SS Waigstill Avery

History
United States
NameWaigstill Avery
NamesakeWaightstill Avery
BuilderNorth Carolina Shipbuilding Company, Wilmington, North Carolina
Yard number88
Way number7
Laid down24 March 1943
Launched22 April 1943
Out of service1947
Honors and
awards
1 × battle star
FateScrapped 1960
General characteristics
TypeLiberty ship
Tonnage7,000 long tons deadweight (DWT)
Length441 ft 6 in (134.57 m)
Beam56 ft 11 in (17.35 m)
Draft27 ft 9 in (8.46 m)
Propulsion
  • Two oil-fired boilers
  • Triple expansion steam engine
  • Single screw
  • 2,500 hp (1,864 kW)
Speed11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Capacity9,140 tons cargo
Complement41
Armament

SS Waigstill Avery (MC contract 910) was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Waightstill Avery, the first Attorney General of North Carolina who fought a duel with Andrew Jackson in 1788.

The ship was laid down by North Carolina Shipbuilding Company in their Cape Fear River yard on March 24, 1943, and launched on April 22, 1943.[1] Avery was chartered to the Polarus Steamship Company until October 1947 by the War Shipping Administration. A.L. Burbank delivered her to the Wilmington Fleet of the National Defense Reserve Fleet in November 1947. The vessel was sold for scrap in 1960.[2]

Awards[edit]

The Avery's Naval Armed Guard detachment received one battle star for World War II service during Convoy UGS-37, when the convoy came under air attack.[3][4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "North Carolina Shipbuilding". shipbuildinghistory.com. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
  2. ^ "Waigstill Avery". MARAD Vessel History Database. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
  3. ^ "U.S. Merchant Marine Ships whose Naval Armed Guard crews earned "Battle Stars" in World War II - Ships with names "N to Z"". American Merchant Marine at War. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
  4. ^ Kowalzyk, A.M. (April 18, 1944). "Anti-Aircraft Action of 11-12 April 1944, While Escorting Convoy UGS37". Fold3. Retrieved 2019-01-14.