SS William Few

SS William Few was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after William Few, an American politician, farmer, businessman, and a Founding Father of the United States. Few represented the US state of Georgia at the Constitutional Convention and signed the United States Constitution. Few, along with James Gunn, were the first senators from Georgia.

History
United States
Name	William Few
Namesake	William Few
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Merchant & Miners Transportation Co.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 309
Awarded	1 May 1941
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost	$1,071,549[2]
Yard number	2059
Way number	5
Laid down	14 July 1942
Launched	28 August 1942
Sponsored by	Mrs. Frank Egan
Completed	10 September 1942
Identification	Call sign: KHHJ [2]
Fate	Sold for commercial use, 30 December 1946
Honduras
Name	Norlandia
Owner	Compañia Navegacion de Vapores (1947—1950) Silet Compañia de Vapores (1950—)
Operator	Simpson, Spence & Young (1947) North American Shipping & Trading Co. (1947—1954) International Navigation Co.
Fate	reflagged 1961
Greece
Name	Norlandia
Owner	Silet Compañia de Vapores
Fate	reflagged 1967
Panama
Name	Norlandia
Owner	Silet Compañia de Vapores
Fate	Scrapped, 1969
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 Ellicott Machine Corp., Baltimore, Maryland) 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 Few was laid down on 14 July 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 309, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland. She was sponsored by Mrs. Frank Egan, the daughter of J. Kirkpatrick, the chief hull inspector for MARCOM, in Philadelphia, and was launched on 28 August 1942.^[2][1]

History

She was allocated to Merchant & Miners Transportation Co., on 10 September 1942. On 30 December 1946, she was sold for commercial use to Compañia Navegacion de Vapores, for $544,506. She was scrapped in Osaka in 1969.^[4]