Shepard Steamship Company of

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

was founded in 1930 by Otis N Shepard, and H B, Shepard with service from Pacific Coast to Philadelphia, New York City, Albany and Boston. Service was called the Shepard Line Shepard Steamship Company moved to

21 West Street 21 West Street, also known as Le Rivage Apartments, is a 33-story building located in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City, on Morris Street between West Street and Washington Street. It was built in 1929–1931 as a spe ...

, New York City in 1947. The Shepard Steamship Company's main cargo was lumber products. Otis N Shepard company, Otis Shepard & Co. partnered with George H. Morse in 1868 to form Shepard & Morse Lumber Company of

Burlington, Vermont Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is the List of municipalities in Vermont, most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the county seat, seat of Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County. It is located south of the Can ...

. During World War II the Shepard Steamship Company was active in charter shipping with the

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 ...

and

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 ...

. During wartime, the Shepard Steamship Company operated

Victory ship The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by American shipyards during World War II. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were slightly larger and had more powerful steam turbine engin ...

s and

Liberty ships Liberty ships were a 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 construction. ...

. The ship was run by its crew and the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

supplied

United States Navy Armed Guard The United States Navy Armed Guard was a force of United States Navy gunners and related personnel established during World War II to protect U.S. merchant shipping from enemy attack.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merc ...

s to man the deck guns and radio. The most common armament mounted on these merchant ships were the MK II 20mm Oerlikon autocannon and the 3"/50, 4"/50, and

5"/38 The Mark 12 5"/38-caliber gun was a United States dual-purpose naval gun, but also installed in single-purpose mounts on a handful of ships. The 38-caliber barrel was a mid-length compromise between the previous United States standard 5"/51 low ...

deck guns.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 25846 Highlandtown Station, Baltimore, M

/ref>

Ships

*SS Harpoon, was SS Hopatcong built in 1920, became List_of_Empire_ships_(Ta–Te), Empire Tarpon 1940 *SS Sea Thrush, built in 1920, sank by U-505 June 28, 1942 off Bahamas *SS Timber Rush, was City of Eureka from 1925 to 1928, built in 1919, sank in 1940 off Acapulco *SS Sage Brush, sank as SS Keystone in 1943, a 1919 5,565 tons, cargo ship * SS Exporter, was USS Hercules, a 1939 cargo ship *SS Wind Rush, was SS Westbrook built in 1918 by Columbia River SB, ablaze in the Caribbean Dec. 21 1939, repaired, became Kavkaz in 1945, and scrapped 1977 *SS Wind Rush (2), was SS Lloyd S. Carlson Liberty ship, built in 1945 * SS Exford built in 1919

World War II Ships

Ships operated under charter during and just after World War II: **Victory ships: *La Grande Victory (troopship) *Binghampton Victory *N. Y. U. Victory ** Liberty ships: *

Theodore Foster Theodore Foster (April 29, 1752January 13, 1828) was an American lawyer and politician from Rhode Island. He was a member of the Federalist Party and later the National Republican Party. He served as one of the first two United States senators ...

* Warren P. Marks *Edwin Abbey *Segundo Ruiz-Belvis *John A. Dix *John P. Harris *George E. Waldo *George H. Himes *George M. Cohan *Lot Whitcomb *Charles H. Lanham (Mashal plan ship) *Clarence F. Peck *Robert D. Carey **For Korean War: *Harpoon (1950 to 1954) (was Ward Hunt)

References

{{Liberty ships Transport companies established in 1930 American companies established in 1930 1930 establishments in Massachusetts