SS Mary (1920)

History
United States
Name	Cody (1920–1939) Mary (1939–1942)
Owner	USSB (1920–1930) Tampa Interocean Steamship Co. (1930–1939) Bull Insular Steamship (1939–1942)
Builder	American International Shipbuilding Corporation, Philadelphia
Yard number	1535[1]
Launched	19 June 1920
Completed	September 1920
Identification	US Official Number 220608[1] code letters: MBLF (1920–1933) call sign KDEX (1934–1942)[2]
Fate	Sunk, 3 March 1942
General characteristics
Type	Design 1022 cargo ship
Tonnage	5,104 GRT 3,113 NRT 7,825 DWT
Length	390.0 ft (118.9 m)
Beam	54.2 ft (16.5 m)
Depth	27.8 ft (8.5 m)
Installed power	Oil-fired steam turbines,[1] 2500 ihp[3]
Propulsion	Single screw
Speed	11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)[3]
Range	9,000 miles[4]

SS Mary was a Design 1022 cargo ship built for the United States Shipping Board immediately after World War I.

History

She was laid down at yard number 1535 at the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania shipyard of the American International Shipbuilding Corporation, one of 110 Design 1022 cargo ships built for the United States Shipping Board.^[1] She was completed in 1920 and named Cody.^[1][3] In 1930, she was purchased by Tampa Interocean Steamship Company.^[1] In 1939, she was purchased by Bull-Insular Steamship Company (A.H. Bull & Co) and renamed SS Mary.^[1] On February 7, 1942, she collided with the U.S. freighter SS Palimol at 24°50′N 66°0′W and made her way to San Juan, Puerto Rico for repairs.^[5][6] On March 3, 1942, she was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-129, 250 miles northeast of Paramaribo, Suriname (08°25′N 52°50′W).^[7] Survivors were picked up by the freighter SS Alcoa Scout.^[8]

Citations

1. McKellar, p. Part II, 588.
2. Fifty Second Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States - Seagoing vessels, Arranged in Order of Signal Letters. p. 90.
3. Marine Review 1921, p. 97.
4. Fifty Second Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States - Seagoing Merchant Steam Vessels of 500 Gross Tons and Over Fitted For Burning Oil Fuel. p. 463.
5. "Eastern Sea Frontier - Enemy Action Diary - February 7, 1942". uboatarchive.net/. Retrieved 20 July 2021. S.S. MARY sent out distress signal. At 1938, S.S. MARY radioed "O.K., O.K., proceeding nearest port. Collision." Later coded wireless message from S.S. MARY to Bull Steamship Co., "SS MARY in collision with S.S. PALIMOL 24-50N; 66W., proceeding San Juan course 181. Damage to forepeak.
6. Cressman, Robert (2000). The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. 2016. ISBN 9781557501493.
7. Cressman, p.166
8. Cressman, p.168

References

• "1939-1940 Mary" (PDF). Lloyd's Register of Ships. 1939.

Bibliography

• McKellar, Norman L. "Steel Shipbuilding under the U. S. Shipping Board, 1917-1921, Part II, Contract Steel Ships, p. 588" (PDF). Steel Shipbuilding under the U. S. Shipping Board, 1917-1921. ShipScribe. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
• Marine Review (1921). "1920 Construction Record of U.S. Yards -Cody". The Marine Review. 51 (February). New York: 97. Retrieved 27 March 2021.

External links

• EFC Design 1022: Illustrations