SS Stephen Beasley

SS Stephen Beasley was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Stephen Beasley, an American shipbuilder from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the early years of the Republic.

History
United States
Name	Stephen Beasley
Namesake	Stephen Beasley
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	T.J. Stevenson & Co., Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2483
Awarded	23 April 1943
Builder	St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida[1]
Cost	$1,155,623[2]
Yard number	47
Way number	5
Laid down	13 May 1944
Launched	24 June 1944
Sponsored by	Eleanor Garrett Bunker
Completed	13 July 1944
Identification	Call sign: WQGA [2]
Fate	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas, 17 December 1948 Sold for scrapping, 14 March 1961, removed from the fleet, 28 March 1961
General characteristics [3]
Class and 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 Joshua Hendy Iron Works, Sunnyvale, California) 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

Stephen Beasley was laid down on 13 May 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2483, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; sponsored by Eleanor Garrett Bunker, the wife of Rear Admiral Charles W.O. Bunker and the great-great-granddaughter of the namesake, and was launched on 24 June 1944.^[1][2]

History

She was allocated to the T.J. Stevenson & Co., Inc., on 13 July 1944. On 17 December 1948, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas. She was sold for scrapping, 14 March 1961, to Luria Bros. and Co., for $61,789.22. She was removed from the fleet on 28 March 1961.^[4]