SS Pierce Butler

History
United States
Name	Pierce Butler
Namesake	Pierce Butler
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Calmar Steamship Corp.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 306
Awarded	1 May 1941
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland
Cost	$1,077,718
Yard number	2056
Way number	16
Laid down	27 June 1942
Launched	18 August 1942
Sponsored by	Mrs. P.D. Daly
Completed	27 August 1942
Identification	Call sign: KFNL
Fate	Sunk by German submarine U-177, 20 November 1942
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 Pierce Butler was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Pierce Butler, a South Carolina, rice planter, slaveholder, politician, an officer in the American Revolutionary War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He served as a state legislator, a member of the Congress of the Confederation, a delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, and a member of the United States Senate.

Construction

Pierce Butler was laid down on 27 June 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 306, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. P.D. Daly, the wife of a yard employee, and was launched on 18 August 1942.

History

She was allocated to Calmar Steamship Corp., on 27 August 1942.

Sinking

Pierce Butler had set out from New York City for Suez, Egypt, with 8,900 LT (9,000 t) of general cargo. At 11:40, on the morning of 20 November 1942, while steaming unescorted in a nonevasive course at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph), Pierce Butler was struck by two torpedoes fired from the German submarine U-177, at 29°40′S 36°35′E. Both torpedoes struck Pierce Butler on the starboard side, one struck hold #5, while the other struck forward of the engine room. The crew sent out a distress signal, which was answered, and returned fire at U-177. Eight rounds were fired from the bow mounted 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber gun and seven rounds from the stern mounted 4-inch (100 mm)/50 caliber gun in an effort to keep U-177 submerged. It took ten minutes to secure the engines so that the crew of eight officers, 33 crewmen, and 21 Armed guards could abandon the ship in the four lifeboats. Pierce Butler sank at the stern at 12:10. The crew of U-177 questioned Pierce Butler's third mate and offered to send out a distress signal. The entire crew of 62 were rescued after about 20 hours when HMS Fortune picked them up and landed them at Durban, South Africa.

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
• Maritime Administration. "Pierce Butler". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
• "SS Pierce Butler". Retrieved 5 March 2020.
• "Pierce Butler". Retrieved 5 March 2020.