SS William Rawle

SS William Rawle
Career (United States)
Name:	William Rawle
Namesake:	William Rawle
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	A.H. Bull & Co., Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 61
Awarded:	14 March 1941
Builder:	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland
Cost:	$1,079,098
Yard number:	2048
Way number:	9
Laid down:	28 June 1942
Launched:	19 August 1942
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Grace Tully
Completed:	29 August 1942
Identification:	Call sign: KGGJ
Status:	Sold for commercial use, 31 March 1947
Career (United States)
Name:	Arlyn
Owner:	Baltimore Insular Line
Operator:	A.H. Bull & Co., Inc.
Fate:	Grounded, Silver Bank, Dominican Republic, 6 June 1958, refloated and returned to San Juan, Puerto Rico
Status:	Sold for scrapping, October 1958
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 Rawle was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after William Rawle, an American lawyer in Philadelphia. Rawle was appointed as United States district attorney in Pennsylvania, in 1791. He was a founder and first president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, president of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, and for 40 years a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania.

Construction

William Rawle was laid down on 28 June 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 61, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; sponsored by Mrs. Grace Tully, the private Secretary to President Roosevelt, and was launched on 19 August 1942.

History

She was allocated to A.H. Bull & Co., Inc., on 29 August 1942. On 31 March 1947, she was sold for commercial use to the Baltimore Insular Line, for $544,506. On 6 June 1958, she ran aground on the Silver Bank. She was refloated and returned to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she was scrapped in October 1958.

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/bethfairfield.htm. 
• Maritime Administration. "William Rawle". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/11678. 
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)". p. 23. http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf. 
• "SS William Rawle". http://usmaritimecommission.de/query.php?datalist=1&typeofquery=Name%20of%20Ship&valueofquery=William%20Rawle&code=B0061a.