SS Richard Henry Lee

SS Richard Henry Lee
Career (United States)
Name:	Richard Henry Lee
Namesake:	Richard Henry Lee
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Calmar Steamship Corporation
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 18
Awarded:	14 March 1941
Builder:	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland
Cost:	$1,397,852
Yard number:	2005
Way number:	5
Laid down:	15 July 1941
Launched:	6 December 1941
Completed:	20 February 1942
Identification:	Call sign: KAXU
Fate:	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas, 6 July 1948
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 20 July 1965, withdrawn from fleet, 20 August 1965
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 Richard Henry Lee was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Richard Henry Lee, an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution, the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence from Great Britain leading to the United States Declaration of Independence, which he signed. He also served a one-year term as the President of the Continental Congress, was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation, and was a United States Senator from Virginia, from 1789 to 1792, serving during part of that time as the second President pro tempore of the upper house.

Construction

Richard Henry Lee was laid down on 15 July 1941, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 18, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; and was launched on 6 December 1941.

History

She was allocated to the Calmar Steamship Corporation, on 20 February 1942. On 6 July 1948, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas. She was sold for scrapping on 20 July 1965, to Southern Scrap Material, for $45,179.79. She was removed from the fleet, 20 August 1965.

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/bethfairfield.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "Richard Henry Lee". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/4111. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS Richard Henry Lee". http://usmaritimecommission.de/query.php?datalist=1&typeofquery=Name%20of%20Ship&valueofquery=Richard%20Henry%20Lee&code=B0018a.