SS Henry Watterson

SS Henry Watterson was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Henry Watterson, an American journalist, partial term US Congressman from Kentucky, and Pulitzer Prize winner in 1918, for two editorials supporting U.S. entry into World War I.

History
United States
Name:	Henry Watterson
Namesake:	Henry Watterson
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	American Export Lines Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1201
Builder:	St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida[1]
Cost:	$2,232,439[2]
Yard number:	9
Way number:	3
Laid down:	19 April 1943
Launched:	21 July 1943
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Jack E. Schmeltzer
Completed:	18 August 1943
Identification:	Call sign: KIWC [2]
Fate:	Placed in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 11 May 1946
Status:	Sold for commercial use, 24 June 1947, withdrawn from fleet, 7 July 1947
Norway
Name:	Spurt
Owner:	A/S Lundegaard and Soenner
Status:	Sold, 1961
Lebanon
Name:	Spartan
Owner:	Compania Mar Angelikana
Fate:	Grounded, Pasa Buenavista, Cuba, 13 December 1961 Refloated and towed to Havana, 29 May 1962
Status:	Declared Constructive Total Loss (CTL), scrapped
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 Filer and Stowell, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 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

Henry Watterson was laid down on 19 April 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1201, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; she was sponsored by Mrs. Jack E. Schmeltzer, the widow of the former Technical Assistant to Rear Admiral Howard L. Vickery, MARCOM, she was launched on 21 July 1943.[1][2]

History

She was allocated to American Export Lines Inc., on 18 August 1943. On 11 May 1946, she was placed in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia. She was sold for commercial use, on 24 June 1947, to A/S Lundegaard and Soenner, renamed Spurt and flagged in Norway. She was withdrawn from the fleet, 7 July 1947. On 13 December 1961, while operating as Spartan and flagged in Lebanon, she ran aground in Pasa Buenavista, Cuba. After being refloated, she was towed to Havana, on 29 May 1962. She was declared a constructive total loss (CTL) and scrapped.[4]

References

1. St. John's River SBC 2010.
2. MARCOM.
3. Davies 2004, p. 23.
4. MARAD.

Bibliography

• "St. John's River Shipbuilding, Jacksonville FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 16 October 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
• Maritime Administration. "Henry Watterson". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 16 December 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "SS Henry Watterson". Retrieved 16 December 2019.