SS Esek Hopkins

SS Esek Hopkins
Career (United States)
Name:	Esek Hopkins
Namesake:	Esek Hopkins
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 34
Awarded:	14 March 1941
Builder:	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland
Cost:	$1,108,418
Yard number:	2021
Way number:	9
Laid down:	28 January 1942
Launched:	27 April 1942
Completed:	23 May 1942
Identification:	Call sign: KEUC
Fate:	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 17 May 1948
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 27 April 1967, withdrawn from fleet, 13 May 1967
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 Clark Bros. Co., Cleveland, Ohio) 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 Esek Hopkins was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Esek Hopkins, the only Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. He was also an accomplished merchant captain and privateer. He is noted for his successful raid on the British port of Providence, in the Bahamas, and capturing large stores of military supplies.

Construction

Esek Hopkins was laid down on 28 January 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 34, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; and was launched on 27 April 1942.

History

She was allocated to Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc., on 23 May 1942. On 17 May 1948, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama. On 27 April 1967, she was sold for scrapping to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp., for $45,501. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 13 May 1967.

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/bethfairfield.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "Esek Hopkins". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/1478. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS Esek Hopkins". http://usmaritimecommission.de/query.php?datalist=1&typeofquery=Name%20of%20Ship&valueofquery=Esek%20Hopkins&code=B0034a.