SS Will Rogers

SS Will Rogers
Career (United States)
Name:	Will Rogers
Namesake:	Will Rogers
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Merchant & Miners Transportation, Co.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 923
Awarded:	1 January 1942
Builder:	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland
Cost:	$1,061,559
Yard number:	2073
Way number:	15
Laid down:	11 October 1942
Launched:	8 November 1942
Sponsored by:	Betty Rogers
Completed:	27 November 1942
Identification:	Call sign: KFDC
Fate:	Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas, 12 April 1948 Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas, 21 December 1949 Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 9 April 1952
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 12 March 1971, removed from fleet, 25 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 Ellicott Machine Corp., Baltimore, Maryland) 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 Will Rogers was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Will Rogers, an American stage and film actor, vaudeville performer, cowboy, humorist, newspaper columnist, and social commentator from Oklahoma.

Construction

Will Rogers was laid down on 11 October 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 923, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Betty Rogers, the widow of Will Rogers, and was launched on 11 November 1942.

History

She was allocated to Merchant & Miners Transportation, Co., on 27 November 1942. On 12 April 1945, at 15:00, while steaming in Convoy BB-80, Will Rogers was torpedoed by U-1024, in the Irish Sea, at 53°48′N 4°46′W. She was struck on the starboard side in the #1 hold, which caused flooding in the hold and the forepeak. Will Rogers was then taken in tow and beached off of Holyhead, near SS James W. Nesmith, which had also been torpedoed by U-1024 on 7 April. The two ships were refloated on 23 April, and towed to Liverpool, for repairs. Will Rogers returned to service on 1 December 1945.

On 12 April 1948, she was first laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas. On 21 December 1949, she was returned to the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas. On 9 April 1952, she was laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama. On 12 March 1971, she was sold for scrapping to Pinto Island Metals Co., for $41,400. She was removed from the fleet on 25 March 1971.

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/bethfairfield.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "Will Rogers". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/5165. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS Will Rogers". http://usmaritimecommission.de/query.php?datalist=1&typeofquery=Name%20of%20Ship&valueofquery=Will%20Rogers&code=B0923a. 
• "Will Rogers". https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ship/3487.html.