USS Don Marquis (IX-215)

USS Don Marquis (IX-215), an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for that writer, poet, and artist. Her keel was laid down by the California Shipbuilding Corporation, in Los Angeles, California, as a Type EC2-S-C1 hull under Maritime Commission contract number 1874.[1] She was launched on 23 August 1943.

History
United States
Name:	Don Marquis
Builder:	California Shipbuilding Corporation, Los Angeles
Yard number:	245[1]
Way number:	1[1]
Laid down:	31 July 1943
Launched:	23 August 1943
Acquired:	31 May 1945
In service:	31 May 1945
Out of service:	Date unknown
Stricken:	5 June 1946
Fate:	Returned to the War Shipping Administration, 28 November 1945 Scrapped, 1949[1]
General characteristics [2]
Type:	Liberty ship
Displacement:	4,023 long tons (4,088 t) light 14,250 long tons (14,479 t) full
Length:	441 ft 7 in (134.59 m)
Beam:	56 ft 11 in (17.35 m)
Draft:	27 ft 7 in (8.41 m)
Propulsion:	Triple expansion reciprocating steam engine, single propeller, 2,500 shp (1,864 kW)
Speed:	11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Range:	17,000 nmi (31,000 km)

She was acquired and placed in service by the Navy on 31 May 1945. She was employed as dry floating storage in the Pacific until returned to the War Shipping Administration on 28 November 1945. Don Marquis was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 5 June 1946.

References

1. "Kaiser California Shipbuilding CalShip". shipbuildinghistory.com. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
2. "NavSource Online: IX-215 Don Marquis". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 22 November 2009.

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Photo gallery of USS Don Marquis at NavSource Naval History