East Indian (1918 ship)

	East Indian, probably in the Scheldt
History
United States
Name	1918: Beikoku Maru; 1918: East Indian;
Owner	1918: US Shipping Board; 1925: Ford Motor Co;
Port of registry	1918: San Francisco; 1925: Detroit;
Builder	Uraga Dock Co, Uraga
Yard number	138
Completed	July 1918
Identification	US official number 216802; 1918: code letters LMQC; ; by 1934: call sign WGEI; ;
Fate	torpedoed 1942
General characteristics
Type	cargo ship
Tonnage	8,183 GRT, 5,966 NRT
Length	461.0 ft (140.5 m) overall; 445.0 ft (135.6 m) registered;
Beam	58.0 ft (17.7 m)
Draft	28 ft 8 in (8.7 m)
Depth	29.0 ft (8.8 m)
Decks	2
Installed power	1918: 2 × triple-expansion engines; 703 NHP; 1926: 2 × two-stroke diesel engines; 1,112 NHP;
Propulsion	2 × screws
Speed	1926: 11+1⁄2 knots (21 km/h)
Capacity	12 passengers
Crew	1942: 47 + 15 Armed Guards
Sensors &; processing systems	1926: submarine signalling; wireless direction finding; 1934: as above, plus echo sounding device; gyrocompass;
Armament	in Second World War:; 1 × 4-inch gun; 2 × .50 caliber machine guns; 2 × .30 caliber guns;

East Indian was a twin-screw cargo ship that was built in Japan in 1918 as Beikoku Maru. The United States Shipping Board (USSB) bought her that same year and renamed her East Indian. The Ford Motor Company bought her in 1925 to transport Ford products overseas. She was sunk in the South Atlantic in 1942. Only 16 of 74 people aboard survived.

Beikoku Maru was built as a steamship. Ford had East Indian re-engined as a motor ship. When converted, she was the most powerful motor ship in the US merchant fleet.