SS Thomas Heyward

The SS Thomas Heyward was a Liberty ship built by Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company at Mobile, Alabama, laid down 21 February 1942, launched 31 May 1942. It was leased to Waterman Steamship Company. It was named for Thomas Heyward, Jr. (July 28, 1746 – March 6, 1809), a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence and of the Articles of Confederation as a representative of South Carolina.

The vessel was placed in the Reserve Fleet in 1949, but was reactivated in 1951 for duty during the Korean War.

After final retirement, the vessel was prepared for final disposal as an artificial reef in a Pascagoula, Mississippi salvage yard with the superstructure cut down to the first deck to meet U.S. Army Corps of Engineers specifications for artificial reef structures. It was sunk in 1977 off of Destin, Florida at ~Lat. 30° 19" 50 North, Long. 86° 35" 40 West, four miles south of the Okaloosa Island pier just north of the Pensacola-Panama City shipping lane, in ~79 feet of water.