 SSOliver Ellsworth | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Oliver Ellsworth |
| Namesake | Oliver Ellsworth |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
| Operator | Agwilines Inc. |
| Ordered | as type (EC2-S-C1) hull,MCE hull 42 |
| Awarded | 14 March 1941 |
| Builder | Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard,Baltimore, Maryland[1] |
| Cost | $1,051,644[2] |
| Yard number | 2029 |
| Way number | 6 |
| Laid down | 31 March 1942 |
| Launched | 4 June 1942 |
| Sponsored by | Miss Frances T. Cwalina |
| Completed | 22 June 1942 |
| Fate | Sunk, 13 September 1942 |
| General characteristics[3] | |
| Class & type |
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| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | |
| Length | |
| Beam | 57 feet (17 m) |
| Draft | 27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 11.5knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
| Capacity |
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| Complement | |
| Armament |
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SSOliver Ellsworth was aLiberty ship built in theUnited States duringWorld War II. She was named afterFounding FatherOliver Ellsworth, an American lawyer, judge, politician, and diplomat. He was a framer of theUnited States Constitution, aUnited States senator fromConnecticut, and the thirdChief Justice of the United States.
Oliver Ellsworth was laid down on 31 March 1942, under aMaritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 42, by theBethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard,Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Miss Frances T. Cwalina, an Honor Student atBenjamin Franklin Junior High School,Brooklyn, Maryland, and was launched on 22 June 1942.[1][2]
She was allocated toA.H. Bull & Co., Inc., on 6 June 1942.[4]
Oliver Ellsworth was just three months old when she was assigned to Convoy PQ 18, one of theArctic convoys delivering supplies to theSoviet Union. She carried 7,200 long tons (7,300 t) of ammunition and aircraft as deck cargo. She was commanded by her Master, Otto Ernest Buford.[5]
On 13 September 1942,U-408, sighted the Convoy PQ 18, about 100 mi (160 km) southwest ofSpitsbergen, and fired a spread of three torpedoes at 09:52. One of the torpedoes struck the Soviet merchant shipSS Stalingrad and ruptured her boiler. The other two torpedoes missed her, but one of them hitOliver Ellsworth which had had to steer hard toport to avoidStalingrad.[5]
The torpedo struckOliver Ellsworth on herstarboard side between holds #4 and #5. After immediately securing the engines, the crew of eight officers, 34 crewmen, and 28Armed guards quickly abandoned the stricken ship in four lifeboats, due to fear of their cargo of ammunition exploding. BecauseOliver Ellsworth continued her forward momentum, both starboard lifeboats were swamped and one of her port lifeboats struck a raft and sank. Within an hour therescue shipCopeland and the A/S trawlerHMS St. Kenan, had picked up all the survivors; they were later landed atArchangel. After the rescue,St. KenanscuttledOliver Ellsworth by firing several shells into the drifting wreck. She sank stern first near75°52′N7°55′E / 75.867°N 7.917°E /75.867; 7.917 at 10:30. Out of a complement of 70, all had been rescued except for one armed guard who drowned.[5]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in July 1942 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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