SS Junipero Serra

SS Junipero Serra

A Liberty ship at sea
History
United States
Name	Junipero Serra
Namesake	Junípero Serra
Owner	War Shipping Administration
Operator	Sudden & Christenson Company
Builder	California Shipbuilding Corporation
Yard number	292
Way number	43
Laid down	20 May 1942
Launched	30 June 1942
Completed	12 July 1942
Fate	Scrapped, 1959 in Seattle
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 Junipero Serra was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. The ship was operated by the War Shipping Administration. In 1959, the ship was scrapped in Seattle, meeting the same fate as most other Liberty ships.

Career

Junipero Serra was laid down on 20 May 1942 as Yard Number 292 by the California Shipbuilding Corporation (Calship) in Los Angeles. The ship was launched on 30 June 1942 and was completed on 12 July 1942. The ship, named after the Spanish priest and missionary Junípero Serra y Ferrer, was Calship's 42nd Liberty ship completed. It took 41 days to complete, surpassing Calship's previous record of quickest Liberty ship built by 18 days; the previous record was held by the SS Joseph McKenna.

For World War II she was operated by Sudden & Christenson Company for the United States Maritime Commission. She was built under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. United States Navy Armed Guard manned the deck guns.

The ship was scrapped in February 1959 in Seattle.

References

Bibliography

• American Society of Marine Engineers, ed. (1942). The Log, Volume 37. Miller Freeman Publications. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
• Davies, James (May 2004). ""Liberty" Cargo Ship – Feature Article" (PDF). ww2ships.com. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
• Shaw, Alexander (1961). Liberty Ships: Twenty Years Later. Retrieved 3 February 2022.