SS Alanson B. Houghton

SS Alanson B. Houghton was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Alanson B. Houghton, the vice president and later president of Corning Glass Works, a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York (1919–1922), the United States Ambassador to Germany (1922–1925), United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (1925–1929), and a member of the Jekyll Island Club.

History
United States
Name	Alanson B. Houghton
Namesake	Alanson B. Houghton
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	American South African Lines, Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2293
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost	$1,023,016[1]
Yard number	34
Way number	1
Laid down	19 January 1944
Launched	14 March 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. H.R. Pratt
Completed	15 April 1944
Identification	Call Signal: KWJZ [1]
Fate	Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 14 October 1949 Sold for scrapping, 28 October 1971
General characteristics [2]
Class & 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 General Machinery Corp., Hamilton, Ohio) 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-inch (76 mm)/50-caliber gun Stern-mounted 4-inch (102 mm)/50-caliber gun 2–8 × single 20-millimeter (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons and/or, 2–8 × 37-millimeter (1.46 in) M1 AA guns

Construction

Alanson B. Houghton was laid down on 19 January 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2293, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; sponsored by Mrs. H.R. Pratt, she was launched on 14 March 1944.^[3][1]

History

She was allocated to American South African Lines, Inc., on 15 April 1944. On 14 October 1949, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in Mobile, Alabama. On 28 October 1971, she was sold, along with 13 other ships, for $513,000 to Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation, for scrapping. She was removed from the fleet 25 October 1972.^[4][5]