MS Sea Witch (1940)

Sea Witch 5 August 1941 in Australian Waters
History
Name:	Sea Witch
Owner:	United States Maritime Commission
Operator:	United States Lines
Port of registry:	New York
Builder:	Tampa Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Tampa, Florida
Completed:	July 1940
Acquired:	delivered 30 July 1940
Maiden voyage:	15 August 1940 from New York
Fate:	Scrapped
General characteristics
Type:	Maritime Commission type C2 cargo
Tonnage:	6,021 GRT
Length:	438 ft 3 in (133.6 m)
Beam:	63 ft 2 in (19.3 m)
Draft:	27 ft 5 in (8.4 m)
Installed power:	2 300kw Westinghouse direct current generators driven by 2 direct-connected 6-cylinder 450hp Superior diesel engines.
Propulsion:	2 x 9 cyl. Nordberg diesel engines each with 3155 brake horsepower at 225 rpm geared to 1 shaft
Speed:	16
Crew:	41

MS Sea Witch was a United States Maritime Commission type C2 cargo ship, the first of four pre-war hulls, built by Tampa Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Tampa, Florida and delivered in July 1940. The ship was of the basic C2 design, rather than the more numerous C2-S, C2-S-A1, C2-S-B1 types and four C2-T hulls delivered December 1941 through March 1942.Sea Witch was one of the relatively few C2 types built with diesel engines.

Sea Witch was the first of eight C2 type motor ships of a series constructed by Tampa Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Tampa, Florida powered by twin Nordberg diesels. The ship was delivered to the U. S. Maritime Commission for sea trials 30 July 1940.

The ship was delivered to United States Lines to operate under charter with option to purchase from the Maritime Commission for operation on the New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Hampton Roads and Savannah direct cargo service to Manila, Shanghai and Hong Kong by their American Pioneer Line intended to be the fastest direct cargo service between the United States' East Coast and the Far East. On 15 August 1940 Sea Witch departed New York under the command of Captain Samuel Lee on her maiden voyage. On 23 January 1941, after the ship exceeded all guarantees during her first voyage, United States Lines announced the ship would be purchased.

Sea Witch was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) on 26 January 1942 at Port Pirie, Australia from United States Lines and allocated to the United States Army under a Transportation Corps agreement with United States Lines as operator. Shortly thereafter Sea Witch successfully delivered fighter planes to Java in a failing effort to reinforce forces there resisting Japanese invasion.

Sea Witch, with twenty-seven crated P-40 fighters aboard, departed Fremantle, Australia on 22 February in convoy MS.5 that was bound for Colombo, Ceylon with troops and supplies eventually destined for India and Burma. The convoy was composed of Sea Witch, the Australian transports Katoomba and Duntroon, the United States Army Transport Willard A. Holbrook and USS Langley escorted by USS Phoenix and was loaded with troops, supplies and aircraft, originally intended for the Philippines, that had been delivered to Australia earlier by SS Mariposa and SS President Coolidge escorted by Phoenix.Langley and Sea Witch were ordered to break with the convoy and proceed independently to deliver aircraft to Tjilatjap in Java. The two ships broke from the convoy steaming independently for the port with Langley being attacked and sunk on 27 February. Sea Witch successfully made Tjilatjap on 28 February, even as the results of the Battle of the Java Sea had sealed the fate of the islands, and unloaded but the crated planes had to be destroyed before assembly to deny them to the enemy. On departure for Australia the ship embarked forty refugee soldiers.