SS Meriwether Lewis

Career (US)
Name: SS Meriwether Lewis
Namesake: Meriwether Lewis
Laid down: 19 May 1941
Launched: 19 October 1941
Fate: torpedoed by U-634 3 March 1943
General characteristics
Class and type:Cargo ship
Displacement:14,245 tons[1]
Length:135 m (441 ft 6 in)
Beam:17.3 m (56 ft 10.75 in)
Draft:8.5 m (27 ft 9.25 in)
Propulsion:Two oil-fired boilers,
triple-expansion steam engine,
single screw, 2,500 horsepower (1,864 kW)
Speed:11 to 11.5 knots (20 to 21 km/h)
Range:23,000 miles (37,000 km)
Capacity:10,856 tonnes deadweight (DWT)[1]
Complement:41 men
Armament:Stern-mounted 4-in (102 mm) deck gun for use against surfaced submarines, variety of anti-aircraft guns

The SS Meriwether Lewis (Hull Number 170) was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Meriwether Lewis, an American explorer who, along with William Clark, led the Corps of Discovery which explored the American West.

The ship was laid down on 19 May 1941, then launched on 19 October 1941. She was part of a convoy on the way to Great Britain and carried a cargo of ammunition and tires when she was torpedoed by U-634 in the North Atlantic Ocean on 3 March 1943 at position 62°10′N 28°25′W / 62.167°N 28.417°WCoordinates: 62°10′N 28°25′W / 62.167°N 28.417°W. There were no survivors from her crew of 72 men.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Davies, 2004, page 23.