SS Caesar Rodney

SS Caesar Rodney was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Founding Father Caesar Rodney, an American lawyer and politician from St. Jones Neck in Dover Hundred, Kent County, Delaware, east of Dover. He was an officer of the Delaware militia during the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, a Continental Congressman from Delaware, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and President of Delaware during most of the American Revolution.

History
United States
Name	Caesar Rodney
Namesake	Caesar Rodney
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	International Freighting Corp.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 916
Awarded	1 January 1942
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland
Cost	$1,045,796
Yard number	2066
Way number	13
Laid down	9 August 1942
Launched	21 September 1942
Sponsored by	Mrs. Frank W. Burgess
Completed	30 September 1942
Identification	Call sign: KHJW
Fate	Sold for scrapping, 24 November 1959
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 Ellicott Machine Corp., Baltimore, Maryland) 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

Construction

Caesar Rodney was laid down on 9 August 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 916, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. Frank W. Burgess, the wife of a yard employee, and was launched on 21 September 1942.

History

She was allocated to International Freighting Corporation, on 30 September 1942. On 15 December 1948, she was laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia. On 24 November 1959, she was sold for scrapping to Walsh Construction Co., for $73,825. She was removed from the fleet on 29 January 1960.

Bibliography

• "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
• Maritime Administration. "Caesar Rodney". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
• Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
• "SS Caesar Rodney". Retrieved 6 March 2020.