SS John Hay

SS John Hay was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after John Hay, private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, the 12th United States Assistant Secretary of State, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and United States Secretary of State under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.

History
United States
Name	John Hay
Namesake	John Hay
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	A.H. Bull & Co., Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1525
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost	$1,859,804[1]
Yard number	7
Way number	1
Laid down	5 January 1943
Launched	31 May 1943
Sponsored by	Mrs. L.R. Sanford
Completed	30 June 1943
Identification	Call Signal: KLZN [1]
Fate	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Group, 12 February 1946 Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, Washington, 29 June 1955 Sold for scrapping, 15 December 1960
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 Vulcan Iron Works, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) 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

John Hay was laid down on 5 January 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1525, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; she was sponsored by Mrs. L.R. Sanford, wife MARCOM regional director ship construction Gulf-Coast, and launched on 31 May 1943.^[3][1]

History

She was allocated to A.H. Bull & Co., Inc., on 30 June 1943. On 12 February 1946, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in the Suisun Bay Group. On 16 May 1955, she was withdrawn from the fleet to be loaded with grain under the "Grain Program 1955", she transferred, loaded with grain, to the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in Olympia, Washington, on 29 June 1955. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 23 June 1957, to have the grain unloaded, she returned empty on 28 June 1957. On 15 December 1960, she was sold for $54,031.33 to Commercial Metals Co., for scrapping. She was removed from the fleet on 11 January 1960.^[4][5]