SS Nicholas Biddle

SS Nicholas Biddle was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Nicholas Biddle, an American financier who served as the third and last president of the Second Bank of the United States. He also served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He is best known for his role in the Bank War.

History
United States
Name	Nicholas Biddle
Namesake	Nicholas Biddle
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	International Freighting Corp.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 917
Awarded	1 January 1942
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost	$1,045,728[2]
Yard number	2067
Way number	7
Laid down	11 August 1942
Launched	22 September 1942
Sponsored by	Mrs. R.E. Anderson
Completed	30 September 1942
Identification	Call sign: KHNT [2]
Fate	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas, 18 June 1948 Sold for scrapping, 15 March 1962, withdrawn from fleet, 3 April 1962
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 Worthington Pump & Machinery Corp, Harrison, New Jersey) 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

Nicholas Biddle was laid down on 11 August 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 917, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. R.E. Anderson, the wife of MARCOM's director of finance, and was launched on 22 September 1942.^[1][2]

History

She was allocated to Seas Shipping Co., Inc., on 30 September 1942. On 15 December 1948, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas. On 15 March 1962, she was sold for scrapping to Commercial Metals Co., for $52,444.44. She was removed from the fleet on 3 April 1962.^[4]