast, and the Clauseus, which went from here to San Francisco in ballast to load beans for Hamburg.[6][7]

In 1923 the Green Star Line sold five of its ships and the Planet Steamship Corporation, a new company, bought the remainder of ships. In September 1923 an official exchange of securities began, allowing holders of "Green Star Line" stock to trade for stock in the new company (NYT, 8 March and 4 September 1923).[8]

In 1927 the Calmar Steamship Co (1927-1976), a subsidiary of Bethlehem Steel Corp., was founded to compete with United States Steel's Isthmian Line. Calmar carried exclusively Bethlehem's steel westbound, but carried lumber from a variety of shippers on the return voyage to the East Coast, functioning as a common carrier. In addition, Calmar collaborated with Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc., in these voyages.[9]

• 13 of December 1929. The newspaper "Oakland Tribune" in Oakland, California, wrote:

Isthmian Lines House Flag from 1910 to 1974.

  "CALMAR BUYS SHIPS.

  The "Calmar Line" has purchased five freighters from the "Planet Steamship company", according to announcement from New York.[...]

  The vessels involved are all well known on this coast, consisting of the Circinius, Corvus, Clauseus, Centaurus and Eurana. They have run into local ports for several years under the Isthmian Line houseflag".[10][11]

In 1930 the ship, Corvus ,was renamed Flomar.[2][3] In the immediate post-World War II period, Calmar purchased eight Liberty ships and modified them for the company's purposes.[9] Seems the ship Flomar (ex. Corvus) was counted as one of this eight Liberty ships, but she was not really a Liberty class ships.

In January 1945, the US cargo ship Flomar was adopted by the Soviet Purchasing Committee and renamed Узбекистан (English: Uzbekistan) and entered into the Far Eastern State Shipping Company. During World War II, the ship Узбекистан performed export and import carriages between the Soviet Union Pacific ports and ports of the allies, as one of the Far Eastern basin paramilitary vessels. The ship was armed with one 102 mm, one 76.2 mm and eight 20 mm machine guns.[2]

In May 1945, The ship was damaged badly in a collision with American Star (Alaska Steamship Company) at the exit of Dutch Harbor. To avoid being flooded after the collision Узбекистан was run aground on the coastal shallows of the island of Unalaska (Aleutian Islands).[2][12] In June 1945 she was taken out from the shallows by US rescuers and in August 1945 she was handed over to the US for dismantling and scrapping as restoration was impossible.[2] She was officially scrapped in 1946.[2][3]