SS Royal S. Copeland

SS Royal S. Copeland was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Royal S. Copeland, a United States Senator from New York from 1923 until 1938, was an academic, homeopathic physician, and politician.

History
United States
Name:	Royal S. Copeland
Namesake:	Royal S. Copeland
Owner:	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator:	Parry Navigation Co.
Ordered:	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1219
Builder:	St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida[1]
Cost:	$1,350,960[2]
Yard number:	27
Way number:	3
Laid down:	24 November 1943
Launched:	11 January 1944
Completed:	22 January 1944
Identification:	Call sign: KVMS [2]
Fate:	Sold to France, 8 November 1946, removed from fleet, 13 December 1946
France
Name:	Les Glieres
Owner:	France
Operator:	Cie. Messageries Maritimes
Fate:	Sold, 1959
Lebanon
Name:	Nictric
Owner:	Cia. Estrella Blanc Lda.
Operator:	Wigham Richardson and Co.
Fate:	Scrapped, 1968 following Cargo fire, 14 June 1967
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 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

Royal S. Copeland was laid down on 24 November 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1219, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; and was launched on 11 January 1944.[1][2]

History

She was allocated to Parry Navigation Co., on 22 January 1944. On 7 June 1946, she was laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York. She was sold, 8 November 1946, to France, for $544,506, for commercial use. She was removed from the fleet on 13 December 1946.[4]

Royal S. Copeland was renamed Les Glieres in 1947. She was sold to Cia. Estrella Blanca, in 1959, reflagged in Lebanon, and renamed Nictric. On 14 June 1967, her cargo of coal caught fire in Chittagong Roads. She was scrapped in 1968 in Taiwan.

References

1. St. John's River SBC 2010.
2. MARCOM.
3. Davies 2004, p. 23.
4. MARAD.

Bibliography

• "St. John's River Shipbuilding, Jacksonville FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 16 October 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
• Maritime Administration. "Royal S. Copeland". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 14 January 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "SS Royal S. Copeland". Retrieved 14 January 2020.