SS Carter Braxton

SS Carter Braxton was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Carter Braxton, a Founding Father and signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, as well as a merchant, planter, and Virginia politician. A grandson of Robert "King" Carter, one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners and slaveholders in the Old Dominion, Carter Braxton was active in Virginia's legislature for more than 25 years.

History
United States
Name	Carter Braxton
Namesake	Carter Braxton
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Union Sulphur & Oil Co., Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 22
Awarded	14 March 1941
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost	$1,151,856[2]
Yard number	2009
Way number	9
Laid down	3 September 1941
Launched	24 January 1942
Completed	18 March 1942
Identification	Call sign: KBTH [2]
Fate	Sold for commercial use, 19 June 1947
United States
Name	Herman Frasch
Namesake	Herman Frasch
Owner	Union Sulphur Co.
Fate	Sold, April 1955
United States
Name	Cilco Ranger
Owner	Terminal Steamship Co.
Operator	A.L. Burbank & Co.
Fate	Sold, August 1956
United States
Name	Murray Hill
Owner	Fairfield Steamship Corp.
Fate	Sold, March 1957
Liberia
Name	Sea Spray
Owner	Universal Tramp Shipping Co.
Operator	Seatraders, Inc.
Fate	Sold, March 1960
Greece
Name	Meltemi
Operator	Seatraders, Inc.
Fate	Scrapped, 1968
General characteristics [3]
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 Clark Bros. Co., Cleveland, 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

Carter Braxton was laid down on 3 September 1941, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 22, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; and was launched on 24 January 1942.^[1][2]

History

She was allocated to the Union Sulphur & Oil Co., Inc., on 18 March 1942. She was sold for commercial use on 19 June 1947, to the Union Sulphur & Oil Co., Inc., and renamed Herman Frasch, after Herman Frasch.^[4]