SS John P. Poe

History
United States
Name	John P. Poe
Namesake	John P. Poe
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	A.H. Bull & Co., Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 54
Awarded	14 March 1941
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1]
Cost	$1,086,227[2]
Yard number	2041
Way number	12
Laid down	24 May 1942
Launched	24 July 1942
Sponsored by	Mrs. Charles J. Bekay
Completed	31 July 1942
Identification	Call sign: KGFR [2]
Fate	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 30 November 1949 Sold for scrapping, 28 October 1971, withdrawn from fleet, 21 December 1971
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 Ellicott Machine Corp., Baltimore, Maryland) 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 John P. Poe was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after John P. Poe, the Attorney General of Maryland, from 1891 to 1895. Poe was the nephew of the poet Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was a lawyer as well as a leading member of the Maryland Democratic Party, and served as Dean of the University of Maryland School of Law.

John P. Poe was laid down on 24 May 1942, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 54, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. Charles J. Bekay, the niece of Vice Admiral Emory S. Land, the Chairman of MARCOM, and was launched on 24 July 1942.^[1][2]

She was allocated to A.H. Bull & Co., Inc., on 31 July 1942. On 30 November 1949, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama. She was sold for scrapping on 28 October 1971, to Union Minerals & Alloys Corp. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 21 December 1971.^[4]