SS ''Thomas Ruffin'' 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

Thomas Ruffin Thomas Ruffin (1787–1870) was 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. Biography Thomas Ruffin was born on Novembe ...

, 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, ...

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Un ...

and Justice of the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consis ...

from 1829 to 1852 and again from 1858 to 1859. He was Chief Justice of that Court from 1833 to 1852.

Construction

''Thomas Ruffin'' was laid down on 9 March 1942, 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, MCE hull 39, by the

Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard The Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard of Baltimore, Maryland, was a shipyard in the United States from 1941 until 1945. Located on the south shore of the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River which serves as the Baltimore Harbor, it was owned by the Beth ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, 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.

History

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

Attack

''Thomas Ruffin'' left

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest ...

, Brazil, on 28 February 1943, loaded only with water ballast, as part of Convoy BT-6, for

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

. In the early morning of 9 March, fired on the convoy about , at , north of

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's m ...

, 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 Armed (May, 1941–1964) was an American Thoroughbred gelding horse racing, race horse who was the American Horse of the Year in 1947 and Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse, Champion Older Male Horse in both 1946 and 1947. He was ind ...

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. picked up 40 of the survivors.

Disposition

took ''Thomas Ruffin'' in tow, arriving at the naval dock in

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a munic ...

, on 17 March, where repairs were made so she could be towed to

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

, Alabama. She was declared a

Constructive Total Loss Marine insurance covers the physical loss or damage of ships, cargo, terminals, and any transport by which the property is transferred, acquired, or held between the points of origin and the final destination. Cargo insurance is the sub-branch o ...

and laid up to be used as a training ship 2 September 1943. On 31 August 1945, 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 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.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas Ruffin Liberty ships Ships built in Baltimore 1942 ships Maritime incidents in March 1943 Mobile Reserve Fleet