SS Caesar Rodney

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Career (United States)
Name:	Caesar Rodney
Namesake:	Caesar Rodney
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	International Freighting Corp.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 916
Awarded:	1 January 1942
Builder:	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland
Cost:	$1,045,796
Yard number:	2066
Way number:	13
Laid down:	9 August 1942
Launched:	21 September 1942
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Frank W. Burgess
Completed:	30 September 1942
Identification:	Call sign: KHJW
Fate:	Laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 14 May 1946
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 24 November 1959, withdrawn from fleet, 29 January 1960
General characteristics
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 ft 6 in (135 m)
Beam:	56 ft 10.75 in (17.3419 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:	2 × oil-fired boilers 1 × triple-expansion steam engine, 2,500 horsepower (1,900 kW) (manufactured by Ellicott Machine Corp., Baltimore, Maryland) 1 × screw propeller
Speed:	11.5 knots (21.3 km/h)
Capacity:	10,800 long tons deadweight (DWT)
Complement:	41
Armament:	Stern-mounted 4"/50 caliber (102 mm) gun for use against surfaced submarines variety of anti-aircraft guns

SS Caesar Rodney was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Caesar Rodney, an American lawyer and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, east of Dover. He was an officer of the Delaware militia during the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, a Continental Congressman from Delaware, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and President of Delaware during most of the American Revolution.

Construction

Caesar Rodney was laid down on 9 August 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 916, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. Frank W. Burgess, the wife of a yard employee, and was launched on 21 September 1942.

History

She was allocated to International Freighting Corp., on 30 September 1942. On 15 December 1948, she was laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia. On 24 November 1959, she was sold for scrapping to Walsh Construction Co., for $73,825. She was removed from the fleet on 29 January 1960.

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/bethfairfield.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "Caesar Rodney". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/649. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS Caesar Rodney". http://usmaritimecommission.de/query.php?datalist=1&typeofquery=Name%20of%20Ship&valueofquery=Caesar%20Rodney&code=B0916a. 

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