SS William B. Wilson

SS William B. Wilson was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after William B. Wilson, the first United States Secretary of Labor.

History
United States
Name:	William B. Wilson
Namesake:	William B. Wilson
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Eastern Steamship Co.
Ordered:	as type (Z-EC2-S-C2) hull, MC hull 1537
Builder:	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost:	$1,748,271[1]
Yard number:	19
Way number:	3
Laid down:	14 September 1943
Launched:	6 November 1943
Completed:	16 December 1943
Identification:	Call Signal: KVBR [1]
Fate:	Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, Virginia, 10 October 1945
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 31 Jul 1972
General characteristics [2]
Class and type:	type Z-EC2-S-C2, army tank transport
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 B. Wilson was laid down on 14 September 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1537, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; she was launched on 6 November 1943.[3][1]

History

She was allocated to Eastern Steamship Co., on 16 December 1943. On 10 October 1945, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in the James River Group, Lee Hall, Virginia. On 31 July 1972, she was sold for $75,500 to N.V. Intershitra, Rotterdam, for scrapping. She was removed from the fleet on 25 August 1972.[4][5]

References

1. MARCOM.
2. Davies 2004, p. 23.
3. J.A. Panama City 2010.
4. Liberty Ships.
5. MARAD.

Bibliography

• "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
• "Liberty Ships – World War II". Retrieved 28 November 2017.
• Maritime Administration. "William B. Wilson". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 28 November 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "SS William B. Wilson". Retrieved 28 November 2017.