SS Benjamin Rush

SS Benjamin Rush was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Benjamin Rush, a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social reformer, humanitarian, and educator as well as the founder of Dickinson College. Rush attended the Continental Congress. He served as Surgeon General of the Continental Army and became a professor of chemistry, medical theory, and clinical practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

History
United States
Name: Benjamin Rush
Namesake: Benjamin Rush
Owner: War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator: United Fruit Co.
Ordered: as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 303
Awarded: 1 May 1941
Builder: Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost: $1,068,694[2]
Yard number: 2053
Way number: 16
Laid down: 13 December 1941
Launched: 25 June 1942
Sponsored by: Mrs. Benjamin Rush Jr.
Completed: 11 July 1942
Identification:
Fate: Laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 24 October 1947
Status: Sold for scrapping, 29 April 1954, withdrawn from fleet, 9 May 1954
General characteristics [3]
Class and type:
Tonnage:
Displacement:
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 m3) (grain)
  • 499,573 cubic feet (14,146 m3) (bale)
Complement:
Armament:

Construction

Benjamin Rush was laid down on 13 December 1941, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 303, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. Benjamin Rush Jr., the wife of the vice president of Industrial Insurance Company of America, and was launched on 25 June 1942.[1][2]

History

She was allocated to United Fruit Co., on 11 July 1942. On 24 October 1947, she was laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia. A fire on 13 December 1948, burned out the midship house, causing an estimated $250,000—$265,000 in damages. She was recommended for scrapping on 21 December 1951, instead of repairing. On 29 April 1954, she was sold for scrapping to Boston Metals Co., along with four of her sister ships for $353,885. She was removed from the fleet on 9 May 1954.[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 5 March 2020.
  • Maritime Administration. "Benjamin Rush". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  • Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 5 March 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • "SS Benjamin Rush". Retrieved 5 March 2020.


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