Editing SS Patrick Henry

{{Short description|Liberty ship of WWII}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image=SS Patrick Henry Liberty ship 1941.jpg
| Ship caption=''Patrick Henry'' September 1941
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header=
| Ship country= United States
| Ship flag= {{USN flag|1946}}
| Ship name=''Patrick Henry''
| Ship namesake=[[Patrick Henry]]
| Ship owner = [[War Shipping Administration]] (WSA)
| Ship operator = [[Lykes Brothers Steamship Co., Inc.]]
| Ship awarded = 14 March 1941
| Ship ordered = as type ([[Liberty ship|EC2-S-C1]]) hull, [[Maritime Commission|MCE]] hull 14
| Ship builder= [[Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard]], [[Baltimore]], Maryland{{sfn|Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards|2008}}
| Ship original cost=$1,613,203{{sfn|MARCOM}}
| Ship yard number= 2001
| Ship way number= 1
| Ship laid down= 30 April 1941
| Ship launched= 27 September 1941
| Ship completed= 30 December 1941
| Ship sponsor= [[Ilo Browne Wallace]]
| Ship identification = *[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]]: KIVU
*{{ICS|Kilo}}{{ICS|India}}{{ICS|Victor}}{{ICS|Uniform}}{{sfn|MARCOM}}
| Ship motto= 
| Ship fate=* Grounded off [[Florida]], July 1946
* Laid up in the [[National Defense Reserve Fleet]], [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]], Alabama, 22 August 1946
|*Sold for scrapping, 18 September 1958, withdrawn from fleet, 22 October 1958
| Ship notes=
| Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = {{sfn|Davies|2004|p=23}}
| Ship class ={{Liberty ship class}}
| Ship type =
| Ship tonnage = {{Liberty ship tonnage}}
| Ship displacement = {{Liberty ship displacement}}
| Ship length = {{Liberty ship length}}
| Ship beam = {{Liberty ship beam}}
| Ship draft = {{Liberty ship draft}}
| Ship capacity = {{Liberty ship cargo capacity}}
| Ship hold depth = 
| Ship power = {{Liberty ship power}}
| Ship propulsion = {{Liberty ship propulsion|8}}
| Ship complement = {{Liberty ship complement}}
| Ship armament = {{Liberty ship armament}}
| Ship speed = {{Liberty ship speed}}
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}

'''SS ''Patrick Henry''''' was the first [[Liberty ship]] launched. It was built by the [[Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation]] at their [[Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard]] in [[Baltimore]], Maryland. She was named after [[Patrick Henry]], an [[United States|American]] attorney, planter, and [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]] as well as the [[List of governors of Virginia|first and sixth]] post-colonial [[Governor of Virginia]], from 1776 to 1779 and 1784 to 1786.

==Background==
[[File:SS Patrick Henry launching on Liberty Fleet Day, 27 September 1941 (26580977380).jpg|300px|upright|right|thumb|''Patrick Henry'' launching on Liberty Fleet Day]]
Liberty ships initially had a poor public image and to try to assuage public opinion, 27 September 1941, was designated [[Liberty Fleet Day (Victory Fleet Day)|Liberty Fleet Day]], and the first 14 "Emergency" vessels were launched that day. The first of these (with MC hull number 14) was ''Patrick Henry'', launched by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].{{sfn|Sawyer|Mitchell|1985|pp= 7, 36, 117–118, 219}} Other "Emergency" vessels launched that day, in various yards around the country included: {{SS|John C. Fremont}}, {{SS|Louise Lykes|1941|6}}, {{SS|Ocean Venture}}, {{SS|Ocean Voice}}, {{SS|Star of Oregon}}, and {{SS|Steel Artisan}}.{{sfn|Vindicatrix}}

==Launching==
In the speech delivered at the launching, Roosevelt referred to [[Patrick Henry]]'s "[[Give me Liberty or give me Death!]]" speech of 23 March 1775. Roosevelt said that this new class of ships would bring liberty to Europe, which gave rise to the name "Liberty ship". ''Patrick Henry'' was sponsored by [[Ilo Browne Wallace]], wife of Vice President [[Henry A. Wallace]], with Mrs. [[Robert H. Jackson]], wife of the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and Madame Bruggmann, wife of the Minister of Switzerland Karl Bruggmann and sister of the vice president. Ilo Wallace christened the ship. The ship's fitting was completed on December 30, 1941.{{sfn|Vindicatrix}}

==Service history==
Her maiden voyage was to the Middle East. During World War II she made 12 voyages to ports including [[Murmansk]] (as part of [[Convoy PQ 18]]{{sfn|Hague|2009}}), Trinidad, [[Cape Town]], Naples, and Dakar.{{sfn|Vindicatrix}}

She survived the war, but was seriously damaged when she went aground on a reef off the coast of [[Florida]], {{coord|25|08|N|80|16|W|display=inline}}, in July 1946. The ship was laid up at [[National Defense Reserve Fleet]], [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]], Alabama. On 18 September 1958, she was sold to [[Bethlehem Steel]], for $76,191. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 22 October 1958, and was scrapped at Baltimore.{{sfn|MARAD}}{{sfn|Sawyer|Mitchell|1985|p= 36}}{{sfn|Hague|2009}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite web
  | url = http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/bethfairfield.htm
  | title = Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD
  | publisher =  www.ShipbuildingHistory.com
  | date = 14 August 2008
  | access-date = 13 February 2020
  | ref = {{sfnRef|Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards|2008}}
  }}
* {{cite web
  |url= https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/3790
  |title=''Patrick Henry''
  |author=Maritime Administration
  |work=Ship History Database Vessel Status Card
  |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration
  |access-date= 13 February 2020
  |ref={{sfnref|MARAD}}
  }}
* {{cite web
  |last= Davies
  |first= James
  |url= http://www.ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf
  |title= Specifications (As-Built)
  |page=23
  |date= May 2004
  |access-date= 13 February 2020
  }}
* {{cite web
  |url= http://usmaritimecommission.de/query.php?datalist=1&typeofquery=Name%20of%20Ship&valueofquery=Patrick%20Henry&code=B0014a
  |title= SS ''Patrick Henry''
  |access-date= 13 February 2020
  |ref= {{sfnRef|MARCOM}}
  }}
* {{cite web
  |url=http://www.vindicatrix.org/iconic%20ships/the%20patrick%20henry.pdf
  |url-status=dead
  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829050806/http://www.vindicatrix.org/iconic%20ships/the%20patrick%20henry.pdf
  |archive-date=2013-08-29
  |title=The ''Patrick Henry''
  |work=TS Vindicatrix Association : Iconic Ships
  |year=2010
  |access-date=13 May 2012
  |ref= {{sfnRef|Vindicatrix}}
  }}
* {{cite web
  |url=http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/ports/index.html?search.php?vessel=PATRICK%20B%20HENRY~armain
  |title=Ports database
  |first=Arnold
  |last= Hague
  |work=convoyweb.org.uk
  |year=2009
  |access-date=13 May 2012
  }}
* {{cite book
  |last1=Sawyer
  |first1=L.A.
  |last2=Mitchell
  |first2=W.H.
  |title=The Liberty Ships: The History of the 'Emergency' Type Cargo Ships Constructed in the United States During the Second World War
  |edition= 2nd
  |publisher= Lloyd's of London Press Ltd.
  |location=London
  |year= 1985
  |isbn= 1850440492
  }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Patrick Henry (ship, 1941)}}
*[http://www.ssjeremiahobrien.org/visit.php Liberty Ship SS ''Jeremiah O'Brien''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140802000702/http://www.ssjeremiahobrien.org/visit.php |date=2 August 2014 }} Web site.
*[http://www.ssjohnwbrown.org/ Liberty Ship SS ''John W. Brown''] Web site.

{{Patrick Henry}}
{{Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards}}
{{1946 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick Henry}}
[[Category:1941 ships]]
[[Category:Liberty ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Baltimore]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1946]]
[[Category:Mobile Reserve Fleet]]