SS Ralph Izard

History
United States
Name:	Ralph Izard
Namesake:	Ralph Izard
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	American Foreign Steamship Corp.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 914
Awarded:	1 January 1942
Builder:	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost:	$1,042,919[2]
Yard number:	2064
Way number:	4
Laid down:	1 August 1942
Launched:	12 September 1942
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Charles E. Keys
Completed:	23 September 1942
Identification:	Call sign: KHCS; [2];
Fate:	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 5 September 1947
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 11 February 1965, withdrawn from fleet, 11 March 1965
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 m3) (grain); 499,573 cubic feet (14,146 m3) (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;

SS Ralph Izard was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Ralph Izard, an American politician. He was appointed commissioner to the Court of Tuscany by the Continental Congress in 1776, but was recalled in 1779. He returned to America in 1780, and pledged his large estate in South Carolina, for the payment of war ships to be used in the American Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Continental Congress in 1782 and 1783. In 1788, he was elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1789, to March 4, 1795, serving as President pro tempore of the United States Senate during the Third Congress.

Construction

Ralph Izard was laid down on 1 August 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 914, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. Charles E. Keys, the wife of a yard employee, and was launched on 12 September 1942.[1][2]

History

She was allocated to American Foreign Steamship Corp., on 23 September 1942. On 5 September 1947, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama. On 11 February 1965, she was sold for scrapping to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp., for $48,225.89. She was removed from the fleet on 11 March 1965.[4]

Bibliography

"Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
Maritime Administration. "Ralph Izard". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
"SS Ralph Izard". Retrieved 6 March 2020.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[FOOTNOTEBethlehem-Fairfield_Shipyards2008-1] Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards 2008.

[FOOTNOTEMARCOM-2] MARCOM.

[FOOTNOTEDavies200423-3] Davies 2004, p. 23.

[FOOTNOTEMARAD-4] MARAD.