SS Andrew Hamilton

History
United States
Name	Andrew Hamilton
Namesake	Andrew Hamilton
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 57
Awarded	14 March 1941
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[2]
Cost	$1,078,710[1]
Yard number	2044
Way number	11
Laid down	15 June 1942
Launched	6 August 1942
Sponsored by	Mrs. J.E.P. Grant
Completed	17 August 1942
Identification	Call sign: KGEY [1]
Fate	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 14 April 1948
Status	Sold for scrapping, 9 April 1962, withdrawn from fleet, 11 May 1962
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 Vulcan Iron Works, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) 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 inches (76 mm)/50 caliber gun Stern-mounted 4 inches (102 mm)/50 caliber gun 2–8 × single 20 millimeters (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons and/or, 2–8 × 37 millimeters (1.46 in) M1 AA guns

SS Andrew Hamilton was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Andrew Hamilton, a Scottish lawyer in the Thirteen Colonies, where he finally settled in Philadelphia. He was best known for his legal victory on behalf of the printer and newspaper publisher John Peter Zenger. This 1735 decision in New York helped to establish that truth is a defense to an accusation of libel. Hamilton, in company with his son-in-law, William Allen, purchased the ground, whereon to erect "a suitable building" to be used as a legislative hall, now known as Independence Hall.

Construction[]

Andrew Hamilton was laid down on 15 June 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 57, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. J.E.P. Grant, the wife of the chief of the engineering section, production division of MARCOM, in Washington DC, and was launched on 6 August 1942.^[2][1]

History[]

She was allocated to , on 17 August 1942. On 14 April 1948, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina. She was sold for scrapping on 9 April 1962, to , for $59,399.89. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 11 May 1962.^[4]

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