SS ABRAM S HEWITT was one of more than 2,700 Liberty ships built before and during World War II. She was constructed for the U.S. Maritime Commission by the Kaiser Permanente Shipyard #2 in Richmond, California, in December 1943/January 1944. Her keel was laid December 15, 1943, she was launched January 5, 1944, and she was completed and delivered for service on January 13, just 29 days after keel-laying. (Her construction time of 29 days was far from a record, by the way. One Liberty ship was built in four days, 15 hours. Yes, four days.) She probably had an uneventful wartime career as I can find no unusual mentions of her online. In 1947 the federal government sold the ship to a private shipping company in Italy and she was renamed QUEMAR. Later the same year she was renamed again to ITALO MARSANO, and was renamed yet again in 1957 to GOLFO DI TRIESTE. On December 14, 1964, she developed a leak while in a storm at sea, and sank in the South China Sea, midway between Vietnam and the Philippine Islands. There were no casualties among the crew.
See http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergencylarge/wwtwo/kperm2.htm and scroll to hull number 2726. Also see http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/LibshipsA.html and scroll to the name of the ship.
ABRAM S HEWITT apparently spent most or all of the war operating in the Pacific, making voyages carrying supplies and troops between the United States and such destinations as Guadalcanal, Bouganville, Espiritu Santo, New Caledonia, New Guinea, and the Philippine Islands. I do not have detailed information on her operational history.
She was named after Abram S. Hewitt (1822-1903), a steel manufacturer, philanthropist, Congressman from New York (1875-1887) and mayor of New York City in 1886.
A photograph of the ship may be available from one of the sources listed at http://www.usmm.org/photosource.html. Mr. Hultgren is a particularly good source in that he specializes in photographs of Liberty ships. Mr. Hultgren is quite elderly but at last report was still actively managing his collection.
Best wishes.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com
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