SS Charles W. Stiles

SS Charles W. Stiles was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Charles W. Stiles, a parasitologist and zoologist at the Bureau of Animal Industry in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (1891–1902), who was later chief zoologist at the Hygienic Laboratory of the US Public Health and Marine Hospital Service (1902–1931).

History
United States
Name	Charles W. Stiles
Namesake	Charles W. Stiles
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2380
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Brunswick, Georgia
Cost	$919,945[1]
Yard number	165
Way number	1
Laid down	9 September 1944
Launched	18 October 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. P.O. Murphy
Completed	31 October 1944
Identification	Call Signal: KSZZ [1]
Fate	Sold for commercial use, 28 February 1947
Panama
Name	Bygdin
Namesake	Bygdin
Owner	Global Transport Ltd.
Acquired	28 February 1947
Fate	Scrapped, 1969
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

Charles W. Stiles was laid down on 9 September 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2380, by J.A. Jones Construction, Brunswick, Georgia; she was sponsored by Mrs. P.O. Murphy, and launched on 18 October 1944.^[3][1]

History

She was allocated to Seas Shipping Co. Inc., on 31 October 1944. On 28 February 1947, she was sold for $562,260.11 to Global Transport Ltd., for commercial use. She was reflagged for Panama, and renamed Bygdin.^[4][5]