SS Rufus C. Dawes

SS Rufus C. Dawes
Career (United States)
Name:	Rufus C. Dawes
Namesake:	Rufus C. Dawes
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Luckenbach Steamship Co., Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1204
Builder:	St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida
Cost:	$2,017,460
Yard number:	12
Way number:	6
Laid down:	31 May 1943
Launched:	4 September 1943
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Harry B. Hoyt
Completed:	18 September 1943
Identification:	Call sign: KXMC
Fate:	Placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Astoria, Oregon, 14 November 1946
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 29 February 1968, withdrawn from fleet, 26 March 1968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 Rufus C. Dawes was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Rufus C. Dawes, an American businessman in oil and banking from Ohio. In the 1920s he served as an expert on the commissions to prepare the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan to manage German reparations to the Allies after World War I.

Construction

Rufus C. Dawes was laid down on 31 May 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1204, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; she was sponsored by Mrs. Harry B. Hoyt, sister of the namesake, and launched on 4 September 1943.

History

She was allocated to the Luckenbach Steamship Co., Inc., on 18 September 1943. On 14 November 1946, she was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Astoria, Oregon. On 21 June 1955, she was withdrawn from the fleet to be loaded with grain under the "Grain Program 1955", she returned empty on 28 June 1955. She was sold for scrapping, 29 February 1968, to Oregon Shipwreckers, Inc., for $50,985.57. She was withdrawn from the fleet, 26 March 1968.

Bibliography

• "St. John's River Shipbuilding, Jacksonville FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 16 October 2010. http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/stjohnsriver.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "Rufus C. Dawes". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/4234. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS Rufus C. Dawes". http://usmaritimecommission.de/query.php?datalist=1&typeofquery=Name%20of%20Ship&valueofquery=Rufus%20C.Dawes&code=B1204a.