SS Grace Abbott

SS Grace Abbott was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Grace Abbott, an American social worker who specifically worked in improving the rights of immigrants and advancing child welfare, especially the regulation of child labor.

History
United States
Name:	Grace Abbott
Namesake:	Grace Abbott
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Calmar Steamship Corp.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 919
Awarded:	1 January 1942
Builder:	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost:	$1,053,202[2]
Yard number:	2069
Way number:	14
Laid down:	29 August 1942
Launched:	10 October 1942
Sponsored by:	Mrs. J.E. Schmelzer
Completed:	17 October 1942
Identification:	Call sign: KHLC [2]
Fate:	Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Astoria, Oregon, 5 December 1946
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 14 August 1967, removed from fleet, 6 September 1967
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

Grace Abbott was laid down on 29 August 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 919, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. J.E. Schmelzer, the wife of the technical assistant to the vice chairman of MARCOM, and was launched on 10 October 1942.[1][2]

History

She was allocated to Calmar Steamship Corp., on 17 October 1942. On 5 December 1946, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Astoria, Oregon. On 14 August 1967, she was sold for scrapping to American Ship Dismantlers, Inc., for $47,500. She was removed from the fleet on 6 September 1967.[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 18 March 2020.
• Maritime Administration. "Grace Abbott". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
• "SS Grace Abbott". Retrieved 18 March 2020.