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History
United States
Name	Stepas Darius
Namesake	Steponas Darius
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	William J. Rountree Company
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2320
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost	$989,881
Yard number	61
Way number	6
Laid down	14 August 1944
Launched	25 September 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. Harley Ferguson
Completed	10 October 1944
Identification	Call sign: WSSW; ;
Fate	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 27 June 1946; Sold for commercial use, 10 January 1947, withdrawn from fleet, 24 January 1947;
Panama
Name	MANDO
Owner	Compania de Navegacion Phoceana de Panama
Fate	Grounded, 21 January 1955
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 Stepas Darius was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Steponas Darius, a Lithuanian American pilot, who died in a non-stop flight attempt with Lituanica from New York City to Kaunas, Lithuania, in 1933.

Construction

Stepas Darius was laid down on 14 August 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2320, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; sponsored by Mrs. Harley Ferguson, wife of assistant general manager JAJCC; and launched on 25 September 1944.^[3]^[1]

History

She was allocated to William J. Rountree Company, 9 October 1944. On 27 June 1946, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia.^[4]

She was sold, on 10 January 1947, to Compania de Navegacion Phocena de Panama, for $562,854.89 and commercial use, she was renamed Mando. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 15 January 1947.^[4]

On 21 January 1955, while sailing from Hampton Roads to Rotterdam, with 9,000 st (130,000 lb; 57,000 kg) of coal, she ran aground off the Round Island, Scilly Islands, when her engines failed. She was declared a total loss.^[5]

Wreck located at: 49°34′58″N 6°12′05″W / 49.5827°N 06.2015°W / 49.5827; -06.2015

References

^ ^a ^b ^c MARCOM.
^ Davies 2004, p. 23.
^ J.A. Panama City 2010.
^ ^a ^b MARAD.
^ Historic England. "MANDO (1519482)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 9 December 2019.

Bibliography

"Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
Maritime Administration. "Stepas Darius". 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 Stepas Darius". Retrieved 9 December 2019.