SS Duncan U. Fletcher

SS Duncan U. Fletcher
Career (United States)
Name:	Duncan U. Fletcher
Namesake:	Duncan U. Fletcher
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Lykes Bros. Steamship Co. Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1529
Builder:	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost:	$1,807,972
Yard number:	11
Way number:	5
Laid down:	3 May 1943
Launched:	10 August 1943
Completed:	27 August 1943
Identification:	Call Signal: KXLM
Fate:	Sold for commercial use, 3 March 1947
Career (Greece)
Name:	Pericles
Namesake:	Pericles
Acquired:	3 March 1947
Fate:	Scrapped, 1966
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 Duncan U. Fletcher was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Duncan U. Fletcher, the 21st and 25th Mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, and later the longest serving United States Senator in Florida's history.

Construction

Duncan U. Fletcher was laid down on 3 May 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1529, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; she was launched on 10 August 1943.

History

She was allocated to Lykes Bros. Steamship Co. Inc., on 27 August 1943. On 23 April 1946, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in the James River Group, Lee Hall, Virginia. On 3 April 1947, she was sold for $544,506 to Ionian Steamship Co., Ltd., for commercial use and renamed Pericles. She was scrapped in 1966.

Bibliography

• "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/jonespanamacity.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "Duncan U. Fletcher". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/1297. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS Duncan U. Fletcher". http://usmaritimecommission.de/query.php?datalist=1&typeofquery=Name%20of%20Ship&valueofquery=Duncan%20U.Fletcher&code=B1529a.