SS Filipp Mazzei

SS Filipp Mazzei was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Filippo Mazzei, an Italian physician and close friend of Thomas Jefferson, Mazzei acted as an agent to purchase arms for Virginia during the American Revolutionary War. In 1774 he published a pamphlet containing the phrase, which Jefferson incorporated essentially intact into the United States Declaration of Independence: "All men are by nature equally free and independent".^[4][5]

History
United States
Name	Filipp Mazzei
Namesake	Filippo Mazzei
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Sprague Steamship Co., Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2488
Awarded	23 April 1943
Builder	St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida[1]
Cost	$966,714[2]
Yard number	52
Way number	4
Laid down	15 June 1944
Launched	31 July 1944
Completed	15 August 1944
Identification	Call sign: WRRO [2]
Fate	Laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 3 September 1948 Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 26 April 1952 Laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 28 March 1958 Sold for scrapping, 19 February 1960, withdrawn from fleet, 1 March 1960
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 Filer and Stowell, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 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

Construction

Filipp Mazzei was laid down on 15 June 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2488, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; and was launched on 31 July 1944.^[1][2]

History

She was allocated to the Sprague Steamship Co., Inc., on 9 August 1944. On 3 September 1948, she was laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia. On 26 April 1952, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina. On 28 March 1958, she was laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia. She was sold for scrapping on 19 February 1960, to Bethlehem Steel Co., for $70,701. She was removed from the fleet on 1 March 1960.^[6]

References

1. St. John's River SBC 2010.
2. MARCOM.
3. Davies 2004, p. 23.
4. Filippo Mazzei, The Virginia Gazette, 1774. Translated by a friend and neighbor, Thomas Jefferson
5. According to Resolution 175 of the 103rd Congress: the phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence 'All men are created equal', was suggested by the Italian patriot and immigrant Filippo Mazzei.
6. MARAD.

Bibliography

• "St. John's River Shipbuilding, Jacksonville FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 16 October 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
• Maritime Administration. "Filipp Mazzei". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
• "SS Filipp Mazzei". Retrieved 28 January 2020.