SS William Paca

SS William Paca
Career (United States)
Name:	William Paca
Namesake:	William Paca
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Calmar Steamship Corp.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 302
Awarded:	1 May 1941
Builder:	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland
Cost:	$1,065,198
Yard number:	2052
Way number:	15
Laid down:	13 December 1941
Launched:	30 May 1942
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Carl Abel
Completed:	19 June 1942
Identification:	Call sign: KFUZ
Fate:	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 17 November 1948
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 29 August 1969, withdrawn from fleet, 23 September 1969
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 Worthington Pump & Machinery Corp, Harrison, New Jersey) 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 William Paca was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after William Paca, a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence from Maryland, a delegate to the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress from Maryland, Governor of Maryland and a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.

Construction

William Paca was laid down on 13 December 1941, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 302, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. Carl Abel, the wife of the Captain of the Port of Baltimore, and was launched on 30 May 1942.

History

She was allocated to Calmar Steamship Corp., on 19 June 1942. On 17 November 1948, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama. On 29 August 1969, she was sold for scrapping to Pinto Island Metals Co., for $40,600. She was removed from the fleet on 23 September 1969.

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/bethfairfield.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "William Paca". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/5307. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS William Paca". http://usmaritimecommission.de/query.php?datalist=1&typeofquery=Name%20of%20Ship&valueofquery=William%20Paca&code=B0302a.