SS Stephen Beasley

SS Stephen Beasley was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Stephen Beasley, an American shipbuilder from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the early years of the Republic.

History
United States
Name:	Stephen Beasley
Namesake:	Stephen Beasley
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	T.J. Stevenson & Co., Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2483
Awarded:	23 April 1943
Builder:	St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida[1]
Cost:	$1,155,623[2]
Yard number:	47
Way number:	5
Laid down:	13 May 1944
Launched:	24 June 1944
Sponsored by:	Eleanor Garrett Bunker
Completed:	13 July 1944
Identification:	Call sign: WQGA [2]
Fate:	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas, 17 December 1948
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 14 March 1961, removed from the fleet, 28 March 1961
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 Joshua Hendy Iron Works, Sunnyvale, California) 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

Stephen Beasley was laid down on 13 May 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2483, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; sponsored by Eleanor Garrett Bunker, the wife of Rear Admiral Charles W.O. Bunker and the great-great-granddaughter of the namesake, and was launched on 24 June 1944.[1][2]

History

She was allocated to the T.J. Stevenson & Co., Inc., on 13 July 1944. On 17 December 1948, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas. She was sold for scrapping, 14 March 1961, to Luria Bros. and Co., for $61,789.22. She was removed from the fleet on 28 March 1961.[4]

References

1. St. John's River SBC 2010.
2. MARCOM.
3. Davies 2004, p. 23.
4. MARAD.

Bibliography

• "St. John's River Shipbuilding, Jacksonville FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 16 October 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
• Maritime Administration. "Stephen Beasley". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 24 January 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "SS Stephen Beasley". Retrieved 24 January 2020.