SS ''Junius Smith'' 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. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

built in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She was named after Junius Smith, an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

lawyer that founded the

British and American Steam Navigation Company British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

, who is often considered the "Father of the Atlantic Liner".

Construction

''Junius Smith'' was laid down on 11 October 1944, under a

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission 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, 1950. The c ...

(MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2505, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company,

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, Florida; she was sponsored by Mrs. Henry A. Davis, Jr., the wife of the foreman of railroad transportation at St. Johns River SBC, and was launched on 14 November 1944.

History

She was allocated to the

Cosmopolitan Shipping Company Cosmopolitan Shipping Company, also called the Cosmopolitan Line, was founded in 1916 in New York City. Cosmopolitan Shipping Company operated cargo and passenger service from New York City to Le Havre France and Antwerp. From 1919 to 1939 operat ...

, on 22 November 1944. On 14 April 1949, she was laid up in the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of Ship, ships of the United States, mostly Merchant ship, merchant vessels, that have been Reserve fleet, mothballed but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during nationa ...

, Beaumont, Texas. She was sold for scrapping, 30 November 1965, to Southern Scrap Material Co., Ltd., for $48,929.79. She was removed from the fleet, 14 January 1966.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Junius Smith Liberty ships Ships built in Jacksonville, Florida 1944 ships Beaumont Reserve Fleet