SS Cotton Mather

SS Cotton Mather
Career (United States)
Name:	Cotton Mather
Namesake:	Cotton Mather
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	American Export Lines, Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 922
Awarded:	1 January 1942
Builder:	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland
Cost:	$1,060,049
Yard number:	2072
Way number:	16
Laid down:	28 September 1942
Launched:	31 October 1942
Sponsored by:	Mrs. R.M. Meyers
Completed:	30 November 1942
Identification:	Call sign: KHPW
Fate:	Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 3 January 1948
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 24 November 1959, removed from fleet, 9 February 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 Vulcan Iron Works, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) 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 Cotton Mather was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Cotton Mather, a New England Puritan minister, prolific author, and pamphleteer.

Construction

Cotton Mather was laid down on 28 September 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 922, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs .R.M. Meyers, the wife of a yard employee, and was launched on 31 October 1942.

History

She was allocated to American Export Lines Inc., on 30 November 1942. On 22 May 1950, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina. On 24 November 1959, she was sold for scrapping to Walsh Construction Co., for $71,825. She was removed from the fleet on 9 February 1960.

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/bethfairfield.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "Cotton Mather". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/1115. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS Cotton Mather". http://usmaritimecommission.de/query.php?datalist=1&typeofquery=Name%20of%20Ship&valueofquery=Cotton%20Mather&code=B0922a.