 Patrick Henry September 1941 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Patrick Henry |
| Namesake | Patrick Henry |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
| Operator | Lykes Brothers Steamship Co., Inc. |
| Ordered | as type (EC2-S-C1) hull,MCE hull 14 |
| Awarded | 14 March 1941 |
| Builder | Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard,Baltimore, Maryland[1] |
| Cost | $1,613,203[2] |
| Yard number | 2001 |
| Way number | 1 |
| Laid down | 30 April 1941 |
| Launched | 27 September 1941 |
| Sponsored by | Ilo Browne Wallace |
| Completed | 30 December 1941 |
| Identification | |
| Fate |
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| 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 |
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| Speed | 11.5knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
| Capacity |
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| Complement | |
| Armament |
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SSPatrick Henry was the firstLiberty ship launched. It was built by theBethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at theirBethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard inBaltimore, Maryland. She was named afterPatrick Henry, anAmerican attorney, planter, andFounding Father as well as thefirst and sixth post-colonialGovernor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779 and 1784 to 1786.
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Liberty ships initially had a poor public image and to try to assuage public opinion, 27 September 1941, was designatedLiberty Fleet Day, and the first 14 "Emergency" vessels were launched that day. The first of these (with MC hull number 14) wasPatrick Henry, launched by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt.[4] Other "Emergency" vessels launched that day, in various yards around the country included:SS John C. Fremont,SS Louise Lykes,SS Ocean Venture,SS Ocean Voice,SS Star of Oregon, andSS Steel Artisan.[5]
In the speech delivered at the launching, Roosevelt referred toPatrick Henry's "Give me Liberty or give me Death!" speech of 23 March 1775. Roosevelt said that this new class of ships would bring liberty to Europe, which gave rise to the name "Liberty ship".Patrick Henry was sponsored byIlo Browne Wallace, wife of Vice PresidentHenry A. Wallace, with Mrs.Robert H. Jackson, wife of the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and Madame Bruggmann, wife of the Minister of Switzerland Karl Bruggmann and sister of the vice president. Ilo Wallace christened the ship. The ship's fitting was completed on December 30, 1941.[5]
Her maiden voyage was to the Middle East. During World War II she made 12 voyages to ports includingMurmansk (as part ofConvoy PQ 18[6]), Trinidad,Cape Town, Naples, and Dakar.[5]
She survived the war, but was seriously damaged when she went aground on a reef off the coast ofFlorida,25°08′N80°16′W / 25.133°N 80.267°W /25.133; -80.267, in July 1946. The ship was laid up atNational Defense Reserve Fleet,Mobile, Alabama. On 18 September 1958, she was sold toBethlehem Steel, for $76,191. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 22 October 1958, and was scrapped at Baltimore.[7][8][6]
