SS Carter Braxton

SS Carter Braxton was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Carter Braxton, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, as well as a merchant, planter, and Virginia politician. A grandson of Robert "King" Carter, one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners and slaveholders in the Old Dominion, Carter Braxton was active in Virginia's legislature for more than 25 years.

History
United States
Name:	Carter Braxton
Namesake:	Carter Braxton
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Union Sulphur & Oil Co., Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 22
Awarded:	14 March 1941
Builder:	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost:	$1,151,856[2]
Yard number:	2009
Way number:	9
Laid down:	3 September 1941
Launched:	24 January 1942
Completed:	18 March 1942
Identification:	Call sign: KBTH [2]
Status:	Sold for commercial use, 19 June 1947
United States
Name:	Herman Frasch
Namesake:	Herman Frasch
Owner:	Union Sulphur Co.
Status:	Sold, April 1955
United States
Name:	Cilco Ranger
Owner:	Terminal Steamship Co.
Operator:	A.L. Burbank & Co.
Status:	Sold, August 1956
United States
Name:	Murray Hill
Owner:	Fairfield Steamship Corp.
Status:	Sold, March 1957
Liberia
Name:	Sea Spray
Owner:	Universal Tramp Shipping Co.
Operator:	Seatraders, Inc.
Status:	Sold, March 1960
Greece
Name:	Meltemi
Operator:	Seatraders, Inc.
Status:	Scrapped, 1968
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 Clark Bros. Co., Cleveland, 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

Carter Braxton was laid down on 3 September 1941, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 22, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; and was launched on 24 January 1942.[1][2]

History

She was allocated to the Union Sulphur & Oil Co., Inc., on 18 March 1942. She was sold for commercial use on 19 June 1947, to the Union Sulphur & Oil Co., Inc., and renamed Herman Frasch, after Herman Frasch.[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 17 February 2020.
• Maritime Administration. "Carter Braxton". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 17 February 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "SS Carter Braxton". Retrieved 17 February 2020.