Dear Ms. Bennett,

There were apparently two ships named SS SWEEPSTAKES although only one seems to fit the information you have.

There was a class C-2 cargo ship named SWEEPSTAKES built by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company, Wilmington, NC, in 1944. Her wartime career was apparently uneventful because I cannot find other information online about her. The ship was sold to private shipping interests in 1947. She was apparently renamed several times (likely after being sold and resold), renamed ELIZABETH (1947), ADAMS (1963), and SOUTHPORT II (1963). She was finally scrapped in 1969. See http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergency/wwtwo/northcarolina.htm and scroll down to hull number 106, and also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Sweepstakes. See also http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/bull.htm and scroll down to "Elizabeth (3)." This seems most likely to be the ship in question.

There was another ship, also a class C-2 cargo ship, initially named SWEEPSTAKES, built by the Tampa Shipbuilding Company, Inc., Tampa, FL, in 1941. However, even before this ship was launched, she was acquired by the U.S. Navy and renamed USS PROCYON. She apparently spent her entire career under that name, before being scrapped in 1973 (some sources say she was scrapped in 1971). See http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/tampa.htm and scroll to hull number 36; also see http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/02/02002.htm.

Information about the ship in which the man served may not be as important as other information. Please see this page from the Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website about obtaining military service records: http://armed-guard.com/searchmil.html. In particular, see section A.2. Records of Individuals - Merchant Marine. You will have to contact the U.S. Coast Guard's National Maritime Center to request a copy of the merchant mariner’s service record. (The Coast Guard was and is responsible for providing documentation for U.S. merchant mariners, which may include the ships in which a mariner served and the applicable dates.) You will have to provide as much identifying information as you have available, such as name, date of birth, Social Security number, address, and Z or service number. (The service number or "Z number" is a serial number that appears on a merchant mariner's identification card; it begins with the letter Z, hence the name.) Of course this number may not be available to you.

Would you be willing to share the name of the merchant mariner whom you are assisting? Knowing his name may help in searching for other information.

Good luck.

Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com