.jpg) Rufus King broken in two after hitting sandbar.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Rufus King |
| Owner | Maritime Administration |
| Operator | War Shipping Administration |
| Port of registry | Los Angeles, California |
| Builder | California Shipbuilding, Los Angeles CA |
| Way number | 14 |
| Laid down | 6 October 1941 |
| Launched | 11 March 1942 |
| Completed | 29 May 1942 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Wrecked 7 July 1942 |
| Notes | The vessel does not appear in Merchant Vessels of the United States for fiscal year ending June 30, 1942 and only appears in the 1943 registry as a casualty (with location error) so some U.S. registry details are missing. Lloyd's Register has GRT corrected and some dimensions stricken. |
| General characteristics [2] | |
| Type | Liberty (EC2-S-C1) |
| Tonnage | 7,176 GRT, 4,380 NRT, 10,807 DWT |
| Displacement | 14,230 tons |
| Length | 422 ft (128.6 m) |
| Beam | 57 ft (17.4 m) |
| Depth | 27.8 ft (8.5 m) |
| Propulsion | Triple expansion 3 cyl steam engine[1] |
| Speed | 12.5 kn (14.4 mph; 23.2 km/h) |
| Capacity | 499,573 cu ft (14,146.3 m3) (bale) |
SS Rufus King was a standard Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Founding Father Rufus King, and was wrecked in July 1942, upon Amity Bar South of Moreton Island and north of North Stradbroke Island, Queensland, Australia. She was operated by International Freighting Corporation under charter with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration.
Cargo included nine crated bombers and medical supplies for twelve hospitals totaling 4,000 beds. The loss of the medical cargo would have been disastrous for medical service to forces in Australia. More than 85% of that cargo was salvaged by Australian salvage crews and U.S. Army medical personnel.
Ownership of the bow section was transferred to the U.S. Army, salvaged and converted in Australia into a repair facility for supporting the U.S. Army Small Ships Section water craft and vessels and dubbed "Half Rufus"[note 1] serving at Milne Bay and Finschhafen during the New Guinea Campaign through 1945.
The stern section remains in place and is now a dive site.
- ^ a b Lloyds. "Lloyd's Register 1942-43". Lloyd's Register. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
MARADwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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