History
United States
Name	James H. Courts
Namesake	James H. Courts
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2516
Awarded	23 April 1943
Builder	St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida[1]
Cost	$1,002,548[2]
Yard number	80
Way number	2
Laid down	12 December 1944
Launched	21 January 1945
Sponsored by	Mrs. A.H. Laney
Completed	31 January 1945
Fate	Transferred to Greece, 31 January 1945
Greece
Name	Niki (1945-1949) Hadiotis
Owner	Kassos Steam Navigation Co., Ltd.
Operator	Rethymnis & Kulukundis
Fate	Sold, 1965
Greece
Name	Achilles
Owner	Cia. Nav. Tierra del Fuego
Operator	Counties Shipping, Ltd.
Fate	Grounded, 21 November 1965 Declared Constructive total loss, scrapped, 1966
General characteristics [3]
Class and 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 General Machinery Corp., Hamilton, Ohio) 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 inches (76 mm)/50 caliber gun Stern-mounted 4 inches (102 mm)/50 caliber gun 2–8 × single 20 millimeters (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons and/or, 2–8 × 37 millimeters (1.46 in) M1 AA guns

SS James H. Courts was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after James H. Courts, a Merchant seaman killed on the cargo ship SS Expositor, 22 February 1943, when she was struck by a torpedo from German submarine U-606.^[4]

Construction

James H. Courts was laid down on 12 December 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2516, by the St. Johns River Shipbuilding Company, Jacksonville, Florida; she was sponsored by Mrs. A.H. Laney, the wife of the superintendent of the warehouse at St.Johns River SBC, and she was launched on 21 January 1945.^[1][2]

History

She was transferred to Greece, under the Lend-Lease program, on 31 January 1945. She was sold for commercial use, 18 December 1946, to Kassos Steam Navigation Co., Ltd., for $575,339.53.^[5]

References

Bibliography