SS ''Jean Ribaut'' was a

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost constr ...

built in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. She was named after

Jean Ribaut Jean Ribault (also spelled ''Ribaut'') (1520 – October 12, 1565) was a French naval officer, navigator, and a colonizer of what would become the southeastern United States. He was a major figure in the French attempts to colonize Florida. A H ...

, a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

naval officer, navigator, and colonizer.

Construction

''Jean Ribaut'' was laid down on 23 March 1944, under a

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 19 ...

(MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2300, by

J.A. Jones Construction J.A. Jones Construction was a heavy construction company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Operating internationally since the 1950s, it merged with Germany's Philipp Holzmann, Philipp Holzmann AG in 1979. In 2003 the company ceased oper ...

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

, Florida; she was sponsored by Miss Betty Jean Riley, an honor student at Bay County High School, and launched on 5 May 1944.

History

She was allocated to A.H. Bull & Co., Inc., on 29 May 1944. On 17 November 1947, she was laid up in the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

, in the

James River Group James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

. On 22 April 1952, she was relocated to the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in the Hudson River Group. On 18 August 1953, she was withdrawn from the fleet to be loaded with grain under the "Grain Program 1953". She returned loaded with grain to the fleet on 28 August 1953. On 10 May 1956, she was withdrawn from the fleet to have the grain unloaded. She returned to the fleet with a new load of grain on 1 June 1956. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 3 July 1957, to unload and returned empty on 8 July 1957. On 6 June 1958, she was withdrawn to be loaded with grain and returned on 20 June 1958. On 25 January 1960, she was removed for the last time to be unloaded, she returned empty on 3 February 1960. On 13 March 1970, she was sold for $41,212 to

Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation was a United States corporation that ran a shipbreaking operation. In the 1960s and 1970s it purchased many surplus U.S. Navy and U.S. Merchant Marine ships from World War II from the United States Mariti ...

, for scrapping. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 21 April 1970.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jean Ribaut Liberty ships Ships built in Panama City, Florida 1944 ships James River Reserve Fleet Hudson River Reserve Fleet Hudson River Reserve Fleet Grain Program