SS Stephen Beasley

SS Stephen Beasley
Career (United States)
Name:	Stephen Beasley
Namesake:	Stephen Beasley
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	T.J. Stevenson & Co., Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2483
Awarded:	23 April 1943
Builder:	St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida
Cost:	$1,155,623
Yard number:	47
Way number:	5
Laid down:	13 May 1944
Launched:	24 June 1944
Sponsored by:	Eleanor Garrett Bunker
Completed:	13 July 1944
Identification:	Call sign: WQGA
Fate:	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas, 17 December 1948
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 14 March 1961, removed from the fleet, 28 March 1961
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 Joshua Hendy Iron Works, Sunnyvale, California) 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 Stephen Beasley was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Stephen Beasley, an American shipbuilder from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the early years of the Republic.

Construction

Stephen Beasley was laid down on 13 May 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2483, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; sponsored by Eleanor Garrett Bunker, the wife of Rear Admiral Charles W.O. Bunker and the great-great-granddaughter of the namesake, and was launched on 24 June 1944.

History

She was allocated to the T.J. Stevenson & Co., Inc., on 13 July 1944. On 17 December 1948, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas. She was sold for scrapping, 14 March 1961, to Luria Bros. and Co., for $61,789.22. She was removed from the fleet on 28 March 1961.

Bibliography

• "St. John's River Shipbuilding, Jacksonville FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 16 October 2010. http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/stjohnsriver.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "Stephen Beasley". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/4677. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS Stephen Beasley". http://usmaritimecommission.de/query.php?datalist=1&typeofquery=Name%20of%20Ship&valueofquery=Stephen%20Beasley&code=B2483a.