JOHN WITHERSPOON
Year Built
1942
Official Number
--
Shipyard
Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard
General Type
General Cargo
Specific Type
Break Bulk
MARAD Type
--
Ship Length
441.00 feet
Beam
57.00 feet
Mast Height
--
Net Tons
4389.00 tons
Gross Tons
7191.00 tons
Cargo Capacity
499816.00 square feet
Draft, Summer
--
Draft, Lightweight
--
Displacement, Summer
--
Displacement, Lightweight
--
Immersion, Summer
--
Immersion, Lightweight
--
Fate
Sunk - Torpedo
Historical Narrative
This Liberty ship was named for John Witherspoon (1723-1794). John Witherspoon was clergyman and statesman. Witherspoon was a New Jersey delegate to the Second Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence.
MARAD has no written
history for the Liberty ship John Witherspoon at
this time.
Vessel Name History
Mission
No Mission for this vessel
Historical Documents
| Name | Download |
|---|---|
| SYSTEM UPLOAD |
|
| SYSTEM UPLOAD |
|
Milestones
| No events for this vessel |
|---|
Ship Imagery
No images for this vessel
Status Cards
Documents
| Date | Type | Name | Download | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (No Date) | JOHN WITHERSPOON.pdf |
|
||
| (No Date) | Historical | SYSTEM UPLOAD |
|
|
| (No Date) | Historical | SYSTEM UPLOAD |
|
Plans
No documents for this vessel
Shipwreck Information
Vessel Information
Owner
U.S. Maritime Commission
Operator
Seas Shipping Company
Operator Agreement
General Agent Agreement
Flag State
United States
Incident Information
Incident Date
July 06, 1942
Use at Loss
Cargo Transportation
Cause
Sunk - Torpedo
Cause Comments
Torpedoed by German submarine U-255 while en route from Baltimore, Maryland, to Archangel, Russia, as part of PQ-17.
Conflict
World War II
Location of Incident
Barents Sea
Accuracy of Incident Location
Historic 1
Lat/Long
72° 05' N., 48° 30' E.
Incident Location Comments
Approximately 20 miles off the west coast of Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, Russia
Lives Lost
1
