SS Ralph Izard

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History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameRalph Izard
Namesake Ralph Izard
Owner War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator American Foreign Steamship Corp.
Orderedas type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 914
Awarded1 January 1942
Builder Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland [1]
Cost$1,042,919 [2]
Yard number2064
Way number4
Laid down1 August 1942
Launched12 September 1942
Sponsored byMrs. Charles E. Keys
Completed23 September 1942
Identification
Fate
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 Ralph Izard was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Ralph Izard, an American politician. He was appointed commissioner to the Court of Tuscany by the Continental Congress in 1776, but was recalled in 1779. He returned to America in 1780, and pledged his large estate in South Carolina, for the payment of war ships to be used in the American Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Continental Congress in 1782 and 1783. In 1788, he was elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1789, to March 4, 1795, serving as President pro tempore of the United States Senate during the Third Congress.

Contents

Construction

Ralph Izard was laid down on 1 August 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 914, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. Charles E. Keys, the wife of a yard employee, and was launched on 12 September 1942. [1] [2]

History

She was allocated to American Foreign Steamship Corporation, on 23 September 1942. On 5 September 1947, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama. On 11 February 1965, she was sold for scrapping to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp., for $48,225.89. She was removed from the fleet on 11 March 1965. [4]

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