SS Stepas Darius

SS Stepas Darius was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Steponas Darius, a Lithuanian American pilot, who died in a non-stop flight attempt with Lituanica from New York City to Kaunas, Lithuania, in 1933.

History
United States
Name:	Stepas Darius
Namesake:	Steponas Darius
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	William J. Rountree & Company
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2320
Builder:	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost:	$989,881[1]
Yard number:	61
Way number:	6
Laid down:	14 August 1944
Launched:	25 Septembert 1944
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Harley Ferguson
Completed:	10 October 1944
Identification:	Call sign: WSSW [1]
Fate:	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 27 June 1946
Status:	Sold for commercial use, 10 January 1947, withdrawn from fleet, 24 January 1947
Panama
Name:	MANDO
Owner:	Compania de Navegacion Phoceana de Panama
Status:	Grounded, 21 January 1955
General characteristics [2]
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 m^3) (grain) 499,573 cubic feet (14,146 m^3) (bale)
Complement:	38–62 USMM 21–40 USNAG
Armament:	Varied by ship Bow-mounted 3 inches (76 mm)/50 caliber gun Stern-mounted 4 inches (102 mm)/50 caliber gun 2–8 × single 20 millimeters (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons and/or, 2–8 × 37 millimeters (1.46 in) M1 AA guns

Construction

Stepas Darius was laid down on 14 August 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2320, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; sponsored by Mrs. Harley Ferguson, wife of assistant general manager JAJCC; and launched on 25 September 1944.[3][1]

History

She was allocated to William J. Rountree & Company, 9 October 1944. On 27 June 1946, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia.[4]

She was sold, on 10 January 1947, to Compania de Navegacion Phocena de Panama, for $562,854.89 and commercial use, she was renamed Mando. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 15 January 1947.[4]

On 21 January 1955, while sailing from Hampton Roads to Rotterdam, with 9,000 st (130,000 lb; 57,000 kg) of coal, she ran aground off the Round Island, Scilly Islands, when her engines failed. She was declared a total loss.[5]

Wreck located at: 49.5827°N 06.2015°W / 49.5827; -06.2015

References

1. MARCOM.
2. Davies 2004, p. 23.
3. J.A. Panama City 2010.
4. MARAD.
5. Historic England. "MANDO (1519482)". PastScape. Retrieved 9 December 2019.

Bibliography

• "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
• Maritime Administration. "Stepas Darius". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 9 December 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 9 December 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "SS Stepas Darius". Retrieved 9 December 2019.