SS Walter W. Schwenk

SS Walter W. Schwenk was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Walter W. Schwenk, a World War I Navy veteran. Before World War II Schwenk worked with Blake Line, Consolidated Navigation Corporation, and Southgate–Nelson Corporation. In 1940, he joined the US Maritime Commission (MARCOM), and later the War Shipping Administration (WSA), February 1942. On 15 April 1944, he was appointed the Atlantic Coast director of the WSA, responsible for all cargo and ship movement on the East Coast.

History
United States
Name	Walter W. Schwenk
Namesake	Walter W. Schwenk
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	United States Lines Co.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C5) hull, MC hull 3144
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost	$876,300
Yard number	104
Way number	6
Laid down	9 June 1945
Launched	21 July 1945
Completed	22 August 1945
Identification	Call sign: AOFF
Fate	Placed in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, California, 24 August 1946 Laid up in the, National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 10 August 1949 Sold for scrapping, 22 February 1972, removed from fleet, 3 March 1972
General characteristics
Class and type	Liberty ship type EC2-S-C5, boxed aircraft transport
Tonnage	10,600 LT DWT 7,200 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 Filer and Stowell, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 1 × screw propeller
Speed	11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity	490,000 cubic feet (13,875 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

Construction

Walter W. Schwenk was laid down on 9 June 1945, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 3144, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; she was launched on 21 July 1945.

History

She was allocated to United States Lines Co., 22 August 1945. On 24 August 1946, she was placed in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, California. On 10 August 1949, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama. She was sold for scrapping, 22 February 1972, to Pinto Island Metals Co., for $36,500. She was withdrawn from the fleet, 3 March 1972.

Bibliography

• "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
• Maritime Administration. "Walter W. Schwenk". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
• "SS Walter W. Schwenk". Retrieved 13 December 2019.
• "Walter W. Schwenk". The Herald Statesman. Yonkers, New York. 13 March 1945.