History | |
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Name | Henry Watterson |
Namesake | Henry Watterson |
Owner | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
Operator | American Export Lines Inc. |
Ordered | as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1201 |
Builder | St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida[2] |
Cost | $2,232,439[1] |
Yard number | 9 |
Way number | 3 |
Laid down | 19 April 1943 |
Launched | 21 July 1943 |
Sponsored by | Mrs. Jack E. Schmeltzer |
Completed | 18 August 1943 |
Identification | |
Fate |
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Name | Spurt |
Owner | A/S Lundegaard and Soenner |
Fate | Sold, 1961 |
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Name | Spartan |
Owner | Compania Mar Angelikana |
Fate |
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General characteristics [3] | |
Class and type |
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Tonnage | |
Displacement | |
Length | |
Beam | 57 feet (17 m) |
Draft | 27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
Capacity |
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Complement | |
Armament |
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SS Henry Watterson was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Henry Watterson, an American journalist, partial term US Congressman from Kentucky, and Pulitzer Prize winner in 1918, for two editorials supporting U.S. entry into World War I.
Construction
[edit]Henry Watterson was laid down on 19 April 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1201, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; she was sponsored by Mrs. Jack E. Schmeltzer, the widow of the former Technical Assistant to Rear Admiral Howard L. Vickery, MARCOM, she was launched on 21 July 1943.[2][1]
History
[edit]She was allocated to American Export Lines Inc., on 18 August 1943. On 11 May 1946, she was placed in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia. She was sold for commercial use, on 24 June 1947, to A/S Lundegaard and Soenner, renamed Spurt and flagged in Norway. She was withdrawn from the fleet, 7 July 1947. On 13 December 1961, while operating as Spartan and flagged in Lebanon, she ran aground in Pasa Buenavista, Cuba. After being refloated, she was towed to Havana, on 29 May 1962. She was declared a constructive total loss (CTL) and scrapped.[4]
References
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]- "St. John's River Shipbuilding, Jacksonville FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 16 October 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- Maritime Administration. "Henry Watterson". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- "SS Henry Watterson". Retrieved 16 December 2019.