SS Rufus W. Peckham

History
United States
Name	Rufus W. Peckham
Namesake	Rufus W. Peckham
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	A.H. Bull & Co. Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 940
Awarded	30 January 1942
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost	$1,073,464[2]
Yard number	2090
Way number	7
Laid down	22 December 1942
Launched	13 February 1943
Completed	28 February 1943
Identification	Call sign: KKAQ [2]
Fate	Laid up in Reserve Fleet, 8 October 1948, sold for service 27 February 1951
United States
Owner	Phoenix SS Corp.
Renamed	Seagale
Fate	Sold, October 1951
United States
Owner	Seatraders Inc.
Operator	Orion Shipping & Trading Co.
Renamed	Sea Gale
Fate	Sold, May 1953
United States
Owner	Trident Transportation Corp.
Renamed	Nicholas C. H.
Fate	Sold, June 1954
Panama
Name	Pitsa H.'
Owner	Mendoza Cia. Nav.
Operator	Trident Transportation Corp. (1954-1956) Jason Shipping & Trading Corp. (1956-1958)
Fate	Sold, 10 December 1958
United States
Owner	Ocean Carriers Corp.
Renamed	Valiant Effort
Fate	Sunk, 17 January 1959
General characteristics [3]
Class & 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 Rufus W. Peckham was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Rufus W. Peckham, an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, from 1896 to 1909.

Rufus W. Peckham was laid down on 22 December 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 940, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was launched on 13 February 1943.^[1][2]

She was allocated to the A.H. Bull & Co. Inc., on 28 February 1943.^[4]

On 8 October 1948, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in Astoria, Oregon. On 25 January 1951, she was sold to Phoenix SS Corp.. After numerous name changes and sales to other shipping companies, she was wrecked and sunk, on 17 January 1959, Tunisia, after her steering gear failed in heavy weather. She beached herself near Ras el Djebel, after she was abandoned by her crew.^[4]