SS Francis Asbury

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History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameFrancis Asbury
Namesake Francis Asbury
Owner War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator A.H. Bull & Co., Inc.
Orderedas type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1195
Builder St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida [1]
Cost$2,452,124 [2]
Yard number3
Way number3
Laid down9 September 1942
Launched17 April 1943
Sponsored byMrs. Benjamin F. Crowles
Completed5 June 1943
Identification
Fate
  • Struck mine, Constructive Total Loss (CTL), 3 December 1944
  • Sold for scrapping, 6 April 1953, delivered, 28 April 1953
General characteristics [3]
Class and type
Tonnage
Displacement
Length
  • 441 feet 6 inches (135 m) oa
  • 416 feet (127 m) pp
  • 427 feet (130 m) lwl
Beam57 feet (17 m)
Draft27 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
Speed11.5 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
Armament

SS Francis Asbury was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Francis Asbury, one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. Asbury traveled thousands of miles those living on the frontier to deliver hundreds of sermons each year. [4]

Contents

Construction

Francis Asbury was laid down on 12 September 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1195, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; she was sponsored by Mrs. Benjamin F. Crowles, the wife of one of the vice presidents of the St. John's River SB Co., she was launched on 17 April 1943. [1] [2]

History

She was allocated to A.H. Bull & Co., Inc., on 5 June. On 3 December 1944, she was mined off Ostend, Belgium, while steaming from New York to Ostend, with war supplies. She was beached off Blankenberge, and declared a Constructive Total Loss (CTL). She was sold for scrapping, on 6 April 1953, to Hydraulica, for $2000. She was delivered, 28 April 1953. [4]

Wreck location: 51°21′N3°0′E / 51.350°N 3.000°E / 51.350; 3.000 [4]

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