SS George Calvert (1942)

Last updated
Note: The USAS American Mariner, originally entered service as SS George Calvert (build number 2007/MC Hull 20) and launched in 1941 should not be confused with SS George Calvert (build number 2016/MC Hull 29) which was launched in 1942.
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameGeorge Calvert
Namesake George Calvert
Owner War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator A.H. Bull & Co., Inc.
Orderedas type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 29
Awarded14 March 1941
Builder Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland [1]
Cost$1,172,827 [2]
Yard number2016
Way number3
Laid down19 November 1941
Launched14 March 1942
Sponsored byMrs. William C. Sealey
Completed30 April 1942
FateTorpedoed and sunk 20 May 1942
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 George Calvert was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after George Calvert, an English politician and colonizer. Calvert took an interest in the British colonization of the Americas, becoming the proprietor of the Province of Avalon, the first sustained English settlement on the southeastern peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. He later sought a new royal charter to settle the region, which would become the state of Maryland.

Contents

Two Liberty ship with same name

USAS American Mariner, originally launched as SS George Calvert (build number 2007/MC Hull 20), should not be confused with this SS George Calvert (build number 2016/MC Hull 29) which was constructed shortly thereafter.

Hull number 20 was reportedly set aside after launch due to structural problems during assembly. As a result, hull number 29 was given her name. Hull number 29 was sunk in May 1942, and, as a result, when hull number 20 was turned over as "ready-for-issue" to the War Shipping Administration in 1943, there was no reason to change her name since hull number 29 no longer existed.

Construction

George Calvert was laid down on 19 November 1941, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 29, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. William C. Sealey, the daughter of L.R. Sanford, the chief of the inspection section at Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, and was launched on 14 March 1942. [1] [2]

History

She was allocated to A.H. Bull & Co., Inc., on 30 April 1942. [4]

Sinking

George Calvert had set out from Baltimore, in May 1942, on her maiden voyage, for Bandar Shahpur, with 9,116 LT (9,262 t) of general cargo. After leaving a convoy around 11 mi (18 km) off the Dry Tortugas, she was about 50 mi (80 km) northwest of Cuba, proceeding at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) in a zigzag course. At 19:08, in the evening of 20 May 1942, George Calvert was struck by two torpedoes fired from the German submarine U-753, at 22°55′N84°26′W / 22.917°N 84.433°W / 22.917; -84.433 . The first torpedo struck five–six ft (1.5–1.8 m) below the waterline in the #3 hold, while the second set off the magazine, blowing off the stern-mounted 4-inch (102 mm)/50 caliber gun, and killing three Armed guards, when it struck 20 ft (6.1 m) forward of the stern. The remaining crew of eight officers, 33 crewmen, and 10 Armed guards abandoned the sinking ship in three lifeboats. U-753 launched at least one more torpedo at 20:03, which struck George Calvert amidship, braking the ship in half and causing her to sink immediately. The survivors were later questioned by U-753 about the ships name, tonnage, and cargo. They landed at Dimas, Cuba, on 21 May 1942. [5]

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

SS Benjamin Harrison was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Benjamin Harrison, an American planter and merchant, a revolutionary leader, and a Founding Father of the United States. She served a year from March 1942 to March 1943, when she was attacked and scuttled.

SS <i>Alexander Macomb</i> Liberty ship of WWII

SS Alexander Macomb was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Alexander Macomb, the Commanding General of the United States Army from May 29, 1828, until his death on June 25, 1841. Macomb was the field commander at the Battle of Plattsburgh, during the War of 1812, and after the stunning victory, was lauded with praise and styled "The Hero of Plattsburgh" by some of the American press. He was promoted to Major General for his conduct, receiving both the Thanks of Congress and a Congressional Gold Medal.

SS <i>Oliver Ellsworth</i> Liberty ship of WWII

SS Oliver Ellsworth was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Founding Father Oliver Ellsworth, an American lawyer, judge, politician, and diplomat. He was a framer of the United States Constitution, a United States senator from Connecticut, and the third Chief Justice of the United States.

HMS LST-411 was a United States Navy LST-1-class tank landing ship that was transferred to the Royal Navy during World War II. As with many of her class, the ship was never named. Instead, she was referred to by her hull designation.

HMS LST-418 was a United States Navy LST-1-class tank landing ship that was transferred to the Royal Navy during World War II. As with many of her class, the ship was never named. Instead, she was referred to by her hull designation.

SS Roger B. Taney was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Roger B. Taney, who was the fifth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Taney served as the United States Attorney General and United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Andrew Jackson.

SS Christopher Newport was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Christopher Newport, who was an English seaman and privateer. He is best known as the captain of Susan Constant, the largest of three ships which carried settlers for the Virginia Company, in 1607, on the way to found the settlement at Jamestown, in the Virginia Colony, which became the first permanent English settlement in North America. He was also in overall command of the other two ships on that initial voyage, in order of their size, Godspeed and Discovery.

SS John Witherspoon was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after John Witherspoon, a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister and a Founding Father of the United States. Politically active, Witherspoon was a delegate from New Jersey to the Second Continental Congress and a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence. Later, he signed the Articles of Confederation and supported ratification of the Constitution. In 1789 he was convening moderator of the First General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.

SS Richard Bland was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Richard Bland, an American planter and statesman from Virginia. He served for many terms in the House of Burgesses, was a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775, and is considered a Founding Father of the United States.

SS Henry St. George Tucker was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Henry St. George Tucker, a Virginia jurist, law professor, and US Congressman (1815–1819).

SS Thomas Ruffin was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Thomas Ruffin, an American jurist and Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1829 to 1852 and again from 1858 to 1859. He was Chief Justice of that Court from 1833 to 1852.

SS Bernard Carter was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Bernard Carter, a lawyer, professor, and politician from Maryland. Carter was corporate attorney in Baltimore and a professor at the University of Maryland.

SS John Carter Rose was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after John Carter Rose, a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and previously was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

SS Thomas McKean was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Founding Father Thomas McKean, an American lawyer and politician from New Castle, in New Castle County, Delaware and Philadelphia. During the American Revolution, he was a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association, United States Declaration of Independence, and Articles of Confederation. McKean served as a President of Congress. He was at various times a member of the Federalist and Democratic-Republican parties. McKean served as President of Delaware, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, and Governor of Pennsylvania. He is also known for holding many public positions.

SS John Walker was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after John Walker, a representative of the House of Burgesses. He was in the Continental Army, serving in 1777 as an aide-de-camp to General George Washington, holding the rank of colonel. In 1780, he was elected as a delegate to the Continental Congress. He then studied law. When William Grayson died in 1790, Walker was appointed to the United States Senate to serve from March 31 to November 9.

SS Pierce Butler was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Pierce Butler, a South Carolina, rice planter, slaveholder, politician, an officer in the American Revolutionary War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He served as a state legislator, a member of the Congress of the Confederation, a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, and a member of the United States Senate.

SS Nicholas Biddle was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Nicholas Biddle, an American financier who served as the third and last president of the Second Bank of the United States. He also served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He is best known for his role in the Bank War.

SS George Weems was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after George Weems, who in 1828, established steamship travel on the Rappahannock River.

SS Grace Abbott was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Grace Abbott, an American social worker who specifically worked in improving the rights of immigrants and advancing child welfare, especially the regulation of child labor.

SS Will Rogers was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Will Rogers, an American stage and film actor, vaudeville performer, cowboy, humorist, newspaper columnist, and social commentator from Oklahoma.

References

Bibliography