SS Peter Zenger

History
United States
Name	Peter Zenger
Namesake	Peter Zenger
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	A.H. Bull & Co. Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1527
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost	$1,852,957
Yard number	9
Way number	3
Laid down	31 March 1943
Launched	4 July 1943
Completed	31 July 1943
Identification	Call Signal: KORL
Fate	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Astoria, Oregon, 11 October 1946 Sold for scrapping, 19 July 1966
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 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 Peter Zenger was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after John Peter Zenger, a printer and journalist in New York City that printed The New York Weekly Journal. He was accused of libel in 1734, by William Cosby, the governor of New York, but the jury acquitted Zenger, who became a symbol for freedom of the press.

Construction

Peter Zenger was laid down on 31 March 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1527, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; she was launched on 4 July 1943.

History

She was allocated to A.H. Bull & Co. Inc., on 31 July 1943. On 11 October 1946, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in Astoria, Oregon. On 22 July 1954, she was withdrawn from the fleet to be loaded with grain under the "Grain Program 1954", she returned loaded with grain on 4 August 1954. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 20 May 1963, to have the grain unloaded, she returned empty on 25 May 1963. On 19 July 1966, she was sold for $45,355.55 to American Ship Dismantlers, Inc., for scrapping. She was removed from the fleet on 5 August 1966.

See also

• Convoy UGS-40

Bibliography

• "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
• Maritime Administration. "Peter Zenger". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
• "SS Peter Zenger". Retrieved 11 December 2019.