SS Charles H. Marshall

History
United States
Name	Charles H. Marshall
Namesake	Charles H. Marshall
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Polarus Steamship Co., Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2329
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction Company, Panama City, Florida
Cost	$921,909[1]
Yard number	70
Way number	5
Laid down	11 October 1944
Launched	17 November 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. J. Philo Caldwell
Completed	27 November 1944
Identification	Call sign: KYUO [1]
Fate	Sold for commercial use, 9 March 1947 Placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 30 December 1947
United States
Name	Polarus Pioneer
Owner	Polarus Steamship Co., Inc.
Fate	Sold, May 1951
United States
Name	Transamerican
Owner	American Union Transport, Inc.
Fate	Sold, October 1954
Liberia
Name	Gertrud Therese
Owner	Rutland Navigation Co.
Operator	Transamerican Steamship Corp.
Fate	Sold, 19 September 1959
United States
Name	Pacific Thunder
Owner	Pacific Thunder Steamship Corp.
Operator	Transamerican Steamship Corp.
Fate	Sold, 11 February 1960
United States
Name	Transmariner
Owner	Transamerican Steamship Corp.
Fate	Sold, 7 October 1960
United States
Name	Santa Emilia
Owner	Liberty Navigation and Trading Co.
Operator	J. H. Winchester & Co.
Fate	Returned to Maritime Administration, laid up in James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 23 December 1963 Sold for scrapping, 22 February 1972
General characteristics [2]
Class and type	Liberty ship type EC2-S-C1, standard
Tonnage	10,865 LT DWT 7,176 GRT
Displacement	3,380 long tons (3,434 t) (light) 14,245 long tons (14,474 t) (max)
Length	441 feet 6 inches (135 m) oa 416 feet (127 m) pp 427 feet (130 m) lwl
Beam	57 feet (17 m)
Draft	27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m)
Installed power	2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C) boilers, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa) 2,500 hp (1,900 kW)
Propulsion	1 × triple-expansion steam engine,  (manufactured by Filer and Stowell, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 1 × screw propeller
Speed	11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity	562,608 cubic feet (15,931 m3) (grain) 499,573 cubic feet (14,146 m3) (bale)
Complement	38–62 USMM 21–40 USNAG
Armament	Varied by ship Bow-mounted 3 inches (76 mm)/50 caliber gun Stern-mounted 4 inches (102 mm)/50 caliber gun 2–8 × single 20 millimeters (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons and/or, 2–8 × 37 millimeters (1.46 in) M1 AA guns

SS Charles H. Marshall was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Charles H. Marshall, an American businessman, art collector and philanthropist who was prominent in society during the Gilded Age.

Construction

Charles H. Marshall was contracted on 22 April 1943 by the United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) with J.A. Jones Construction Company, Panama City, Florida as MARCOM Hull 2329.^[1] She was laid down on 11 October 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Clarence Graham, the wife of the assistant work manager of outfitting at JAJCC, launched on 17 November 1944 and delivered ten days later.^[1][3]

History

On delivery on 27 November 1944, Polarus Steamship Co., Inc., New York, were appointed managers of Charles H. Marshall by the War Shipping Administration and she was registered with Official Number 246833 and home port of New York.^[4][5] On 9 April 1947 she was sold to Polarus Steamship and by 1950 renamed Polarus Pioneer.^[4][6]

After a series of sales and name changes she was returned to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) on 23 December 1963, under an exchange program, and placed in the James River Reserve Fleet, in Lee Hall, Virginia. She was sold for scrapping, 22 February 1972, to Eckhardt and Co., for $62,222. She was withdrawn from the fleet, 27 March 1972.^[7]

References

Bibliography