From: Dictionary of American Fighting Ships

Former named retained.

(IX - 225: dp. 3,381; l. 441'6"; b. 56'11"; dr. 27'1"; s. 11 k.; cpl. 71; T. EC2 S-C1)

The second Harcourt, a standard Liberty Ship, was laid down under Maritime Commission contract as S.S. John M. Clayton by California Shipbuilding Corp., Los Angeles, Calif., 23 November 1942; launched 27 December 1942; sponsored by Miss Barbara Bechtel; and completed 8 January 1943. Sailing for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Co., she carried war cargoes in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans until hit by a Japanese bomb 2 January 1945 during the Mindoro landings in the Philippines. Her crew beached the ship before she went down; she was subsequently raised and taken to Pearl Harbor where the yard force working with customary efficiency and speed repaired the gaping hole in her port side. Acquired by the Navy on a bareboat basis, the ship commissioned as Harcourt (IX-225) on 22 June 1945, Lt. Comdr. H. T. Shelly in command.

Ready for service 10 July, Harcourt sailed for Eniwetok with fleet supplies. She then sailed for Tokyo, arriving 17 September with a load of freight for the 3d Fleet, and remained there to assist in the occupation until 31 March 1946, when she sailed for San Francisco. Harcourt arrived San Francisco 22 April, decommissioned 17 May, and was delivered to the War Shipping Administration at Suisun Bay, Calif. She remained in the National Reserve Defense fleet in a damaged condition until sold for scrap to Zidell Exploration Co., in 1962.

Transcribed by Yves HUBERT (hubertypc@aol.com)