SS Henry B. Plant

History
United States
Name	Henry B. Plant
Namesake	Henry B. Plant
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	A.L. Burbank & Co., Ltd.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2510
Awarded	23 April 1943
Builder	St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida
Cost	$936,892
Yard number	74
Way number	2
Laid down	9 November 1944
Launched	11 December 1944
Sponsored by	Agnes Veronica O'Mahoney
Completed	19 December 1944
Identification	Call sign: KYUP; ;
Fate	Torpedoed and sunk, 6 February 1945, by German submarine U-245
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 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 Henry B. Plant was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Henry B. Plant, an American businessman, entrepreneur, investor involved with many transportation interests and projects, mostly railroads, in the southeastern United States. In the 1880s, most of his accumulated railroad and steamship lines were combined into the Plant System, which later became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.

Construction

Henry B. Plant was laid down on 9 November 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2510, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; she was sponsored by Agnes Veronica O'Mahoney, the wife of the US Senator Joseph C. O'Mahoney, from Wyoming, and was launched on 11 December 1944.^[1]^[2]

She was allocated to the A.L.Burbank & Co.Ltd., on 19 December 1944. On 6 February 1945, she was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-245, in the Straits of Dover, at 51°19′N 1°42′E / 51.317°N 1.700°E / 51.317; 1.700, and declared an Actual Total Loss. Henry B. Plant had been transporting 9,300 LT (9,400 t) of cargo, originating in New York, to Antwerp. She was the last ship of Convoy TAM-71 about 17 nmi (31 km; 20 mi) from Ramsgate, when lookouts spotted a U-boat 300 yd (270 m) off starboard. With no time to evade, a torpedo struck the #4 hold. At the time she had a crew of eight officers, 33 crewmen, and 28 Armed Guards, she was also carrying one passenger, an Army security officer. One lifeboat and four rafts were launched, but one officer, eight crewmen, and seven Armed Guards were drowned. The remaining were picked up by HMS Hazard (J02) and HMS Sir Lancelot (LT228).^[4]^[5]^[6]

"St. John's River Shipbuilding, Jacksonville FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 16 October 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
Maritime Administration. "Henry B. Plant". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
"SS Henry B. Plant". Retrieved 10 February 2020.
"SS Henry B. Plant". www.Wrecksite.eu. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
"SS Henry B. Plant". www.Uboat.net. Retrieved 10 February 2020.