SS Royal S. Copeland

SS Royal S. Copeland
Career (United States)
Name:	Royal S. Copeland
Namesake:	Royal S. Copeland
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Parry Navigation Co.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1219
Builder:	St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida
Cost:	$1,350,960
Yard number:	27
Way number:	3
Laid down:	24 November 1943
Launched:	11 January 1944
Completed:	22 January 1944
Identification:	Call sign: KVMS
Fate:	Sold to France, 8 November 1946, removed from fleet, 13 December 1946
Career (France)
Name:	Les Glieres
Owner:	France
Operator:	Cie. Messageries Maritimes
Fate:	Sold, 1959
Career (Lebanon)
Name:	Nictric
Owner:	Cia. Estrella Blanc Lda.
Operator:	Wigham Richardson and Co.
Fate:	Scrapped, 1968 following Cargo fire, 14 June 1967
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 Royal S. Copeland was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Royal S. Copeland, a United States Senator from New York from 1923 until 1938, was an academic, homeopathic physician, and politician.

Construction

Royal S. Copeland was laid down on 24 November 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1219, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; and was launched on 11 January 1944.

History

She was allocated to Parry Navigation Co., on 22 January 1944. On 7 June 1946, she was laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York. She was sold, 8 November 1946, to France, for $544,506, for commercial use. She was removed from the fleet on 13 December 1946.

Royal S. Copeland was renamed Les Glieres in 1947. She was sold to Cia. Estrella Blanca, in 1959, reflagged in Lebanon, and renamed Nictric. On 14 June 1967, her cargo of coal caught fire in Chittagong Roads. She was scrapped in 1968 in Taiwan.

Bibliography

• "St. John's River Shipbuilding, Jacksonville FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 16 October 2010. http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/stjohnsriver.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "Royal S. Copeland". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/4231. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS Royal S. Copeland". http://usmaritimecommission.de/query.php?datalist=1&typeofquery=Name%20of%20Ship&valueofquery=Royal%20S.Copeland&code=B1219a.