SS William Wirt (original) (raw)

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Liberty ship of WWII
History
United States
Name William Wirt
Namesake William Wirt
Owner War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator Alcoa Steamship Co., Inc.
Ordered as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 50
Awarded 14 March 1941
Builder Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost $1,071,644[2]
Yard number 2037
Way number 2
Laid down 13 May 1942
Launched 4 July 1942
Sponsored by Mrs. Wharton H. Hoy
Completed 24 July 1942
Identification Call sign: KGBF [2]
Fate Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 16 December 1947 Sold for scrapping, 2 November 1965, withdrawn from fleet, 24 November 1965
General characteristics [3]
Class and type Liberty ship type EC2-S-C1, standard
Tonnage 10,865 LT DWT 7,176 GRT
Displacement 3,380 long tons (3,434 t) (light) 14,245 long tons (14,474 t) (max)
Length 441 feet 6 inches (135 m) oa 416 feet (127 m) pp 427 feet (130 m) lwl
Beam 57 feet (17 m)
Draft 27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m)
Installed power 2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C) boilers, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa) 2,500 hp (1,900 kW)
Propulsion 1 × triple-expansion steam engine, (manufactured by Worthington Pump & Machinery Corp, Harrison, New Jersey) 1 × screw propeller
Speed 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity 562,608 cubic feet (15,931 m3) (grain) 499,573 cubic feet (14,146 m3) (bale)
Complement 38–62 USMM 21–40 USNAG
Armament Varied by ship Bow-mounted 3-inch (76 mm)/50-caliber gun Stern-mounted 4-inch (102 mm)/50-caliber gun 2–8 × single 20-millimeter (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons and/or, 2–8 × 37-millimeter (1.46 in) M1 AA guns

SS William Wirt was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after William Wirt, an American author and statesman who is credited with turning the position of United States Attorney General into one of influence. He was the longest serving Attorney General in US history. He was also the Anti-Masonic Party nominee for president in the 1832 election.

William Wirt was laid down on 13 May 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 50, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; sponsored by Mrs. Wharton H. Hoy, the niece J.A. Bouslog, the manager of the Middle Atlantic District for MARCOM, and was launched on 4 July 1942.[1][2]

She was allocated to Alcoa Steamship Co., Inc., on 24 July 1942. On 16 December 1947, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina. She was sold for scrapping on 2 November 1965, to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp., for $46,287. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 24 November 1965.[4]

  1. ^ a b Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards 2008.
  2. ^ a b c MARCOM.
  3. ^ Davies 2004, p. 23.
  4. ^ MARAD.