SS Nicholas Biddle

SS Nicholas Biddle was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Nicholas Biddle, an American financier who served as the third and last president of the Second Bank of the United States. He also served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He is best known for his role in the Bank War.

History
United States
Name:	Nicholas Biddle
Namesake:	Nicholas Biddle
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	International Freighting Corp.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 917
Awarded:	1 January 1942
Builder:	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost:	$1,045,728[2]
Yard number:	2067
Way number:	7
Laid down:	11 August 1942
Launched:	22 September 1942
Sponsored by:	Mrs. R.E. Anderson
Completed:	30 September 1942
Identification:	Call sign: KHNT [2]
Fate:	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas, 18 June 1948
Status:	Sold for scrapping, 15 March 1962, withdrawn from fleet, 3 April 1962
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

Nicholas Biddle was laid down on 11 August 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 917, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. R.E. Anderson, the wife of MARCOM's director of finance, and was launched on 22 September 1942.[1][2]

History

She was allocated to Seas Shipping Co., Inc., on 30 September 1942. On 15 December 1948, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas. On 15 March 1962, she was sold for scrapping to Commercial Metals Co., for $52,444.44. She was removed from the fleet on 3 April 1962.[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 12 March 2020.
• Maritime Administration. "Nicholas Biddle". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 12 March 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "SS Nicholas Biddle". Retrieved 12 March 2020.