SS Joseph V. Connolly

SS Joseph V. Connolly was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Joseph V. Connolly.

History
United States
Name	Joseph V. Connolly
Namesake	Joseph V. Connolly
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	South Atlantic Steamship Lines, Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C5) hull, MC hull 3143
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida[1]
Cost	$845,073[2]
Yard number	103
Way number	4
Laid down	25 May 1945
Launched	9 July 1945
Completed	8 August 1945
Identification	Call sign: AOEO [2]
Fate	Caught fire and abandoned, 12 January 1948 Sunk in tow, 29 January 1948
General characteristics [3]
Class & type	Liberty ship type EC2-S-C5, boxed aircraft transport
Tonnage	10,600 LT DWT 7,200 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	490,000 cubic feet (13,875 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

Joseph V. Connolly was laid down on 25 May 1945, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 3143, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; she was launched on 9 July 1945.^[1][2]

History

She was allocated to South Atlantic Steamship Lines, Inc., on 8 August 1945.^[4]

In March 1947 Connolly was specially converted for the transportation of United States' war dead at the Hoboken Shipyard of the Bethlehem Steel Company.^[5] On 26 October 1947 she arrived at New York carrying the first 6,248 war dead from Europe.^[6]

On 12 January 1948, while transporting 6,445 empty metal coffins from New York to Antwerp, she caught fire and was abandoned 900 mi (1,400 km) east of New York. All 46 crewmen on board were rescued.^[6] She was taken in tow on 24 January, but broke loose and sank on 29 January.^[7]

Wreck location: 40°47′N 52°48′W