SS Furnifold M. Simmons

Last updated
SS Ellen Maersk.jpg
The former Furnifold M. Simmons in 1947.
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameFurnifold M. Simmons
Namesake Furnifold McLendel Simmons
Builder North Carolina Shipbuilding Company, Wilmington, North Carolina
Yard number66
Way number3
Laid down13 January 1943
Launched10 February 1943
RenamedComet, Ellen Mærsk
Honors and
awards		 Bronze-service-star-3d.svg 1 × battle star
FateScrapped in 1968
General characteristics
Type Liberty ship
Tonnage7,000 long tons deadweight (DWT)
Length441 ft 6 in (134.57 m)
Beam56 ft 11 in (17.35 m)
Draft27 ft 9 in (8.46 m)
Propulsion
  • Two oil-fired boilers
  • Triple expansion steam engine
  • Single screw
  • 2,500 hp (1,864 kW)
Speed11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Capacity9,140 tons cargo
Complement41
Armament

SS Furnifold M. Simmons (MC contract 888) was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Furnifold McLendel Simmons, a politician from North Carolina responsible for the disenfranchisement of African-American voters in that state, as well as head of a Democratic Party political machine until his death in 1940.

Contents

The ship was laid down by North Carolina Shipbuilding Company in their Cape Fear River yard on January 13, 1943, and launched on February 10, 1943. [1] Simmons was chartered to R. A. Nicol & Company by the War Shipping Administration until her sale to Maersk in 1947. [2]

Cuban Convoy Attacked

On March 10, 1943 Simmons was loaded with explosives for Karachi, Pakistan as part of a Key West, Florida to Guantanamo Naval Base KG convoy escorted by United States Navy and Royal Canadian Navy vessels that was attacked by German submarine U-185. The tanker SS Virginia Sinclair had been sunk on March 9 when the U-185 returned and torpedoed the ammunition carrying SS James Sprunt . Flaming debris struck several vessels including the Simmons, causing part of her crew to abandon ship. [3] [4]

Refloating the SS Fairisle

On August 29, 1946 the Simmons was unloading cargo in Calcutta when she was sent to the aid of a stranded vessel, the SS Fairisle, that had grounded due to a navigational error. Reaching the scene of August 31, the crew spent five days attempting to put cables between the two vessels to pull the Fairisle off. The attempt succeeded on September 5, only after part of the Simmons crew had been forced onto the beach when their small boat overturned. Four officers and twenty-seven men sought compensation for their efforts in court from the Waterman Steamship Corporation and were eventually awarded a sum each. [5] [6]

Mærsk ownership

Simmons was purchased by A.P. Møller in 1947 from the War Shipping Administration. At one point she was renamed Ellen Mærsk, then in 1948 Hada County, and finally in 1952 Comet. She was scrapped in 1968. [7]

Awards

The Simmons' Naval Armed Guard detachment received one battle star for World War II service during the invasion of Southern France. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Liberty</i> (AGTR-5) Belmont-class technical research ship

USS Liberty (AGTR-5) was a Belmont-class technical research ship that was misidentified and attacked by Israel Defense Forces during the 1967 Six-Day War. She was originally built and served in World War II as a VC2-S-AP3 type Victory cargo ship named SS Simmons Victory. Her keel was laid down on 23 February 1945, under a Maritime Commission contract at Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation of Portland, Oregon.

Liberty ship US cargo ship class of WWII

Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass-produced on an unprecedented scale, the Liberty ship came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output.

SS <i>A. J. Cermak</i> Liberty ship of WWII

SS A. J. Cermak was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Anton Cermak, an American politician. Cermak was the Mayor of Chicago from 1931 until his assassination in 1933 while meeting with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

USS <i>Seginus</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Seginus (AK-133) was a Crater-class cargo ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering troops, goods and equipment to locations in the war zone.

USNS Rollins (T-AG-189) was one of 12 ships scheduled to be acquired by the United States Navy in February 1966 and converted into forward depot ships and placed into service with the Military Sea Transport Service. SS High Point Victory (MCV-851) was chosen for this conversion and assigned the name Rollins but the program was canceled and the ships were not acquired by the Navy.

SS James Iredell was a Liberty ship in World War II that was attacked in Naples and scuttled on June 8, 1944 to protect Omaha Beach.

USAT <i>Cuba</i> Passenger ship

USAT Cuba was the passenger ship Cuba of the Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Company built by William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, Philadelphia in 1920 and placed into operation in 1921 for scheduled passenger and freight service between Tampa, Key West and Havana.

SS <i>Zebulon B. Vance</i> World War II Liberty ship of the United States

SS Zebulon Vance was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Zebulon Vance, the two time Governor of North Carolina, lawyer, and Confederate Army officer.

SS Robert F. Hoke was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Robert Hoke, Confederate Army Major General, politician, and Director of the North Carolina Railroad.

SS Nathanael Greene was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Nathanael Greene, Continental Army general famous for his service in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. She was operated by the United States Lines under charter with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration.

SS <i>Virginia Dare</i> World War II Liberty ship of the United States

SS Virginia Dare was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Virginia Dare, the first English child born in America, who disappeared along with the rest of the Roanoke Colony.

SS William Gaston was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after William Gaston, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina, author of the North Carolina state song, and namesake of Gaston County, North Carolina.

SS James J. Pettigrew was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after J. Johnston Pettigrew, a Confederate general from North Carolina killed during the American Civil War.

SS <i>Alexander Lillington</i> World War II Liberty ship of the United States

SS Alexander Lillington was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Alexander Lillington, a North Carolina Patriot militia officer who served at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge and the Battle of Camden.

SS Waigstill Avery was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Waightstill Avery, the first Attorney General of North Carolina who fought a duel with Andrew Jackson in 1788.

SS Cornelia P. Spencer was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Cornelia Phillips Spencer, an influential writer and journalist in North Carolina during the Reconstruction era.

SS <i>Jasper Park</i>

SS Jasper Park was a Park ship freighter, built in 1942. She was sunk by torpedo from German submarine U-177 on 6 July 1943, the first Park ship lost to enemy action. She was completed on 24 September 1942, by the company Davie Shipbuilding in Lauzon, Quebec. Her hull number is 537. Davie Shipbuilding is now called Chantier Davie Canada Inc. The ship was owned by the Park Steamship Company, which was owned by Canada's Federal government. The government had built 400 vessels during World War II. Built as a merchant steamship constructed for Canada’s Merchant Navy in 1942. She was named after Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies in the province of Alberta, Canada.

SSCapillo was a Design 1022 cargo ship built for the United States Shipping Board immediately after World War I.

USNS <i>Norwalk</i> United States Navy auxiliary ship

USNS Norwalk (T-AK-279) was the first in her class, a Fleet Ballistic Missile Cargo Ship, which was launched as a World War II commercial Victory cargo ship SS Norwalk Victory under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. The Norwalk Victory was acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1963.

R. A. Nicol & Company was a shipping and ship broker company founded in New York City by Robert Alexander Nicol in 1923. Robert Alexander Nicol was born in England in 1880. Robert Alexander Nicol came to the United States in 1906 at the age of 26, from Liverpool, England. In 1290 Robert Alexander Nicol became a naturalized United States citizen. He started in the shipping business by working for the Oriental Navigation Company in New York City in 1916. R. A. Nicol & Company's office was at 17 Battery Place, New York City. R. A. Nicol & Company supported the World War II effort by operating United States owned ships.

References

  1. ↑ "North Carolina Shipbuilding". shipbuildinghistory.com. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  2. ↑ "Furnifold M. Simmons". MARAD Vessel History Database. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  3. ↑ Heenan, Joseph A. (Captain RCN) (January 1962). "The Little Ships (Part II)" (PDF). The Crowsnest. Ottawa: Royal Canadian Navy. 14 (3): 12–13. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  4. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "James Sprunt". German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  5. ↑ The Fairisle, 76FSupp. 27 (D. Md1947).
  6. ↑ Waterman SS Corporation v. Dean, 171F.2d408 (4th Cir.1948).
  7. ↑ "D/S Hada County". sjøhistorie.no. Retrieved 2019-01-10.
  8. ↑ "U.S. Merchant Marine Ships whose Naval Armed Guard crews earned "Battle Stars" in World War II - Ships with names "A to F"". American Merchant Marine at War. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.