SS George Wythe

SS George Wythe
Career (United States)
Name:	George Wythe
Namesake:	George Wythe
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Agwilines Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 24
Awarded:	14 March 1941
Builder:	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland
Cost:	$1,236,111
Yard number:	2011
Way number:	11
Laid down:	22 September 1941
Launched:	28 March 1942
Sponsored by:	Miss Geanne A. Culleton
Completed:	9 May 1942
Identification:	Call sign: KESU
Fate:	Laid up in the Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York, 8 January 1948 Laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 21 April 1952
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 24 July 1970, withdrawn from fleet, 31 August 1970
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 Worthington Pump & Machinery Corp, Harrison, New Jersey) 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 George Wythe was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after George Wythe, the first American law professor, a noted classics scholar, and a Virginia judge. The first of the seven Virginia signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence, Wythe served as one of Virginia's representatives to the Second Continental Congress and the Philadelphia Convention. Wythe taught and was a mentor to Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, Henry Clay and other men who became American leaders.

Construction

George Wythe was laid down on 22 September 1941, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 24, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; sponsored by Miss Geanne A. Culleton, the daughter of C.J. Culleton, the resident plant auditor at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, and was launched on 28 March 1942.

History

George Wythe was allocated to Agwilines Inc., on 9 May 1942. On 8 January 1948, she was laid up in the Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York. On 21 April 1952, she was laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia. On 7 August 1953, George Wythe was withdrawn from the fleet to be loaded with grain under the "Grain Program 1953", she returned loaded on 22 August 1953. On 13 February 1956, she was withdrawn to be unload, she returned empty 29 February 1956. On 7 November 1958, George Wythe was withdrawn from the fleet to be loaded with grain under the "Grain Program 1958", she returned loaded on 21 November 1958. On 7 March 1959, she was withdrawn to be unload, she returned empty 19 March 1959. She was sold for scrapping on 24 July 1970, to Hierros Ardes, SA, for $102,666. George Wythe was removed from the fleet, 31 August 1970.

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/bethfairfield.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "George Wythe". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/1952. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS George Wythe". http://usmaritimecommission.de/query.php?datalist=1&typeofquery=Name%20of%20Ship&valueofquery=George%20Wythe&code=B0024a.