SS Thomas Cresap

History
United States
Name	Thomas Cresap
Namesake	Thomas Cresap
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Isthmian Steamship Co.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 948
Awarded	30 January 1942
Builder	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland
Cost	$1,068,984
Yard number	2098
Way number	2
Laid down	17 January 1943
Launched	1 March 1943
Sponsored by	Mrs. Logan Cresap
Completed	16 March 1943
Identification	Call sign: KKMZ; ;
Fate	Laid up in reserve fleet, 2 May 1950, sold, 16 January 1951
United States
Name	Sunion
Owner	Kea SS Corp.
Fate	Sold, May 1957
Liberia
Name	Sunion
Owner	Kea SS Corp.
General characteristics
Class & 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 Thomas Cresap was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Thomas Cresap, was an English-born settler and trader in the states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. Cresap served Lord Baltimore as an agent in the Maryland–Pennsylvania boundary dispute that became known as Cresap's War. Improved a Native American path to the Ohio Valley with the Native American chief Nemacolin. After settling and became a large landowner near Cumberland, Maryland, he was involved in further disputes near Brownsville, Pennsylvania, including the French and Indian War and Lord Dunmore's War.

Construction

Thomas Cresap was laid down on 17 January 1943, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 948, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; she was sponsored by Mrs. Logan Cresap, and launched on 1 March 1943.^[1]^[2]

History

She was allocated to the Isthmian Steamship Co., on 16 March 1943.^[4]

On 2 May 1950, she was laid up in the Beaumont Reserve Fleet, in Beaumont, Texas. On 16 January 1951, she was sold to Kea SS Corp., and renamed Sunion.^[4] In 1959, she was lengthened to 511.5 ft (155.9 m) (8,578 grt (24,290 m³)), in Tokyo. She was sold in May 1957, and reflagged in Liberia. In 1960, she was renamed Zermatt, in 1962, Epiros, in 1966, Tassia J., and in 1967, Pactrader. She was scrapped in Sakaide, Japan, in December 1968.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c MARCOM.
^ Davies 2004, p. 23.
^ ^a ^b MARAD.
^ Sawyer & Mitchel 1985, pp. 42–43.

Bibliography

"Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
Maritime Administration. "Thomas Cresap". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
"SS Thomas Cresap". Retrieved 31 July 2025.
Sawyer, L.A.; Mitchell, W.H. (1985). The Liberty Ships. Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Great Britain: St. Edmundsbury Press Ltd. ISBN 1850440492.

Construction

History

References

Bibliography

Further Reading