History
United States
Name	Sarah J. Hale
Namesake	Sarah J. Hale
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	International Freighting Corporation
Ordered	as type (Z-EC2-S-C2) hull, MC hull 1538
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost	$1,556,155[1]
Yard number	20
Way number	6
Laid down	29 September 1943
Launched	24 November 1943
Completed	31 December 1943
Identification	Call Signal: KVCF [1]
Fate	Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, Virginia, 1 October 1945 Sold for scrapping, 31 Jul 1972
General characteristics [2]
Class and type	type Z-EC2-S-C2, army tank transport
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 Sarah J. Hale was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Sarah J. Hale, the author of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb", she campaigned for the creation of the American holiday known as Thanksgiving and for the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument, editor of Ladies' Magazine, and founder of the Seaman's Aid Society in 1833, to assist the surviving families of Boston sailors who died at sea.

Construction

Sarah J. Hale was laid down on 29 September 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1538, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida; she was launched on 24 November 1943.^[3][1]

History

She was allocated to International Freighting Corporation, on 31 December 1943. She was one of eight special ships, a Z-EC2-S-C2, a Tank carrier. She was built with larger cargo hold hatches and stronger crane lifts. J.A.Jones Construction built the eight Z-EC2-S-C2 Tank carrier in 1943. ^[4] On 1 October 1945, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in the James River Group, Lee Hall, Virginia. On 31 July 1972, she was sold for $77,100 to N.V. Intershitra, Rotterdam, for scrapping. She was removed from the fleet on 25 August 1972.^[5][6]