History
United States
NameElwood Mead
NamesakeElwood Mead
OwnerWar Shipping Administration
OperatorInterocean Steamship Company
BuilderOregon Shipbuilding Corporation, Portland, Oregon[1]
Yard number2579[1]
Laid down18 December 1943[2]
Launched5 January 1944[3][2]
Sponsored byMrs. Elwood Mead
Christened5 January 1944[4]
Completed15 January 1944[2]
Out of serviceNovember 1968[2]
RenamedSS Ioannis P. Goulandris, Goulandris Bros, Piraeus- Greek flag – 1947[5]
FateScrapped Itozaki, Japan – 1968.[5]
General characteristics
Class and typeType EC2-S-C1 Liberty ship
PropulsionSingle screw

The SS Elwood Mead was a Liberty ship built for service during World War II.

Namesake

The ship was named for Elwood Mead, a professor, politician and engineer, known for heading the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) from 1924 until his death in 1936. During his tenure, he oversaw some of the most complex projects the Bureau of Reclamation has undertaken. These included the Hoover, Grand Coulee and Owyhee dams. Lake Mead is named in his honor.

Construction

The vessel was built by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, Portland, Oregon. It was laid down on 18 December 1943, and launched on 5 January 1944.

The sponsor of the ship was Mrs. Elwood Mead. Her flower girl was her granddaughter, Becky Kaiser, 7, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar T. Kaiser. Mrs. Frank A. Banks, Grand Coulee, Washington, was a matron of honor at the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation's launching.[4]

Service

She was operated by the operator Interocean Steamship Company of San Francisco. During the 1944 battle for the Philippines, "The Elwood Mead reported 83 general alarms in the 30-day period following her arrival at Leyte on November 19, but reported no other action."[6]

Post-war

In 1947, SS Elwood Mead was sold to Goulandris Bros, Piraeus, Greece, as part of the vast sale of shipping which constituted much of the Greek-flagged fleet in the post-war years. It was renamed SS Ioannis P. Goulandris, taking the name of an 1897 freighter (operating under the name since 1910)[7] that was lost 12 March 1942 after a collision.[8]

Fate

Retired from service in November 1968, she was scrapped that year at Itozaki, Japan.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Liberty Ships built by Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation and by Kaiser Vancouver during World War II Vancouver, Washington for U. S. Maritime Commission". Usmm.org. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 James Davies. "'Liberty' Cargo Ship" (PDF). 2ships.com. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "LibShipsL". Mariners-l.co.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  4. 1 2 Associated Press, "Women Launch Kaiser Vessels", The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington, Thursday 6 January 1944, Volume 61, Number 237, page 2.
  5. 1 2 3 "LibShipsE". Mariners-l.co.uk. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  6. ↑ "HyperWar: US Naval Admin in WW II: History of the Naval Armed Guard Afloat". Ibiblio.org. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  7. ↑ "Uboat.net - Re: Who sunk these 'Ioannis P. Goulandris' & 'Joaquin Mumbru' please?". Uboat.net.
  8. ↑ "SS Ioannis P. Goulandris (+1942)". Wrecksite.eu. Retrieved 27 May 2022. IOANNIS P. GOULANDRIS SS was abandoned after a collision with Intrepido SS (Panama) on the 1st December 1942 when on route from Hampton Roads for Searsport, Maine with a cargo of coal and presumed sunk on 2 or 3 December 1942.
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