SS Luther Martin

SS Luther Martin was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Luther Martin, a politician and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, who left the Constitutional Convention early because he felt the Constitution violated States' rights. He was a leading Anti-Federalist, along with Patrick Henry and George Mason, whose actions helped passage of the Bill of Rights.

History
United States
Name:	Luther Martin
Namesake:	Luther Martin
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Agwilines Inc.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 49
Awarded:	14 March 1941
Builder:	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost:	$1,072,020[2]
Yard number:	2036
Way number:	8
Laid down:	8 May 1942
Launched:	4 July 1942
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Charles A. Swartz
Completed:	21 July 1942
Identification:	Call sign: KGBH [2]
Fate:	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 4 June 1948 Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 15 May 1952
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 7 October 1971, withdrawn from fleet, 27 October 1971
General characteristics [3]
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 Worthington Pump & Machinery Corp, Harrison, New Jersey) 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

Luther Martin was laid down on 8 May 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 49, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; sponsored by Mrs. Charles A. Swartz, the wife of the B & O Railroad Car inspector at Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, and was launched on 4 July 1942.[1][2]

History

She was allocated to Agwilines Inc., on 21 July 1942. On 4 June 1948, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina. On 15 May 1952, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama. She was sold for scrapping on 7 October 1971, to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp., for $33,127.54. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 27 October 1971.[4]

References

1. Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards 2008.
2. MARCOM.
3. Davies 2004, p. 23.
4. MARAD.

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
• Maritime Administration. "Luther Martin". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 28 February 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "SS Luther Martin". Retrieved 28 February 2020.