Stuff You Should Know
The SS Ben Robertson was a Liberty Ship built during World War II under a MARCOM contract. The ship’s builder was Southeastern Shipbuilding Co. and it was one of the 88 Liberty Ships built at their yard. The ship was named after Benjamin F. Robertson, journalist and war correspondent who died in the crash of the flying boat Boeing 314 in February 1943 in the Tagus River. Launched in January 1943, the ship was operated by the A.H. Bull & Co., based in New York City, under WSA contract. The ship survived the war and it was sold to a private company, renamed, and sent to Greece. It was scrapped in December 1968 at Hirao, Japan.