SS Benjamin F. Coston

History
United States
Name	Benjamin F. Coston
Namesake	Benjamin F. Coston
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Union Sulphur & Oil Co. Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2318
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost	$925,723
Yard number	59
Way number	3
Laid down	31 July 1944
Launched	6 September 1944
Completed	23 September 1944
Identification	Call sign: KSSN; ;
Fate	Placed in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York, 14 May 1946; Placed in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 21 September 1947; Sold for scrapping, 8 October 1964;
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-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 Benjamin F. Coston was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Benjamin F. Coston, a US Navy officer and scientist. Coston was the chief scientist at the Washington Navy Yard, and is credited with inventing the Coston Signal Flare.

Construction

Benjamin F. Coston was laid down on 31 July 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2318, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; and launched on 6 September 1944.^[3]^[1]

History

She was allocated to Union Sulphur & Oil Co., Inc., 23 September 1944. On 27 October 1945, she struck a mine while sailing to Genoa, Italy. On 14 May 1946, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York.^[4]

She was reallocated to Union Sulphur & Oil Co. Inc., 10 July 1946, 28 March 1947, and 15 August 1947, before being placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 21 September 1947.^[4]

She was sold for scrapping, 9 July 1964, to Imperial Salvage Corp., for $48,620. She was withdrawn from the fleet, 8 October 1964.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c MARCOM.
^ Davies 2004, p. 23.
^ J.A. Panama City 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c MARAD.

Bibliography

"Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
Maritime Administration. "Benjamin F. Coston". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 9 December 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
"SS Benjamin F. Coston". Retrieved 9 December 2019.

[FOOTNOTEMARCOM-1] MARCOM.

[FOOTNOTEDavies200423-2] Davies 2004, p. 23.

[FOOTNOTEJ.A._Panama_City2010-3] J.A. Panama City 2010.

[FOOTNOTEMARAD-4] MARAD.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e MARCOM ships built by Jones Construction, Wainwright Shipyards, Panama City, Florida, during World War II
Type EC2-S-C1 ships "Liberty Ships"	E. Kirby Smith Newton D. Baker John Bascom William J. Bryan Joseph M. Medill Elihu Root John Hay Dwight L. Moody Peter Zenger Harriet Hosmer Duncan U. Fletcher Dolly Madison Robert Lansing Victor Herbert Julius Rosenwald Walter L. Fleming Salvador Brau Harold T. Andrews Russell Sage William W. Loring Minnie M. Fiske John W. Griffiths Augustus Saint-Gaudens John M. Brooke Rebecca Lukens Alanson B. Houghton Samuel G. French Thomas LeValley Josephine Shaw Lowell Richard V. Oulahan James H. Kimball Stephen Furdek Jean Ribaut LeBaron Russell Briggs Howard Gray H. H. Raymond T. A. Johnston M. Michael Edelstein William D. Bloxham Nick Stoner William E. Dodd J. H. Drummond William L. Watson John R. McQuigg Carl E. Ladd Pedro Menendez George Ade Edward K. Collins C. Francis Jenkins Raymond V. Ingersoll Benjamin F. Coston William P. Duval Stepas Darius Alexander E. Brown Chief Osceola Richard Halliburton Samuel G. Howe Granville S. Hall Stephen Smith Charles D. Walcott Art Young Charles H. Marshall Ransom A. Moore Soter Ortynsky Bjarne A. Lia Wendell L. Willkie
Type Z-EC2-S-C2 ships "Army tank transports"	Mary Ball John Barton Payne Frederic C. Howe William B. Wilson Sarah J. Hale Nathan B. Forrest Stephen R. Mallory Edgar E Clark
Type Z-EC2-S-C5 ships "Boxed aircraft transports"	Frederick E. Williamson Michael James Monohan Charles A. Draper Rafael R. Rivera James W. Wheeler Raymond Van Brogan William J. Riddle Dudley H. Thomas John L. McCarley Vernon S. Hood Edwin D. Howard Wesley W. Barrett Warren P. Marks Frank O. Peterson Barney Kirschbaum Mary Cullom Kimbro James G. Squires James F. Harrell Claude Kitchin Francis J. O'Gara Frank Flowers Edwin H. Duff Joseph V. Connolly Walter W. Schwenk Charles H. Cugle Robert F. Burns Edward Burton Ora Ellis
Type T1-M-BT2 ships Tonti-class gasoline tankers	Tancred Tandora Tannadice Tantallon Tanova Tannaquil

History

United States
Name	Benjamin F. Coston
Namesake	Benjamin F. Coston
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Union Sulphur & Oil Co. Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2318
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost	$925,723^[1]
Yard number	59
Way number	3
Laid down	31 July 1944
Launched	6 September 1944
Completed	23 September 1944
Identification	Call sign: KSSN ^[1]
Fate	Placed in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York, 14 May 1946 Placed in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 21 September 1947 Sold for scrapping, 8 October 1964
General characteristics ^[2]
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-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