SS Thomas Ruffin

SS Thomas Ruffin was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Thomas Ruffin, an American jurist and Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 1829 to 1852 and again from 1858 to 1859. He was Chief Justice of that Court from 1833 to 1852.

History
United States
Name: Thomas Ruffin
Namesake: Thomas Ruffin
Owner: War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator: A.H. Bull & Co., Inc.
Ordered: as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 39
Awarded: 14 March 1941
Builder: Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost: $1,065,146[2]
Yard number: 2026
Way number: 5
Laid down: 9 March 1942
Launched: 18 May 1942
Sponsored by: Mrs. Joseph F. Johnson
Completed: 10 June 1942
Identification:
Fate: Damaged by German submarine U-510, 9 March 1943
Status: Sold for scrapping, 18 April 1947
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:

Construction

Thomas Ruffin was laid down on 9 March 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 39, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. Joseph F. Johnson, the wife of the MARCOM senior hull inspector at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, and was launched on 18 May 1942.[1][2]

History

She was allocated to A.H. Bull & Co., Inc., on 6 June 1942.[4]

Attack

Thomas Ruffin left Bahia, Brazil, on 28 February 1943, loaded only with water ballast, as part of Convoy BT-6, for Trinidad. In the early morning of 9 March, German submarine U-510 fired on the convoy about 175 mi (282 km), at 7°40′N 52°7′W, north of Cayenne, French Guiana. Thomas Ruffin was struck in the engine room by one torpedo on her port side. In the explosion the shaft and engine were destroyed and three crewmen killed. The explosion also ruptured steam lines and the fuel tanks along with disabling the radio and causing the ship to take on a list to starboard. The crew of eight officers, 35 crewmen, and 15 Armed guard were able to abandon the ship in two lifeboats and two rafts. The commander of the Armed guard, with one crewman, remained behind and were rejoined by the captain and one crewman at daylight. Courage picked up 40 of the survivors.[5]

Disposition

HMS Milford took Thomas Ruffin in tow, arriving at the naval dock in Port of Spain, on 17 March, where repairs were made so she could be towed to Mobile, Alabama.[5] She was declared a Constructive Total Loss and laid up to be used as a training ship 2 September 1943.[4]

On 31 August 1945, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in Mobile. She was sold for scrapping on 25 March 1947, to Pinto Island Metals Co., for $18,200. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 18 April 1947.[4]

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

Bibliography
  • "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  • Maritime Administration. "Thomas Ruffin". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  • Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 25 February 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • "SS Thomas Ruffin". Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  • "Thomas Ruffin". Retrieved 25 February 2020.


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