SS Owen Wister
SS Owen Wister was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Owen Wister, an American writer and historian, considered the "father" of western fiction. He is best remembered for writing The Virginian and a biography of Ulysses S. Grant.
History | |
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Name: | Owen Wister |
Namesake: | Owen Wister |
Owner: | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
Operator: | William J. Rountree & Co., Inc. |
Ordered: | as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1216 |
Builder: | St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida[1] |
Cost: | $1,389,365[2] |
Yard number: | 24 |
Way number: | 6 |
Laid down: | 2 November 1943 |
Launched: | 14 December 1943 |
Sponsored by: | Mrs. William L. Marshall |
Completed: | 24 December 1943 |
Identification: | |
Fate: |
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Status: | Sold for scrapping, 8 December 1964, removed from fleet, 21 December 1964 |
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) |
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Construction
Owen Wister was laid down on 2 November 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1216, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; she was sponsored by Mrs. William L. Marshall, the wife of Gulf Coast Regional construction auditor for MARCOM, and was launched on 14 December 1943.[1][2]
History
She was allocated to William J. Rountree & Co., Inc., on 24 December 1943. On 22 July 1949, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Astoria, Oregon. On 28 June 1954, she was withdrawn from the fleet to be loaded with grain under the "Grain Program 1954", she returned loaded on 17 July 1954. On 3 November 1956, she was withdrawn to be unload, she returned on empty 9 November 1956. She was sold for scrapping, 8 December 1964, to Zidell Explorations, Inc., for $156,006.66, which included her sister ships SS Robert E. Clarkson and SS William C. Endicott. She was removed from the fleet on 21 December 1964.[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 13 January 2020.
- Maritime Administration. "Owen Wister". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 13 January 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- "SS Owen Wister". Retrieved 13 January 2020.