SS Mahlon Pitney

Liberty ship Mahlon Pitney, 23 September 1943
History
United States
Name	Mahlon Pitney
Namesake	Mahlon Pitney
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Grace Line, Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 942
Awarded	30 January 1942
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland [1]
Cost	$1,073,483 [2]
Yard number	2092
Way number	16
Laid down	31 December 1942
Launched	11 February 1943
Completed	26 February 1943
Identification	Call sign: KKAV [2]
Fate	Laid up in Reserve Fleet, 29 October 1948, sold 16 November 1965
United States
Owner	Zidell Explorations
Renamed	Twin Harbors No.2
Fate	Scrapped 2010
Notes	Ship used in lighter service
General characteristics [3]
Class & 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 Worthington Pump & Machinery Corp, Harrison, New Jersey) 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-inch (76 mm)/50-caliber gun Stern-mounted 4-inch (102 mm)/50-caliber gun 2–8 × single 20-millimeter (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons and/or, 2–8 × 37-millimeter (1.46 in) M1 AA guns

SS Mahlon Pitney was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Mahlon Pitney, an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms from 1895 to 1899. He later served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1912 to 1922.

Construction

Mahlon Pitney was laid down on 31 December 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 942, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was launched on 11 February 1943. ^{[1] [2]}

History

She was allocated to the Grace Line, Inc., on 26 February 1943. ^[4]

On 29 October 1948, she was laid up in the Hudson River Reserve Fleet, in Hoboken, New Jersey. On 28 September 1948, she was laid up in the Astoria Reserve Fleet, in Astoria, Oregon. On 15 July 1954, she was withdrawn from the fleet to be loaded with grain under the "Grain Program 1954", she returned loaded with grain on 31 July 1954. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 7 January 1957, to have the grain unloaded, she returned empty on 15 January 1957. On 7 October 1965, she was sold for $54,000, to Zidell Explorations Inc., for non-transportation use, and renamed Twin Harbors No.2. On 16 November 1965, she was withdrawn from the fleet and put into barge service. ^[4] In August 2010, she was scrapped, along with her sister ship SS Woodbridge N. Ferris, in Tacoma, Washington. ^[5]

References

1. Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards 2021.
2. MARCOM.
3. Davies 2004, p. 23.
4. MARAD.
5. Carson 2010.

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
• Maritime Administration. "Mahlon Pitney". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
• "SS Mahlon Pitney" . Retrieved 21 July 2025.
• Carson, Rob (4 August 2010). "World War II Liberty Ships Recycled in Tacoma". News Tribune. Retrieved 21 July 2025.