SS Benjamin Rush

History
United States
Name	Benjamin Rush
Namesake	Benjamin Rush
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	United Fruit Co.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 303
Awarded	1 May 1941
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[2]
Cost	$1,068,694[1]
Yard number	2053
Way number	16
Laid down	13 December 1941
Launched	25 June 1942
Sponsored by	Mrs. Benjamin Rush Jr.
Completed	11 July 1942
Identification	Call sign: KETT [1]
Fate	Laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 24 October 1947
Status	Sold for scrapping, 29 April 1954, withdrawn from fleet, 9 May 1954
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 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 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 Benjamin Rush was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Benjamin Rush, a signatory to the United States Declaration of Independence and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social reformer, humanitarian, and educator as well as the founder of Dickinson College. Rush attended the Continental Congress. He served as Surgeon General of the Continental Army and became a professor of chemistry, medical theory, and clinical practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

Construction[]

Benjamin Rush was laid down on 13 December 1941, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 303, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. Benjamin Rush Jr., the wife of the vice president of , and was launched on 25 June 1942.^[2][1]

History[]

She was allocated to United Fruit Co., on 11 July 1942. On 24 October 1947, she was laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia. A fire on 13 December 1948, burned out the midship house, causing an estimated $250,000—$265,000 in damages. She was recommended for scrapping on 21 December 1951, instead of repairing. On 29 April 1954, she was sold for scrapping to , along with four of her sister ships for $353,885. She was removed from the fleet on 9 May 1954.^[4]

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