SS Arthur M. Huddell

SS Hellas Liberty in Piraeus Port, Greece after major restoration (2010)
History
United States
Name	Arthur M. Huddell
Namesake	Arthur M Huddell
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	A. H. Bull Steamship Company
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 1215
Builder	St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida[2]
Cost	$1,401,249[1]
Yard number	23
Way number	5
Laid down	25 October 1943
Launched	7 December 1943
Sponsored by	Mrs. Arthur M. Huddell
Completed	18 December 1943
Identification	U.S. official number: 244760 Call sign: KVDD [1]
Fate	Laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 25 September 1945 Laid up in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, California, 11 October 1957 Laid up in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, California, 10 July 1964 Laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 22 August 1983
Status	Donated to Greece, 2008
Greece
Name	Hellas Liberty
Acquired	2008
Identification	IMO number: 5025706 Call sign: SVAD8
Status	Converted to a museum ship
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 Filer and Stowell, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 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

37°56′33″N 23°37′51″E / 37.942414°N 23.630944°E / 37.942414; 23.630944 SS Arthur M. Huddell is a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II and is now a museum ship, SS Hellas Liberty, in Greece.

She was named after Arthur M. Huddell, an American union leader. Huddell had been president of the Boston Central Labor Union, vice president of the International Engineers’ Union, and president of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE).

From delivery on 18 December 1943, the ship was operated by an agent for the War Shipping Administration until laid up in September 1945, with a brief operating period in 1947. Between October 1947 and February 1956, the ship was in long-term layup. In 1956, Arthur M. Huddell began operations as a cable transport for the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T).

The Historic American Engineering Record for the ship notes its significance as an existing Liberty ship example, its role in Operation PLUTO (pipeline-under-the-sea), its later work as a cable transport for the AT&T communications cable installations, and for the installation of the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) until 1983. In 2009, Arthur M. Huddell was donated to Greece to serve as the museum ship Hellas Liberty. The fully restored ship is on display in the Port of Piraeus, Athens.