History
United States
Name	Laura Bridgman
Namesake	Laura Bridgman
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2382
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Brunswick, Georgia
Cost	$892,876[1]
Yard number	167
Way number	3
Laid down	23 September 1944
Launched	30 October 1944
Sponsored by	Ida Purcell
Completed	13 November 1944
Identification	Call Signal: KTAF [1]
Fate	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Group, Suisun Bay, California, 16 October 1945 Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River Group, 13 July 1950 Sold for commercial use, 17 January 1950
United States
Name	Catherine
Owner	Drytrans
Acquired	17 January 1950
Fate	Sold, September 1957
Liberia
Acquired	September 1957
Fate	Sold, 14 May 1958
United States
Name	Penn Explorer
Owner	Penntrans Co.
Acquired	14 May 1958
Fate	Sold, 29 November 1961
Liberia
Acquired	29 November 1961
Fate	Scrapped, 1968
General characteristics [2]
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 Laura Bridgman was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Laura Bridgman, the first deaf-blind American child to gain a significant education in the English language.

Construction

Laura Bridgman was laid down on 23 September 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2382, by J.A. Jones Construction, Brunswick, Georgia; she was sponsored by Ida Purcell, the wife of bishop Clare Purcell, and launched on 30 October 1944.^[3][1]

History

She was allocated to Seas Shipping Co., Inc., on 13 November 1944. On 16 October 1945, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in the Suisun Bay Group. She was removed from the fleet on 26 June 1950, to be loaded with grain, she relocated to the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in the Hudson River Group, on 13 July 1950. On 12 December 1950, she was withdrawn from the fleet to be unloaded, she returned to the fleet empty on 19 December 1950. On 17 January 1951, she was sold to Drytrans, Inc., and renamed Catherine. In September 1957, she was transferred to a Liberian shipping company. On 14 May 1958, she was sold to Penntrans Co., and renamed Penn Explorer. She was again sold to a Liberian company on 29 November 1961. She was scrapped in 1968.^[4][5]