SS Mary Ball

History
United States
Name	Mary Ball
Namesake	Mary Ball Washington
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	United Fruit Co.
Ordered	as type (Z-EC2-S-C2) hull, MC hull 1534
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost	$2,143,464
Yard number	16
Way number	1
Laid down	20 July 1943
Launched	17 October 1943
Completed	23 November 1943
Identification	Call Signal: KYHQ
Fate	Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 20 June 1946 Sold for scrapping, 28 October 1971
General characteristics
Class and type	type Z-EC2-S-C2, army tank transport
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 Filer and Stowell, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 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-inch (76 mm)/50-caliber gun Stern-mounted 4-inch (102 mm)/50-caliber gun 2–8 × single 20-millimeter (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons and/or, 2–8 × 37-millimeter (1.46 in) M1 AA guns

SS Mary Ball was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Mary Ball, the mother of George Washington, the first President of the United States.

Construction

Mary Ball was laid down on 20 July 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1534, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; she was launched on 17 October 1943.

History

She was allocated to United Fruit Co., on 23 November 1943. On 20 June 1946, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in Mobile, Alabama. On 28 October 1971, she was sold, along with 13 other ships, for $513,800, to Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation, to be scrapped. She was removed from the fleet on 17 April 1972.

Bibliography

• "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
• Maritime Administration. "Mary Ball". 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 27 November 2017.
• "SS Mary Ball". Retrieved 11 December 2019.