SS Benjamin Harrison

SS Benjamin Harrison was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Benjamin Harrison, an American planter and merchant, a revolutionary leader, and a Founding Father of the United States. He received his higher education at the College of William and Mary and was a representative to the Virginia House of Burgesses for Surry County, Virginia, (1756–1758, 1785–1786) and Charles City County (1766–1776, 1787–1790). He was a Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1777, served on the committee which wrote the Model Treaty, and signed the United States Declaration of Independence during the Second Continental Congress.

History
United States
Name: Benjamin Harrison
Namesake: Benjamin Harrison
Owner: War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator: Calmar Steamship Corporation
Ordered: as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 25
Awarded: 14 March 1941
Builder: Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost: $1,277,991[2]
Yard number: 2012
Way number: 1
Laid down: 27 September 1941
Launched: 24 January 1942
Completed: 13 March 1942
Fate: Torpedoed by German submarine U-172, 16 March 1943 and Scuttled by USS Rowan
General characteristics [3]
Class and type:
Tonnage:
Displacement:
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:
Speed: 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity:
  • 562,608 cubic feet (15,931 m3) (grain)
  • 499,573 cubic feet (14,146 m3) (bale)
Complement:
Armament:

Harrison served as Virginia's fifth governor, from 1781 to 1784. His direct descendants include two presidents: his son William Henry Harrison and his great-grandson Benjamin Harrison.

Construction

Benjamin Harrison was laid down on 27 September 1941, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 26, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; and was launched on 24 January 1942.[1][2]

History

She was allocated to Calmar Steamship Corporation, on 13 March 1942.[4]

Sinking

She was loaded with stores for Allied forces in North Africa and sailed from Hampton Roads on 4 March 1943, with Convoy UGS 6. At 20:51, on 16 March 1943, she was struck by two torpedoes fired by German submarine U-172, part of  Wolfpack Unverzagt, during the only successful wolfpack attack on the trans-Atlantic UG convoy. Benjamin Harrison was struck in the #5 hold on the starboard side and began to slowly settle, but did not sink quickly. As the crew began to abandon ship, confusion caused the two of the lifeboats to be improperly launched, allowing the occupants to be dropped into the ocean. Only one lifeboat was launched successfully, due to the last boat being damaged in the torpedo attack. Two officers and an Armed guard perished. The escort ship Rowan scuttled Benjamin Harrison at 21:30, with gunfire, 150 mi (240 km) east northeast of Terceira, Azores, near 39°09′N 24°15′W.[5]

Further reading
  • Rohwer, J. and Hummelchen, G. Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945 Naval Institute Press 1992 ISBN 1-55750-105-X
  • Hague, Arnold The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945 Naval Institute Press 2000 ISBN 1-55750-019-3

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

Bibliography


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