SS Nathan Clifford

History
United States
Name	Nathan Clifford
Namesake	Nathan Clifford
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	American Foreign Steamship Corp.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 944
Awarded	30 January 1942
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland [1]
Cost	$1,072,829 [2]
Yard number	2094
Way number	12
Laid down	1 January 1943
Launched	18 February 1943
Completed	3 March 1943
Identification	Call sign: KKAY [2]
Fate	Sold, 26 March 1947
United States
Name	American Oriole
Owner	American Foreign Steamship Corp.
Fate	Sold, 1957
Liberia
Name	Atlantic Oriole
Owner	Atlantic Oriole SS Co.
Operator	American Foreign Steamship Corp.
Fate	Sold, 1961
Liberia
Name	Kyma
Owner	Marsuerte Cia. Nav. S.A, Panama
Operator	Maritime Managers Co. (1961-1964) Admanthos Shipping Agency (1964-1965)
Fate	Sold, 1965
Greece
Name	Tassia
Owner	Marsuerte Cia. Nav. S.A, Panama (1965) A.A. Catsogeorgis & Co. (1965)
Fate	Sunk, 5 September 1965
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 Ellicott Machine Corp., Baltimore, Maryland) 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 Nathan Clifford was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Nathan Clifford, was an American statesman, diplomat and jurist. He represented Maine, in the US House of Representatives from 1839 to 1843, then served as the US Attorney General from 1846 to 1848, and as the US Ambassador to Mexico from 1848 to 1849. In the latter office, he signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In 1858, he was appointed to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, where he served until his death in 1881.

Construction

Nathan Clifford was laid down on 1 January 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 944, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was launched on 18 February 1943. ^{[1] [2]}

History

She was allocated to the American Foreign Steamship Corp., on 3 March 1943. ^[4]

On 26 May 1947, she was sold to American Foreign Steamship Corp., and renamed American Oriole. In 1957, she was sold and reflagged in Liberia, she was renamed Atlantic Oriole. ^[4] She was renamed Kyma, in 1961, and Tassia, in 1965. On 5 September 1965, while enroute from Amsterdam to Houston, she sprang a leak and sank. ^[5]

Wreak location: 36°36′N51°24′W / 36.600°N 51.400°W / 36.600; -51.400 ^[5]

References

1. Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards 2021.
2. MARCOM.
3. Davies 2004, p. 23.
4. MARAD.
5. Sawyer & Mitchell 1985, p. 43.

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
• Maritime Administration. "Nathan Clifford". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
• "SS Nathan Clifford" . Retrieved 29 July 2025.
• Sawyer, L.A.; Mitchell, W.H. (1985). The Liberty Ships. Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Great Britain: St. Edmundsbury Press Ltd. ISBN   1850440492.