SS George E. Merrick
SS George E. Merrick was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after George E. Merrick, a real estate developer who is best known as the planner and builder of the city of Coral Gables, Florida, in the 1920s, one of the first planned communities in the United States.
History | |
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Name: | George E. Merrick |
Namesake: | George E. Merrick |
Owner: | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
Operator: | United States Lines Co. |
Ordered: | as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2476 |
Awarded: | 23 April 1943 |
Builder: | St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida[1] |
Cost: | $1,096,218[2] |
Yard number: | 40 |
Way number: | 4 |
Laid down: | 20 March 1944 |
Launched: | 4 May 1944 |
Sponsored by: | Mrs. Louis V. Tallamy |
Completed: | 21 May 1944 |
Identification: | |
Fate: | Laid up in the, Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York, 22 April 1948 |
Status: | Sold for commercial use, 25 January 1951, removed from fleet, 6 March 1951 |
Name: | Saxon |
Owner: | Saxon Steamship Co. |
Fate: | Sold, 1956 |
Name: | Saxon |
Owner: | Aspin Steamship Co. |
Operator: | Isbrandtsen and Co. |
Fate: | Sold, 1961 |
Name: | Panagia Kounistra |
Owner: | Guiadoro Cia. Nav. |
Operator: | Zaharias Sitinas |
Fate: | Scrapped, 1972 |
General characteristics [3] | |
Class and type: |
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Tonnage: | |
Displacement: | |
Length: | |
Beam: | 57 feet (17 m) |
Draft: | 27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m) |
Installed power: |
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Propulsion: |
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Speed: | 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
Capacity: |
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Complement: | |
Armament: |
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Construction
George E. Merrick was laid down on 20 March 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2476, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; she was sponsored by Mrs. Louis V. Tallamy, the president of the Ladies Auxiliary for the Harvey Seeds American Legion Post, Miami, and was launched on 4 May 1944.[1][2]
History
She was allocated to the United States Lines Co., on 21 May 1944. On 2 December 1947, she was laid up in the Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York. She was sold for commercial use, 25 January 1951, to Saxson Steamship Co.. She was removed from the fleet on 6 March 1951. George E. Merrick was renamed Saxon and remained flagged in the US. Saxon was sold to the Aspin Steamship Co. in 1956. In 1961, she was sold to Guiadoro Cia. Nav., and renamed Panaiga Kounistra and reflagged in Greece. She was scrapped in 1972, in Istanbul.[4]
References
- St. John's River SBC 2010.
- MARCOM.
- Davies 2004, p. 23.
- MARAD.
Bibliography
- "St. John's River Shipbuilding, Jacksonville FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 16 October 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- Maritime Administration. "George E. Merrick". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 21 January 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- "SS George E. Merrick". Retrieved 21 January 2020.