SS Christopher Newport
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Christopher Newport |
| Namesake | Christopher Newport |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
| Operator | Calmar Steamship Corporation |
| Ordered | as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MCE hull 21 |
| Awarded | 14 March 1941 |
| Builder | Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland[1] |
| Cost | $1,267,658[2] |
| Yard number | 2008 |
| Way number | 8 |
| Laid down | 25 August 1941 |
| Launched | 15 February 1942 |
| Completed | 30 March 1942 |
| Fate | Sunk, 4 July 1942 |
| General characteristics [3] | |
| Class & type |
|
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | |
| Length | |
| Beam | 57 feet (17 m) |
| Draft | 27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
| Capacity |
|
| Complement | |
| Armament |
|
SS Christopher Newport was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Christopher Newport, who was an English seaman and privateer. He is best known as the captain of Susan Constant, the largest of three ships which carried settlers for the Virginia Company, in 1607, on the way to found the settlement at Jamestown, in the Virginia Colony, which became the first permanent English settlement in North America. He was also in overall command of the other two ships on that initial voyage, in order of their size, Godspeed and Discovery.
He made several voyages of supply between England and Jamestown; in 1609, he became Captain of the Virginia Company's new supply ship, Sea Venture, which met a hurricane during the Third Supply mission, and was shipwrecked on the archipelago of Bermuda.
Christopher Newport was laid down on 25 August 1941, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 21, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland; and was launched on 15 February 1942.[1][2]
