History
United States
Name	Royal S. Copeland
Namesake	Royal S. Copeland
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Parry Navigation Co.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1219
Builder	St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida[1]
Cost	$1,350,960[2]
Yard number	27
Way number	3
Laid down	24 November 1943
Launched	11 January 1944
Completed	22 January 1944
Identification	Call sign: KVMS [2]
Fate	Sold to France, 8 November 1946, removed from fleet, 13 December 1946
France
Name	Les Glieres
Owner	France
Operator	Cie. Messageries Maritimes
Fate	Sold, 1959
Lebanon
Name	Nictric
Owner	Cia. Estrella Blanc Lda.
Operator	Wigham Richardson and Co.
Fate	Scrapped, 1968 following Cargo fire, 14 June 1967
General characteristics [3]
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 Royal S. Copeland was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Royal S. Copeland, a United States senator from New York from 1923 until 1938, was an academic, homeopathic physician, and politician.

Construction

Royal S. Copeland was laid down on 24 November 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 1219, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; and was launched on 11 January 1944.^[1][2]

History

She was allocated to Parry Navigation Co., on 22 January 1944. On 7 June 1946, she was laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York. She was sold, 8 November 1946, to France, for $544,506, for commercial use. She was removed from the fleet on 13 December 1946.^[4]

Royal S. Copeland was renamed Les Glieres in 1947. She was sold to Cia. Estrella Blanca, in 1959, reflagged in Lebanon, and renamed Nictric. On 14 June 1967, her cargo of coal caught fire in Chittagong Roads. She was scrapped in 1968 in Taiwan.

References

Bibliography