SS William B. Woods

SS William B. Woods was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. Named after William B. Woods, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and a member of the Ohio General Assembly.

History
United States
Name	William B. Woods
Namesake	William B. Woods
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	A. H. Bull & Company, Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1490
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Brunswick, Georgia
Cost	$2,740,069[1]
Yard number	106
Way number	2
Laid down	6 July 1942
Launched	13 March 1943
Sponsored by	Mrs. Emil J. Kratt
Completed	7 May 1943
Identification	Call sign: KHQC [1]
Fate	Torpedoed and sunk by U-952 off Italy, 10 March 1944
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

William B. Woods was laid down on 21 July 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1490, by J.A. Jones Construction, Brunswick, Georgia; sponsored by Mrs. Emil J. Kratt, and launched on 7 April 1943.^[3][1]

History

She was allocated to A. H. Bull & Company, Inc. on 31 May 1943. On 10 March 1944, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-952 near Palermo, Italy, 38.43°N 13.50°E / 38.43; 13.50, with the loss of one US Navy Armed Guard and fifty-one US Army personnel.^[4][5]