SS ''Zebulon Vance'' ( MC contract 145) 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 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

Zebulon Vance Zebulon Baird Vance (May 13, 1830 – April 14, 1894) was the 37th and 43rd governor of North Carolina, a U.S. Senator from North Carolina, and a Confederate officer during the American Civil War. A prolific writer and noted public speake ...

, the two time

Governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...

, lawyer, and

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighti ...

officer. The ship was laid down by

North Carolina Shipbuilding Company North Carolina Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard in Wilmington, North Carolina, created as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program in the early days of World War II. From 1941 through 1946, the company built 243 ships in all ...

in their

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Ca ...

yard on May 22, 1941, then launched on December 6, 1941. Alice Broughton, wife of sitting governor J. Melville Broughton christened the ship at launch. ''Zebulon Vance'' was assigned to American Export Lines under a bare boat charter February 17, 1942. While under control of the War Shipping Administration she survived floating mines, a near torpedo miss, and the invasion of North Africa. It was chartered again by American Export Lines July 27, 1942. It was purchased November 22, 1943 by the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * De ...

for conversion to a hospital ship. This was completed by

Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding C ...

at their

Fore River Shipyard Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901. In ...

in July 1944. It was commissioned as the USAHS ''John J. Meany''. She was named after Major John J. Meany, a US Army surgeon killed in North Africa. ''John J. Meany'' served in the Mediterranean from August to December 1945 and was decommissioned in January 1946 following the end of the war. It was modified and renamed USAT ''Zebulon B. Vance'', carrying military dependents between the United States and Europe until December 10, 1948 when it 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 ...

James River Fleet. Declared surplus September 16, 1949 it was sold for scrapping to an Italian company in February 1970.

Awards

''Vances Naval Armed Guard detachment received two

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or se ...

s for

service. One for the Operation Torch and the other for

Murmansk convoy The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...

operations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zebulon B. Vance, SS Liberty ships Ships built in Wilmington, North Carolina 1941 ships Hospital ships of the United States Army Transport ships of the United States Army