SS Murray M. Blum

History
United States
Name	Murray M. Blum
Namesake	Murray M. Blum
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C1) hull, MC hull 2381
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Brunswick, Georgia
Cost	$919,943[1]
Yard number	166
Way number	2
Laid down	19 September 1944
Launched	25 October 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. Sylvia Blum
Completed	7 November 1944
Identification	Call Signal: KTAB [1]
Fate	Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas, 17 December 1947 Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, Alabama, 30 April 1952 Sold for scrapping, 12 March 1971
General characteristics [2]
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 Murray M. Blum was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Murray M. Blum, the radio operator of SS Leonidas Polk who drowned, 3 December 1943, attempting to save an overboard crewman.

Murray M. Blum was laid down on 19 September 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2381, by J.A. Jones Construction, Brunswick, Georgia; she was sponsored by Mrs. Sylvia Blum, the mother of the ships namesake, and launched on 25 October 1944.^[3][1]

She was allocated to Mississippi Shipping Co., Inc., on 7 November 1944. On 17 December 1947, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in Beaumont, Texas. On 30 April 1952, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, in Mobile, Alabama. On 12 March 1971, she was sold for $44,100, to Pinto Island Metals Company, for scrapping. She was removed from the fleet on 8 April 1971.^[4][5]