History
United States
NameJames Caldwell
NamesakeJames Caldwell
OwnerWar Shipping Administration (WSA)
OperatorA.H. Bull & Co., Inc.
Orderedas type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 915
Awarded1 January 1942
BuilderBethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost$1,044,622[2]
Yard number2065
Way number11
Laid down8 August 1942
Launched19 September 1942
Sponsored byMrs. W.G. Esmond
Completed26 September 1942
Identification
Fate
General characteristics [3]
Class and type
Tonnage
Displacement
Length
  • 441 feet 6 inches (135 m) oa
  • 416 feet (127 m) pp
  • 427 feet (130 m) lwl
Beam57 feet (17 m)
Draft27 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
Speed11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity
  • 562,608 cubic feet (15,931 m3) (grain)
  • 499,573 cubic feet (14,146 m3) (bale)
Complement
Armament

SS James Caldwell was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after James Caldwell, a Presbyterian minister who played a prominent part in the American Revolution. Caldwell was an active partisan on the side of the Patriots, and was known as the "Fighting Parson". He was killed on 24 November 1781, by an American sentry in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, when he refused to have a package inspected. The sentry, James Morgan, was hanged for murder on 29 January 1782 in Westfield, New Jersey, amid rumors that he had been bribed to kill the chaplain.

Construction

James Caldwell was laid down on 8 August 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 915, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. W.G. Esmond, the wife of the chief naval architect for MARCOM, in Washington DC, and was launched on 19 September 1942.[1][2]

History

She was allocated to A.H. Bull & Co., Inc., on 26 September 1942. On 15 December 1948, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas. On 28 June 1952, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama. On 2 December 1974, she was transferred to the state of Mississippi for use as an artificial reef. She was removed from the fleet on 17 December 1974. She was scuttled off Horn Island, at 30°09′59″N 88°45′13″W / 30.16639°N 88.75361°W / 30.16639; -88.75361 in 1976.[4]

References

Bibliography

  • "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  • Maritime Administration. "James Caldwell". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  • Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  • "SS James Caldwell". Retrieved 6 March 2020.
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