SS Daniel Chester French

History
United States
Name	Daniel Chester French
Namesake	Daniel Chester French
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Stockard Steamship Corp.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 924
Awarded	30 January 1942
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland
Cost	$1,061,765
Yard number	2074
Way number	14
Laid down	12 October 1942
Launched	12 November 1942
Sponsored by	Mrs. Conrad Fretzer
Completed	30 November 1942
Identification	Call sign: KHQA
Fate	Struck a mines and sunk off Bizerta, Tunisia, 6 March 1944
General characteristics
Class & 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 Ellicott Machine Corp., Baltimore, Maryland) 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 Daniel Chester French was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Daniel Chester French, an American sculptor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from New Hampshire.

Construction

Daniel Chester French was laid down on 12 October 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 924, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. Conrad Fretzer, and was launched on 12 November 1942.

History

She was allocated to Stockard Steamship Corp., on 30 November 1942.

On 6 March 1944, while traveling in a Convoy UGS 33 to Bandar Shapur from Philadelphia, she struck two mines at her forward holds on the starboard side. She was struck at 0820, ordered to abandon at 0835, and sunk at 0900. Daniel Chester French had been carrying general cargo, munitions, and 86 troops at the time, in addition to her ship crew of eight officers, one radioman, and thirty-five unlicensed sailors, and her gun crew of one officer and twenty-seven enlisted seamen. Thirty-seven men, thirteen of the ships crew, and 24 troops, were drowned.

Wreck location: 37°18′N 10°22′E

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 July 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
• Maritime Administration. "Daniel Chester French". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
• "SS Daniel Chester French". Retrieved 28 May 2021.