SS Dwight L. Moody

SS Dwight L. Moody was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Dwight L. Moody, evangelist, publisher, the founder of the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts, now Northfield Mount Hermon School, the Moody Bible Institute, and Moody Publishers.

History
United States
Name:	Dwight L. Moody
Namesake:	Dwight L. Moody
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1526
Builder:	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost:	$1,847,690[1]
Yard number:	8
Way number:	2
Laid down:	4 March 1943
Launched:	28 June 1943
Completed:	24 July 1943
Identification:	Call Signal: KORS [1]
Fate:	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, 29 May 1946 Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas, 23 January 1950
Status:	Turned over to Texas, for use as artificial reef, 1 July 1975
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 Vulcan Iron Works, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) 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

Dwight L. Moody was laid down on 4 March 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1526, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; she was launched on 28 June 1943.[3][1]

History

She was allocated to Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., Inc., on 24 July 1943. On 29 May 1946, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in the James River Group. On 23 January 1950, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in Beaumont, Texas. On 1 July 1975, she was turned over to the state of Texas, for use as an artificial reef. She was removed from the fleet on 9 July 1975.[4]

She was sunk on 6 April 1976, at 28°06′58″N 96°05′14″W, along with her sister ships Jim Bridger, sunk on 15 June 1976, and George Dewey, sunk on 25 April 1976.[5]

References

1. MARCOM.
2. Davies 2004, p. 23.
3. J.A. Panama City 2010.
4. MARAD.
5. Arnold et al. 1998.

Bibliography

• "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
• Maritime Administration. "Dwight L. Moody". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 21 November 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "SS Dwight L. Moody". Retrieved 11 December 2019.
• Arnold, J. Barto III; Goloboy, Jennifer L.; Hall, Andrew W.; Hall, Rebecca A. (December 1998). Shively, J. Dale (ed.). Texas' Liberty Ships: From World War II Working-class heroes to Artificial Reefs (PDF). Texas Parks & Wildlife. Retrieved 9 December 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)