SS Alanson B. Houghton

SS Alanson B. Houghton was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Alanson B. Houghton, the vice president and later president of Corning Glass Works, a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York (1919–1922), the United States Ambassador to Germany (1922–1925), United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1925–1929), and a member of the Jekyll Island Club.

History
United States
Name:	Alanson B. Houghton
Namesake:	Alanson B. Houghton
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	American South African Lines, Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2293
Builder:	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost:	$1,023,016[1]
Yard number:	34
Way number:	1
Laid down:	19 January 1944
Launched:	14 March 1944
Sponsored by:	Mrs. H.R. Pratt
Completed:	15 April 1944
Identification:	Call Signal: KWJZ [1]
Fate:	Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 14 October 1949
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 28 October 1971
General characteristics [2]
Class and 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 feet 6 inches (135 m) oa 416 feet (127 m) pp 427 feet (130 m) lwl
Beam:	57 feet (17 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:	1 × triple-expansion steam engine,  (manufactured by General Machinery Corp., Hamilton, Ohio) 1 × screw propeller
Speed:	11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity:	562,608 cubic feet (15,931 m^3) (grain) 499,573 cubic feet (14,146 m^3) (bale)
Complement:	38–62 USMM 21–40 USNAG
Armament:	Varied by ship Bow-mounted 3 inches (76 mm)/50 caliber gun Stern-mounted 4 inches (102 mm)/50 caliber gun 2–8 × single 20 millimeters (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons and/or, 2–8 × 37 millimeters (1.46 in) M1 AA guns

Construction

Alanson B. Houghton was laid down on 19 January 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2293, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; sponsored by Mrs. H.R. Pratt, she was launched on 14 March 1944.[3][1]

History

She was allocated to American South African Lines, Inc., on 15 April 1944. On 14 October 1949, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in Mobile, Alabama. On 28 October 1971, she was sold, along with 13 other ships, for $513,000 to Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation, for scrapping. She was removed from the fleet 25 October 1972.[4][5]

References

1. MARCOM.
2. Davies 2004, p. 23.
3. J.A. Panama City 2010.
4. Liberty Ships.
5. MARAD.

Bibliography

• "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
• "Liberty Ships – World War II". Retrieved 7 December 2017.
• Maritime Administration. "Alanson B. Houghton". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 7 December 2017.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "SS Alanson B. Houghton". Retrieved 7 December 2017.