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A Liberty ship at sea
History
United States
Name	John Morgan
Namesake	General John Tyler Morgan
Builder	Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Baltimore, Maryland
Yard number	2128
Way number	12
Laid down	31 March 1943
Launched	4 May 1943
Completed	12 May 1943
Fate	Sunk after collision, 1 June 1943
General characteristics
Class and type	Type EC2-S-C1 Liberty ship
Displacement	14,245 long tons (14,474 t)
Length	441 ft 6 in (134.57 m) o/a 417 ft 9 in (127.33 m) p/p 427 ft (130 m) w/l
Beam	57 ft (17 m)
Draft	27 ft 9 in (8.46 m)
Propulsion	Two oil-fired boilers Triple-expansion steam engine 2,500 hp (1,900 kW) Single screw
Speed	11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Range	20,000 nmi (37,000 km; 23,000 mi)
Capacity	10,856 t (10,685 long tons) deadweight (DWT)
Crew	81
Armament	Stern-mounted 4 in (100 mm) deck gun for use against surfaced submarines, variety of anti-aircraft guns

SS John Morgan was a World War II Liberty ship built by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation at their Bethlehem-Fairfield yard at Baltimore, Maryland, and launched on 4 May 1943. She was operated by the Wessel Duval & Company for the war.

However, on 1 June 1943, during its maiden voyage John Morgan collided with the tanker SS Montana off Cape Henry on the coast of Virginia. John Morgan broke in two and sank immediately at position 36°59′56″N 75°23′59″W / 36.99889°N 75.39972°W / 36.99889; -75.39972, but started fires aboard Montana. USS Shubrick, engaged in gunnery practice in Chesapeake Bay, was sent to investigate. She sent a party aboard Montana to assist in extinguishing the fires, but recalled them after discovering that Montana was also carrying ammunition. Soon afterwards Herndon and Nelson arrived, and circled the area looking for survivors, but recovered only 12 bodies.

The wreck

The ship lies in approximately 110 ft (34 m) of water. It is largely broken up, but the bow and a structure known as the "hospital" are still recognizable. The ship was on the United States lend-lease program and was loaded with war supplies such as Valentine tanks, P-39s, and large amounts of ammunition.

References

1. ^ Davies, James (2012). "Liberty Cargo Ships" (PDF). ww2ships.com. p. 23. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
2. "Bethlehem Fairfield". shipbuildinghistory.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
3. "Destroyer Photo Index Unidentified". navsource.org. 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
4. "John Morgan". uwex.us. 2005. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2012.

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in June 1943
Shipwrecks	1 Jun: Birka, John Morgan, U-418 2 Jun: U-105, U-202, U-521 3 Jun: Montanan 4 Jun: USS PC-496, U-308, U-594 5 Jun: U-217 8 Jun: Mutsu 11 Jun: I-24, U-417, HMAS Wallaroo 12 Jun: USS R-12, U-118 13 Jun: USCGC Escanaba, I-9, Suzuya Maru 14 Jun: U-334, U-564 15 Jun: Sanraku Maru 16 Jun: SS Portmar, U-97 17 Jun: WBS 1 Hermann, I-178, Yoma 19 Jun: Barbarigo 20 Jun: U-388 22 Jun: I-7 23 Jun: USS Aludra, USS Deimos 24 Jun: U-119, U-194, U-200, U-449 28 Jun: Bari 29 Jun: USS Redwing 30 Jun: USS Hulbert, USS McCawley Unknown date: HMS Kingston, USS Runner
Other incidents	5 Jun: SS Howard M. Hanna Jr.. USS Lapon 16 Jun: I-157 27 Jun: RFA Abbeydale, USS Growler 29 Jun: USS R-14 Unknown date: I-155
1942 1943 1944 May 1943 July 1943

• 1943 ships
• Liberty ships
• Ships built in Baltimore
• Maritime incidents in June 1943
• Ships sunk in collisions