SS Ora Ellis

SS Ora Ellis was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Ora Ellis, a Merchant marine killed when U-506 torpedoed SS William C. McTarnahan, 35 mi (56 km) east of Ship Shoal Light, Louisiana, 16 May 1942.[4][5]

History
United States
Name:	Ora Ellis
Namesake:	Ora Ellis
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Polarus Steamship Co., Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C5) hull, MC hull 3148
Builder:	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida[1]
Cost:	$853,227[2]
Yard number:	108
Way number:	6
Laid down:	23 July 1945
Launched:	26 September 1945
Completed:	16 October 1945
Identification:	Call sign: AOJA [2]
Fate:	Laid up in the, National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 3 January 1947
Status:	Sold for commercial use, 8 August 1947
Name:	Coral Sea
Owner:	Coral Steamship Corp.
Status:	Sold, January 1951
Name:	Sea Coral
Owner:	Orion Shipping and Trading Co.
Status:	Sold, January 1954
Liberia
Name:	Seacoral Andro Coral
Owner:	Coral Cia. Armadora
Renamed:	1957
Status:	Grounded and sank, 18 May 1960
General characteristics [3]
Class and type:	Liberty ship type EC2-S-C5, boxed aircraft transport
Tonnage:	10,600 LT DWT 7,200 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:	490,000 cubic feet (13,875 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

Ora Ellis was laid down on 23 July 1945, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 3148, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; she was launched on 26 September 1945.[1][2]

History

She was allocated to Polarus Steamship Co., Inc., on 16 October 1945. On 3 January 1947, she was laid up in the, National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama. She was sold, on 8 August 1947, to Coral Steamship Corp., for commercial use and renamed Coral Sea. On 18 May 1960, after having been sold to Coral Cia. Armmadora, renamed Andros Coral, and flagged in Liberia, she sank for a total loss when she was grounded in the Chacao Channel, Chile.[6]

References

1. J.A. Panama City 2010.
2. MARCOM.
3. Davies 2004, p. 23.
4. Armed-Guard.
5. UBoat. sfn error: no target: CITEREFUBoat (help)
6. MARAD.

Bibliography

• "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
• Maritime Administration. "Ora Ellis". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 13 December 2019.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "SS Ora Ellis". Retrieved 13 December 2019.
• "THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE NAMES". Armed-guard.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
• "William C. McTarnahan". UBoat.net. Retrieved 13 December 2019.