SS Cotton Mather

History
United States
Name	Cotton Mather
Namesake	Cotton Mather
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 922
Awarded	1 January 1942
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[2]
Cost	$1,060,049[1]
Yard number	2072
Way number	16
Laid down	28 September 1942
Launched	31 October 1942
Sponsored by	Mrs. R.M. Meyers
Completed	30 November 1942
Identification	Call sign: KHPW [1]
Fate	Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 3 January 1948
Status	Sold for scrapping, 24 November 1959, removed from fleet, 9 February 1960
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 Cotton Mather was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Cotton Mather, a New England Puritan minister, prolific author, and pamphleteer.

Construction[]

Cotton Mather was laid down on 28 September 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 922, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs .R.M. Meyers, the wife of a yard employee, and was launched on 31 October 1942.^[2][1]

History[]

She was allocated to , on 30 November 1942. On 22 May 1950, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina. On 24 November 1959, she was sold for scrapping to , for $71,825. She was removed from the fleet on 9 February 1960.^[4]

References[]

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