SS Samuel Chase

SS Samuel Chase was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Founding Father Samuel Chase, an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of Maryland.

History
United States
Name	Samuel Chase
Namesake	Samuel Chase
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	American-Hawaiian Steamship Co.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 23
Awarded	14 March 1941
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost	$1,236,111[2]
Yard number	2010
Way number	10
Laid down	12 September 1941
Launched	22 February 1942
Sponsored by	Mrs. Lester E. Voss
Completed	11 April 1942
Identification	Call sign: KBYU [2]
Fate	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 14 June 1948 Sold for scrapping, 19 January 1967, withdrawn from fleet, 26 January 1967
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 General Machinery Corp., Hamilton, Ohio) 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

Samuel Chase was laid down on 12 September 1941, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 23, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. Lester E. Voss, the wife of the resident plant engineer at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, and was launched on 22 February 1942.^[1][2]

History

She was allocated to American-Hawaiian Steamship Co., on 11 April 1942. On 14 June 1948, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina. She was sold for scrapping on 19 January 1967, to Northern Metal Co., for $46,000. She was removed from the fleet, 26 January 1967.^[4]

References

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

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
• Maritime Administration. "Samuel Chase". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
• "SS Samuel Chase". Retrieved 17 February 2020.