SS Newton D. Baker

SS Newton D. Baker
Career (United States)
Name:	Newton D. Baker
Namesake:	Newton D. Baker
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Luckenbach Steamship Co., Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1520
Builder:	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost:	$2,258,166
Yard number:	2
Way number:	2
Laid down:	3 September 1942
Launched:	25 February 1943
Sponsored by:	Rose Jones
Completed:	6 April 1943
Identification:	Call Signal: KIFC
Fate:	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 1 October 1947
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 2 January 1968
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 Newton D. Baker was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Newton D. Baker, a lawyer, the 37th Mayor of Cleveland, and the United States Secretary of War, during World War I.

Construction

Newton D. Baker was laid down on 3 September 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1520, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; sponsored by Rose Jones, the wife of the James Addison Jones, the founder J.A. Jones Construction Co., she was launched on 25 February 1943.

History

She was allocated to Luckenbach Steamship Co., Inc., on 6 April 1943. On 1 October 1947, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama. On 2 January 1968, she was sold for $46,320 to Union Minerals & Alloys, Co., to be scrapped. She was removed from the fleet on 29 January 1968.

Bibliography

• "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/jonespanamacity.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "Newton D. Baker". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/3604. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS Newton D. Baker". http://usmaritimecommission.de/query.php?datalist=1&typeofquery=Name%20of%20Ship&valueofquery=Newton%20D.Baker&code=B1520a.