SS ''William Patterson'' was a Liberty ship 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 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She was named after William Patterson, a businessman, a gun-runner during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, and a founder of the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

Construction

''William Patterson'' was laid down on 29 April 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, 195 ...

(MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 48, 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 Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, Ba ...

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 Miss Gladys Mitchell, the daughter of John Mitchell, the Baltimore representative of the US Salvage Association, and was launched on 26 June 1942.

History

She was allocated to A.H. Bull & Co., Inc., on 13 July 1942. On 23 September 1948, she was laid up in the

Hudson River Reserve Fleet The Hudson River Reserve Fleet, formally the Hudson River National Defense Reserve Fleet and popularly the Mothball Fleet, was established by act of Congress in 1946 as a component of the National Defense Reserve Fleet. It was first located off T ...

, Jones Point, New York. On 31 October 1949, she was withdrawn from the fleet to be loaded with grain. She returned loaded on 14 November 1949. On 2 March 1951, she was withdrawn from the fleet to have her load of grain unloaded. On 16 May 1952, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina. On 14 September 1955, she was withdrawn from the fleet for test conversion to

gas generator A gas generator is a device for generating gas. A gas generator may create gas by a chemical reaction or from a solid or liquid source, when storing a pressurized gas is undesirable or impractical. The term often refers to a device that uses a ...

fed gas turbine power. Bethlehem Steel, in Baltimore, performed the conversion and she was reclassified EC2-G-8g. Her hull was lengthened at the bow to , and six new Cleveland Diesel Engine Division free piston gas generators, producing each, and two reversible gas turbines, connected directly to the ship's propeller through double reduction gear, were installed. The free piston generators provided moderate pressure gas which fed the gas turbines. At trials she ran , above the requested . After conversion she was transferred to the

Military Sea Transportation Service Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...

. She was operated by Lykes Brothers Steamship Co., Inc. under a

bareboat charter A bareboat charter or demise charter is an arrangement for the chartering or hiring of a ship or boat, whereby no crew or provisions are included as part of the agreement; instead, the people who rent the vessel from the owner are responsible f ...

. On 23 March 1961, she was laid up in the Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York. She was sold for scrapping on 23 November 1970, to Hierros Ardes, SA., along with three other ships, for $267,070. She was removed from the fleet, 17 January 1971.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:William Patterson Liberty ships 1942 ships Ships built in Baltimore Wilmington Reserve Fleet Hudson River Reserve Fleet