SS Sarah J. Hale

SS Sarah J. Hale was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Sarah J. Hale, the author of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb", she campaigned for the creation of the American holiday known as Thanksgiving and for the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument, editor of Ladies' Magazine, and founder of the Seaman's Aid Society in 1833, to assist the surviving families of Boston sailors who died at sea.

History
United States
Name:	Sarah J. Hale
Namesake:	Sarah J. Hale
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	International Freight Corp.
Ordered:	as type (Z-EC2-S-C2) hull, MC hull 1538
Builder:	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost:	$1,556,155[1]
Yard number:	20
Way number:	6
Laid down:	29 September 1943
Launched:	24 November 1943
Completed:	31 December 1943
Identification:	Call Signal: KVCF [1]
Fate:	Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, Virginia, 1 October 1945
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 31 Jul 1972
General characteristics [2]
Class and type:	type Z-EC2-S-C2, army tank transport
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

Sarah J. Hale was laid down on 29 September 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1538, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; she was launched on 24 November 1943.[3][1]

History

She was allocated to International Freight Corp., on 31 December 1943. On 1 October 1945, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in the James River Group, Lee Hall, Virginia. On 31 July 1972, she was sold for $77,100 to N.V. Intershitra, Rotterdam, for scrapping. She was removed from the fleet on 25 August 1972.[4][5]

References

1. MARCOM.
2. Davies 2004, p. 23.
3. J.A. Panama City 2010.
4. Liberty Ships.
5. MARAD.

Bibliography

• "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
• "Liberty Ships – World War II". Retrieved 28 November 2017.
• Maritime Administration. "Sarah J. Hale". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 28 November 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "SS Sarah J. Hale". Retrieved 28 November 2017.