SS Stepas Darius

History
United States
Name	Stepas Darius
Namesake	Steponas Darius
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2320
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost	$989,881
Yard number	61
Way number	6
Laid down	14 August 1944
Launched	25 Septembert 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. Harley Ferguson
Completed	10 October 1944
Identification	Call sign: WSSW; ;
Fate	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 27 June 1946
Status	Sold for commercial use, 10 January 1947, withdrawn from fleet, 24 January 1947
Panama
Name	MANDO
Owner
Status	Grounded, 21 January 1955
General characteristics
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 Stepas Darius was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Steponas Darius, a Lithuanian American pilot, who died in a non-stop flight attempt with Lituanica from New York City to Kaunas, Lithuania, in 1933.

Construction[]

Stepas Darius was laid down on 14 August 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2320, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; sponsored by Mrs. Harley Ferguson, wife of assistant general manager JAJCC; and launched on 25 September 1944.^[3]^[1]

History[]

She was allocated to , 9 October 1944. On 27 June 1946, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia.^[4]

She was sold, on 10 January 1947, to , for $562,854.89 and commercial use, she was renamed Mando. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 15 January 1947.^[4]

On 21 January 1955, while sailing from Hampton Roads to Rotterdam, with 9,000 st (130,000 lb; 57,000 kg) of coal, she ran aground off the Round Island, Scilly Islands, when her engines failed. She was declared a total loss.^[5]

Wreck located at:

49°34′58″N 6°12′05″W / 49.5827°N 06.2015°WCoordinates:

49°34′58″N 6°12′05″W / 49.5827°N 06.2015°W

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c MARCOM.
^ Davies 2004, p. 23.
^ J.A. Panama City 2010.
^ ^a ^b MARAD.
^ Historic England. "MANDO (1519482)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 9 December 2019.

Bibliography[]

"Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
Maritime Administration. "Stepas Darius". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 9 December 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
"SS Stepas Darius". Retrieved 9 December 2019.

[FOOTNOTEMARCOM-1] MARCOM.

[FOOTNOTEDavies200423-2] Davies 2004, p. 23.

[FOOTNOTEJ.A._Panama_City2010-3] J.A. Panama City 2010.

[FOOTNOTEMARAD-4] MARAD.

[5] Historic England. "MANDO (1519482)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 9 December 2019.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t MARCOM ships built by Jones Construction, Wainwright Shipyards, Panama City, Florida, during World War II
Type EC2-S-C1 ships "Liberty Ships"	E. Kirby Smith Newton D. Baker John Bascom William J. Bryan Joseph M. Medill Elihu Root John Hay Dwight L. Moody Peter Zenger Harriet Hosmer Duncan U. Fletcher Dolly Madison Robert Lansing Victor Herbert Julius Rosenwald Walter L. Fleming Salvador Brau Harold T. Andrews Russell Sage William W. Loring Minnie M. Fiske John W. Griffiths Augustus Saint-Gaudens John M. Brooke Rebecca Lukens Alanson B. Houghton Samuel G. French Thomas LeValley Josephine Shaw Lowell Richard V. Oulahan James H. Kimball Stephen Furdek Jean Ribaut LeBaron Russell Briggs Howard Gray H. H. Raymond T. A. Johnston M. Michael Edelstein William D. Bloxham Nick Stoner William E. Dodd J. H. Drummond William L. Watson John R. McQuigg Carl E. Ladd Pedro Menendez George Ade Edward K. Collins C. Francis Jenkins Raymond V. Ingersoll Benjamin F. Coston William P. Duval Stepas Darius Alexander E. Brown Chief Osceola Richard Halliburton Samuel G. Howe Granville S. Hall Stephen Smith Charles D. Walcott Art Young Charles H. Marshall Ransom A. Moore Soter Ortynsky Bjarne A. Lia Wendell L. Willkie
Type Z-EC2-S-C2 ships "Army tank transports"	Mary Ball John Barton Payne Frederic C. Howe William B. Wilson Sarah J. Hale Nathan B. Forrest Stephen R. Mallory Edgar E Clark
Type Z-EC2-S-C5 ships "Boxed aircraft transports"	Frederick E. Williamson Michael James Monohan Charles A. Draper Rafael R. Rivera James W. Wheeler Raymond Van Brogan William J. Riddle Dudley H. Thomas John L. McCarley Vernon S. Hood Edwin D. Howard Wesley W. Barrett Warren P. Marks Frank O. Peterson Barney Kirschbaum Mary Cullom Kimbro James G. Squires James F. Harrell Claude Kitchin Francis J. O'Gara Frank Flowers Edwin H. Duff Joseph V. Connolly Walter W. Schwenk Charles H. Cugle Robert F. Burns Edward Burton Ora Ellis
Type T1-M-BT2 ships gasoline tankers

History

United States
Name	Stepas Darius
Namesake	Steponas Darius
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2320
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost	$989,881^[1]
Yard number	61
Way number	6
Laid down	14 August 1944
Launched	25 Septembert 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. Harley Ferguson
Completed	10 October 1944
Identification	Call sign: WSSW ^[1]
Fate	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 27 June 1946
Status	Sold for commercial use, 10 January 1947, withdrawn from fleet, 24 January 1947
Panama
Name	MANDO
Owner
Status	Grounded, 21 January 1955
General characteristics ^[2]
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