SS Joseph Stanton

History
United States
Name	Joseph Stanton
Namesake	Joseph Stanton
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Agwilines Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 304
Awarded	1 May 1941
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[2]
Cost	$1,074,509[1]
Yard number	2054
Way number	14
Laid down	2 May 1942
Launched	4 July 1942
Sponsored by	Miss Ruth Reece
Completed	18 July 1942
Identification	Call sign: KFJX [1]
Fate	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 29 March 1948 Sold for scrapping, 27 March 1964, withdrawn from fleet, 17 April 1964
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 Worthington Pump & Machinery Corp, Harrison, New Jersey) 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 Joseph Stanton was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Joseph Stanton, an American military officer during the American Revolutionary War, raising to the rank of major general, in the Continental Army, in command of the Rhode Island Militia. He was a delegate to the Rhode Island Constitutional Convention in 1790, which ratified the United States Constitution and enabled Rhode Island, to be the last of the 13 colonies to join the Union. He was elected by the General Assembly to serve as one of the first two US Senators from Rhode Island, and served from 12 June 1790 to 3 March 1793, as a member of the Anti-Administration Party. He was later elected to the United States House of Representatives, where he served from 4 March 1801 to 3 March 1807, as a member of the Jeffersonian Democrat-Republican Party.

Construction[edit]

Joseph Stanton was laid down on 2 May 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 304, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Miss Ruth Reece, the niece of J.A. Bouslog, the manager of the Middle Atlantic District for MARCOM, and was launched on 4 July 1942.^[2][1]

History[edit]

She was allocated to Agwilines Inc., on 18 July 1942. On 24 October 1947, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina. On 27 March 1964, she was sold for scrapping to Northern Metal Co., for $45,045. She was removed from the fleet on 17 April 1964.^[4]

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