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 ...

United States 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, 195 ...

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 ...

Delta Shipbuilding Company The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio in 1898. It changed its name to t ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Timothy Bloodworth Timothy James Bloodworth (1736August 24, 1814) was a slave owner, ardent patriot in the American Revolution, member of the Confederation Congress, vigorous anti-Federalist, U.S. congressman and senator, and collector of customs for the Port of Wi ...

, an American teacher who made

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket graduall ...

s and bayonets during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

, then went on to become a statesman in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

. The ship was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

in February 1943, launched in March, and delivered in April. Powered by a

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

manufactured by the Hamilton Engine Company, she was capable of a speed of . She served in many transatlantic convoys supporting the buildup for and supply of the Allied invasion of Western Europe. On 24 December 1944, SS ''Timothy Bloodworth'' became the first ship to be damaged by a German V-2 rocket.King and Kutta, p. 279.Cressman, p. 283. Postwar, her periods of active service alternated with time in reserve, until she was sold for

scrap Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered m ...

in 1963.

Design and construction

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 ...

s were a type of cargo ship with a uniform design intended to be quickly built for wartime needs during World War II. In general, Liberty ships were named after famous Americans, and ''Timothy Bloodworth'' was named for

Timothy Bloodworth Timothy James Bloodworth (1736August 24, 1814) was a slave owner, ardent patriot in the American Revolution, member of the Confederation Congress, vigorous anti-Federalist, U.S. congressman and senator, and collector of customs for the Port of Wi ...

, a teacher and statesman from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

. The ship was the 44th of 188 Liberty ships built by

Delta Shipbuilding Company The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio in 1898. It changed its name to t ...

of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 2 February 1943 on way number 8. She was launched on 17 March after spending 41 days on the ways. ''Timothy Bloodworth'' was completed on 22 April, after 36 days fitting out on the water. Her total construction time from keel laying to delivery was 77 days. ''Timothy Bloodworth'' was and was long ( length overall) and

abeam This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th t ...

. She was electrically welded, and had a

deadweight tonnage Deadweight tonnage (also known as deadweight; abbreviated to DWT, D.W.T., d.w.t., or dwt) or tons deadweight (DWT) is a measure of how much weight a ship can carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, pro ...

of . Like all Liberty ships, she had a single

triple-expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up h ...

that drove a single

screw propeller A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...

. ''Timothy Bloodworth''s engine was built by the Hamilton Engine Co. of

Hamilton, Ohio Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Butler County, Ohio, United States. Located north of Cincinnati, Hamilton is the second largest city in the Greater Cincinnati area and the 10th largest city in Ohio. The population was 63,399 at ...

, and propelled the freighter at speeds of up to . Her boilers were oil-fired.

Wartime career

After ''Timothy Bloodworth''s 22 April 1943 delivery to the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...

, she was assigned to the

Lykes Brothers Steamship Company Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., also called Lykes Lines, was a cargo shipping company acting from the beginning of the 20th century to 2005 having its main business in the trade to and from the United States. History In 1898 the sons of Dr. Howell Tys ...

for operation out of her homeport of New Orleans. Although details of ''Timothy Bloodworth''s

shakedown cruise Shakedown cruise is a nautical term in which the performance of a ship is tested. Generally, shakedown cruises are performed before a ship enters service or after major changes such as a crew change, repair or overhaul. The shakedown cruise ...

and maiden voyage are not reported in sources, convoy records reveal she was at Guantanamo Bay,

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, on 8 June 1943 when she joined the New York-bound convoy GN 64. ''Timothy Bloodworth'', fellow Liberty ships , , and and the other 34 ships of the convoy reached New York uneventfully eight days later. After a week at New York, ''Timothy Bloodworth'' and her three sister ships from GN 64—all loaded with sugar for delivery to the United Kingdom—joined some 56 other ships departing in convoy HX 245, bound for

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, on 23 June. Three days after departure, an additional 26 ships from Halifax joined the convoy, and two days after that another three joined from St. John's, Newfoundland. There were no reported attacks on the convoy, but on 1 July, the British

merchant aircraft carrier A merchant aircraft carrier (also known as a MAC ship, the Admiralty's official 'short name') was a limited-purpose aircraft carrier operated under British and Dutch civilian registry during World War II. MAC ships were adapted by adding a flig ...

collided with ''Empire Ibex'', which sank two days later. ''Timothy Bloodworth'' and twelve other ships parted from HX 245 to sail to

Loch Ewe Loch Ewe ( gd, Loch Iùbh) is a sea loch in the region of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig-speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notab ...

in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. There they were joined by two more ships to form convoy WN 451, headed to

Methil Methil (Scottish Gaelic: Meadhchill) is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to the Bishop of St Andrews. Two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as ov ...

, where they arrived on 9 July. Atlantic convoy, 1942

After nearly a month at Methil, ''Timothy Bloodworth'' departed there on 4 August as a part of convoy EN 264 for

Loch Ewe Loch Ewe ( gd, Loch Iùbh) is a sea loch in the region of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The shores are inhabited by a traditionally Gàidhlig-speaking people living in or sustained by crofting villages, the most notab ...

, and from the latter port, sailed as a part of the 78-ship convoy ON 196. ''Timothy Bloodworth'' is reported in convoy documents as destined for Halifax along with seven other ships, but other records indicate that the ship arrived at New York with the majority of the convoy on 21 August. Whatever her arrival port, she was recorded as sailing from Halifax on 22 August in convoy HF 72 and arriving at

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of K ...

two days later. She is next reported as sailing for Halifax on 16 September and then on to Liverpool as a part of convoy HX 257 on 18 September. With her cargo of grain and other cargo, ''Timothy Bloodworth'' arrived in Liverpool on 30 September, where she would remain for almost a month. On 27 October, ''Timothy Bloodworth'' departed from Liverpool as a part of the combined convoys OS 57 and KMS 31. On 9 November, west of Gibraltar, KMS 31, ''Timothy Bloodworth''s convoy, parted company with the other ships and headed into the Mediterranean. ''Timothy Bloodworth'', however, headed into Gibraltar and docked there on 10 November.The convoy that ''Timothy Bloodworth'' departed, KMS 31, came under attack by German bombers which sank three convoy ships on 11 November. See: The ship departed Gibraltar with convoy KMS 32 on 19 November and arrived at her destination of Malta on 24 November. ''Timothy Bloodworth'' had made her way to Augusta by early December when she was recorded making a roundtrip to Brindisi between 6 and 21 December. By early January 1944, she had made her way to

Bizerta Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the ca ...

, and from there on 8 January for

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, where she arrived three days later. The cargo ship sailed from that port on 29 January, touching at Augusta the next day, and then joining convoy GUS 29 for

Hampton Roads, Virginia Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlanti ...

. Sources show ''Timothy Bloodworth'' arriving at Hampton Roads on 15 February but do not report any movements until early May, when she is shown sailing for Liverpool. ''Timothy Bloodworth'', loaded with a cargo that included

Motor Launch A Motor Launch (ML) is a small military vessel in Royal Navy service. It was designed for harbour defence and submarine chasing or for armed high-speed air-sea rescue. Some vessels for water police service are also known as motor launches. ...

es, departed New York on 6 May as a part of convoy HX 290 for Liverpool. After an uneventful crossing, she made port at Liverpool on 19 May. After unloading her cargo over the next two weeks, she departed for New York in convoy ON 239 and arrived there on 22 June. ''Timothy Bloodworth'' departed again for Liverpool on 11 July as a part of HX 299 and arrived after thirteen days. The ship is next reported sailing from

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

to

the Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay t ...

on 4 August, and from

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

to Seine Bay on 6 August. ''Timothy Bloodworth'' sailed from Seine Bay to

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

from 5 to 6 September. The next day, she is recorded sailing from the Solent to the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River S ...

, a week before sailing again for New York. After arriving at New York at the end of September, ''Timothy Bloodworth'' made her way to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

over the next two weeks. Sailing from there on 14 October, she first sailed to Halifax and then on to Liverpool, where she arrived on 29 October. The freighter's movements over the next two months are not reported in sources. La2-v2

''Timothy Bloodworth'' weathered two attacks in the month of December 1944. In the first attack—which occurred on 16 December, the first day of the German

Ardennes Offensive The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

—the ship suffered two casualties among her

Naval Armed Guard United States Navy Armed Guard units were established during World War II and headquartered in New Orleans.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merchant Marine, 2007-2014 Project Liberty Ship, Project Liberty Ship, P.O. Box 2 ...

detachment. The location of the ship, manner of attack, and circumstances of the two casualties are unspecified in

secondary sources In scholarship, a secondary sourcePrimary, secondary and tertiary sources
. ...

. In the second December attack, ''Timothy Bloodworth'' was at anchor in Antwerp later in the month awaiting a New York-bound convoy. At about 14:10 on 24 December, a German V-2 rocket exploded overhead, showering the ship with

shrapnel Shrapnel may refer to: Military * Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use * Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material Popular culture * ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics) * ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam ...

. A short time later, a second rocket hit nearby and more fragments pelted the ship, this time damaging the starboard side of the ship at the number one

cargo hold 120px, View of the hold of a container ship A ship's hold or cargo hold is a space for carrying cargo in the ship's compartment. Description Cargo in holds may be either packaged in crates, bales, etc., or unpackaged ( bulk cargo). Access to ...

. Although ''Timothy Bloodworth'' had a total of 68 people aboard—8 officers, 33 crewmen, 26 Armed Guard, and 1 passenger—no one was injured in either attack. Authors Benjamin King and Timothy J. Kutta, in their book ''Impact: The History of Germany's V-Weapons in World War II'', report that ''Timothy Bloodworth'' was the first ship to be hit by V-2 fragments during the war. The V-2 damage to ''Timothy Bloodworth'' was considered slight, so it did not prevent her from sailing from Antwerp two days later. On 30 December, she left Liverpool for New York and arrived on 13 January 1945. The cargo ship headed south to Hampton Roads and departed for Gibraltar on 7 February. She put in at Gibraltar on 23 February and sailed for Oran. From that port she returned to Hampton Roads on 24 March in convoy GUS 76. ''Timothy Bloodworth'' next sailed from New York for Liverpool, Southend, and Antwerp, arriving at the latter port on 30 April. She was at Antwerp on

Victory in Europe Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easte ...

. ''Timothy Bloodworth''s last reported movement was in convoy ATM 168 from Antwerp to Southend on 28/29 May.

Postwar career

After the German surrender, the

War in the Pacific The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the Theater (warfare), theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, ...

continued for another three months, but no secondary sources report any participation by ''Timothy Bloodworth'', nor any of the ship's movements or whereabouts over the next two years. At 13:00 on 26 June 1947, ''Timothy Bloodworth'' entered the

Reserve Fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; ...

at

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corn ...

, where she would remain for most of the next 16 years. ''Timothy Bloodworth'' was withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet on 6 July 1954. It is not reported where the ship went or whether it was under her own power, but she reentered the fleet on 17 July, loaded with grain. On 29 October 1956, after a little more than two years, she was again withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet to unload the grain, and was returned empty on 6 November. On 18 September 1963, the

United States Maritime Administration The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation. MARAD administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the U.S. Maritime Service and the U.S. Merchant Marine. De ...

(a successor agency to the

United States 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, 195 ...

(USMC)) began accepting bids for the scrap sale of ''Timothy Bloodworth''. The sealed bids were opened on 9 October, and

Zidell Explorations, Inc. The Zidell Companies are a group of family-owned companies based in Portland, Oregon. They include Zidell Marine, a ship construction company which, from 1961 until 2017, specialized in the building of barges, and Tube Forgings of America Inc. ...

, with its bid of $45,000, was awarded the sale on 10 October.Zidell Explorations purchased a lot of three ships for $135,000 under contract PD-X-646. The other two ships' names are unreported on the Disposal Card. See: On 14 November, ''Timothy Bloodworth'' was withdrawn from the reserve fleet for

scrapping Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

. The bow section of ''Timothy Bloodworth'', like that of all Liberty ships, was reinforced with concrete for strength. During the scrapping process, however, these sections were not reusable. ''Timothy Bloodworth''s bow section was one of nearly 150 buried in the private Liberty Ship Memorial Park on the banks of Portland's

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

. In 2006, the park was razed when the land was sold for commercial development.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Timothy Bloodworth Liberty ships Ships built in New Orleans World War II merchant ships of the United States 1943 ships