SS Ora Ellis

History
United States
Name	Ora Ellis
Namesake	Ora Ellis
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Polarus Steamship Co., Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C5) hull, MC hull 3148
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost	$853,227
Yard number	108
Way number	6
Laid down	23 July 1945
Launched	26 September 1945
Completed	16 October 1945
Identification	Call sign: AOJA
Fate	Laid up in the, National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 3 January 1947 Sold for commercial use, 8 August 1947
United States
Name	Coral Sea
Owner	Coral Steamship Corp.
Fate	Sold, January 1951
United States
Name	Sea Coral
Owner	Orion Shipping and Trading Co.
Fate	Sold, January 1954
Liberia
Name	Seacoral Andro Coral
Owner	Coral Cia. Armadora
Renamed	1957
Fate	Grounded and sank, 18 May 1960
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

SS Ora Ellis was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Ora Ellis, a Merchant marine killed when U-506 torpedoed SS William C. McTarnahan, 35 mi (56 km) east of Ship Shoal Light, Louisiana, 16 May 1942.

Construction

Ora Ellis was laid down on 23 July 1945, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 3148, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; she was launched on 26 September 1945.

History

She was allocated to Polarus Steamship Co., Inc., on 16 October 1945. On 3 January 1947, she was laid up in the, National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama. She was sold, on 8 August 1947, to Coral Steamship Corp., for commercial use and renamed Coral Sea. On 18 May 1960, after having been sold to Coral Cia. Armmadora, renamed Andros Coral, and flagged in Liberia, she sank for a total loss when she was grounded in the Chacao Channel, Chile.

Bibliography

• "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
• Maritime Administration. "Ora Ellis". 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 Ora Ellis". Retrieved 13 December 2019.
• "THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE NAMES". Armed-guard.com. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
• "William C. McTarnahan". UBoat.net. Retrieved 13 December 2019.