A Visit to the Johns Hopkins Library 2

Let me share some information I looked at when I visited the Hopkins Family Files at the Johns Hopkins University Library.

Something I did not know is that a ship built during World War II was named in honor of Johns Hopkins. SS Johns Hopkins was a Liberty Ship built in Baltimore during World War II. She was named after Johns Hopkins, an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Following his death, his bequests founded numerous institutions bearing his name, most notably Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Johns Hopkins University.

The SS Johns Hopkins was built by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland. She was launched on February 28, 1943. Liberty Ships were built to transport troops and supplies.

On October 2, 1944, at 1:50 pm, she struck a mine while enroute from Marseille to Toulon, France. The mine struck between the #3 hold and the engine room on the port side. The ship lost power as the engine room and #3 hold began to flood rapidly. SS Johns Hopkins quickly took on a 35° list to port and began to drift in the high winds. Distress

messages were sent out after making repairs to the radio that was damaged in the blast. SS Hobson arrived around 2:30, but was unsuccessful in her attempts to come alongside the damaged SS Johns Hopkins, due to the rough seas and high winds.

SS Hobson stood by until support arrived at 6:00 and towed SS Johns Hopkins back to Marseille where she arrived at 4:00 on October 3, 1944. She was repaired and placed back into service.

After war ended, on November 6, 1946, she was sold for $544,200, to Campania International de Vapores Ltd. and renamed Thetis.  She was later renamed Santa Elena in 1952 and Eleni K in 1960. On September 29, 1966, 8 miles out from Thevenard, Australia, enroute from Port Lincoln to the United Kingdom with a load of wheat, she broke in two in heavy seas and floundered in shallow waters. On November 17, 1966, she was refloated and beached on Goat Island, New South Wales.