SS Howard Gray

SS Howard Gray
Career (United States)
Name:	Howard Gray
Namesake:	Howard Gray
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Black Diamond Steamship Co.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2302
Builder:	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost:	$998,910
Yard number:	43
Way number:	3
Laid down:	6 April 1944
Launched:	18 May 1944
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Celeste Taylor
Completed:	7 June 1944
Identification:	Call Signal: WPCH
Fate:	Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River Group, 20 April 1946 Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 16 December 1946
Status:	Transferred to Italy for commercial use, 28 May 1947
Career (Italy)
Name:	Italico
Owner:	Marino Querci, Genoa, Italy
Acquired:	28 May 1947
Fate:	Sold, 1959
Status:	Scrapped, 1969
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 Hamilton Engine Co., Hamilton, 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 Howard Gray was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Howard Gray, an official with the Public Works Administration that was also active in the Alabama 4-H Club.

Construction

Howard Gray was laid down on 6 April 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2302, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; she was sponsored by Mrs. Celeste Taylor, and launched on 18 May 1944.

History

She was allocated to Black Diamond Steamship Co., on 7 June 1944. On 20 April 1946, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in the Hudson River Group. On 16 December 1946, she was relocated to the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in Wilmington, North Carolina. On 28 May 1947, she was transferred to the Italian Government, which in turn sold her to Marino Querci, Genoa, Italy, for commercial use. She was renamed Italico. She was first resold in 1959, and went through a couple of owners before being scrapped in Shanghai in 1969.

Bibliography

• "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/jonespanamacity.htm. 
• "Liberty Ships – World War II". http://www.glynngen.com/nautical/glynn/libertyships.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "Howard Gray". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/sh/ShipHistory/Detail/2256. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS Howard Gray". http://usmaritimecommission.de/.