SS William Johnson

SS William Johnson was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after William Johnson, a state legislator and judge in South Carolina, and an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1804 to his death in 1834.

History
United States
Name:	William Johnson
Namesake:	William Johnson
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	A.H. Bull & Co., Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 40
Awarded:	14 March 1941
Builder:	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost:	$1,056,310[2]
Yard number:	2027
Way number:	12
Laid down:	18 March 1942
Launched:	22 May 1942
Sponsored by:	Miss Irene Long
Completed:	16 June 1942
Identification:	Call sign: KFUW [2]
Fate:	Laid up in the Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York, 15 October 1948 Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 27 July 1949
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 8 May 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 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

William Johnson was laid down on 18 March 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 38, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; sponsored by Miss Irene Long, the secretary to Vice Admiral Howard L. Vickery, and was launched on 22 May 1942.[1][2]

History

She was allocated to A.H. Bull & Co., Inc., on 16 June 1942. On 15 October 1948, she was laid up in the Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York. On 27 July 1949, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama. She was sold for scrapping on 8 May 1961, to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp.[4]

References

1. Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards 2008.
2. MARCOM.
3. Davies 2004, p. 23.
4. MARAD.

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
• Maritime Administration. "William Johnson". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 25 February 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "SS William Johnson". Retrieved 25 February 2020.