SS Murray M. Blum

SS Murray M. Blum
Career (United States)
Name:	Murray M. Blum
Namesake:	Murray M. Blum
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2381
Builder:	J.A. Jones Construction, Brunswick, Georgia
Cost:	$919,943
Yard number:	166
Way number:	2
Laid down:	19 September 1944
Launched:	25 October 1944
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Sylvia Blum
Completed:	7 November 1944
Identification:	Call Signal: KTAB
Fate:	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas, 17 December 1947 Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 30 April 1952
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 12 March 1971
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 Murray M. Blum was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Murray M. Blum, the radio operator of SS Leonidas Polk who drowned, 3 December 1943, attempting to save an overboard crewman.

Construction

Murray M. Blum was laid down on 19 September 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2381, by J.A. Jones Construction, Brunswick, Georgia; she was sponsored by Mrs. Sylvia Blum, the mother of the ships namesake, and launched on 25 October 1944.

History

She was allocated to Mississippi Shipping Co., Inc., on 7 November 1944. On 17 December 1947, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in Beaumont, Texas. On 30 April 1952, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in Mobile, Alabama. On 12 March 1971, she was sold for $44,100, to Pinto Island Metals Company, for scrapping. She was removed from the fleet on 8 April 1971.

Bibliography

• "Jones Construction, Brunswick GA". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/jonesbrunswick.htm. 
• "Liberty Ships – World War II". http://www.glynngen.com/nautical/glynn/libertyships.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "Murray M. Blum". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/sh/ShipHistory/Detail/3530. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS Murray M. Blum". http://usmaritimecommission.de/.