Liberty ship 198201 224863303 2008-07-10T19:18:52Z CumbiaDude 1214130 /* Fictional appearances */ Threatening to blow up a ship is extortion, not blackmail. {|{{Infobox Ship Begin}} {{Infobox Ship Image |Ship image=[[Image:SS John W Brown.jpg|300px|SS John W. Brown is one of only two surviving operational Liberty ships.]] |Ship caption=[[SS John W. Brown|SS ''John W. Brown'']], one of two surviving operational Liberty ships. }} {{Infobox Ship Class Overview |Name=Liberty ship |Builders=18 shipyards in the USA |Operators= |Class before= |Class after= |Subclasses= |Cost= |Built range= |In service range= |In commission range= |Total ships building= |Total ships planned=2751 |Total ships completed=2710 |Total ships cancelled= |Total ships active= |Total ships laid up= |Total ships lost= |Total ships retired= |Total ships preserved=2 }} {{Infobox Ship Characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class=[[Cargo ship]] |Ship type= |Ship tonnage= |Ship displacement=14,245 tons<ref name="davies">Davies, 2004, page 23.</ref> |Ship tons burthen= |Ship length=135 m (441 ft 6 in) |Ship beam=17.3 m (56 ft 10.75 in) |Ship height= |Ship draught= |Ship draft=8.5 m (27 ft 9.25 in) |Ship depth= |Ship hold depth= |Ship decks= |Ship deck clearance= |Ship ramps= |Ship ice class= |Ship power= |Ship propulsion=Two oil fired boilers, <br />triple expansion steam engine, <br />single screw, 2500 [[horsepower]] (1864 kW) |Ship sail plan= |Ship speed=11 to 11.5 knots (20 to 21 km/h) |Ship range=23,000 miles (37,000 km) |Ship endurance= |Ship test depth= |Ship boats= |Ship capacity={{DWT|10,856|metric|first=yes}}<ref name="davies"/> |Ship troops= |Ship complement=41 men |Ship crew= |Ship time to activate= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=Stern-mounted 4 in (102 mm) deck gun for use against surfaced submarines, variety of anti-aircraft guns. |Ship armour= |Ship armor= |Ship aircraft= |Ship aircraft facilities= |Ship notes= }} |} '''Liberty ships''' were [[cargo ship]]s built in the [[United States]] during [[World War II]]. They were British in conception but adapted by the USA, cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by [[United Kingdom|Britain]] to replace ships torpedoed by [[Germany|German]] [[U-boats]], they were purchased for the U.S. fleet and for [[lend-lease]] provision to Britain. Eighteen American [[shipyard]]s built 2,751 Liberties between 1941 and 1945, easily the largest number of ships produced to a single design. The production of these vessels mirrored, on a much larger scale, the manufacture of the [[Hog Islander|''Hog Island'' ship]] and similar standardized types during [[World War I]]. The immense effort to build Liberty ships, the sheer number of ships built, and the fact that some of the ships survived far longer than the original design life of five years, make them the subject of much study. ==History and service== In 1936, the American [[Merchant Marine Act of 1936|Merchant Marine Act]] was passed to subsidize the annual construction of 50 commercial merchant vessels to be used in wartime by the [[United States Navy]] as naval auxiliaries. The number was doubled in 1939 and again in 1940 to 200 ships a year. Ship types included a tanker and three types of merchant vessel, all to be powered by [[steam turbine]]s. Limited industrial capacity, especially for turbine construction, meant that relatively few of these ships were built. In 1940, the [[British Government]] ordered 60 [[tramp steamer|tramp steamships]] from American yards to replace war losses and boost the merchant fleet. This [[Ocean class|''Ocean'' class]] were simple but fairly large (for the time) with a single coal-fired, 2,500 horsepower (1864 kW) [[reciprocating engine]] of obsolete but reliable design. Britain specified coal plants because it had plenty of coal mines but no indigenous oil fields. The predecessor designs, including the ''Northeast Coast, Open Shelter Deck Steamer'', were based on a simple ship originally produced in [[Sunderland]] by [[J.L. Thompson & Sons]] (see [[Silver Line]]) in 1879, and widely manufactured until the SS ''[[SS Dorrington Court|Dorrington Court]]'' of the 1930s. The order specified an 18 inch (457 mm) increase in draught to boost displacement by 800 tons to 10,100 tons. The accommodation, bridge and main engine of these vessels were located amidships, with a long tunnel to connect the main engine shaft to its aft extension to the propeller. The first ''Ocean''-class ship, ''[[Ocean Vanguard]]'' was launched on [[16 August]] [[1941]]. The design was modified by the [[United States Maritime Commission]] to conform to American construction practices and to make it even quicker and cheaper to build. The U.S. version was designated EC2-S-C1; EC = Emergency Cargo, 2 = A ship between 400 and 450 feet long (Load Waterline Length), S = Steam engines, C1 = Design C1. The new design replaced much riveting, which accounted for one-third of the labour costs, with [[welding]] and featured oil-fired boilers. The order was given to a conglomerate of West Coast engineering and construction companies known as the [[Six Companies]], headed by [[Henry J. Kaiser]], and was also adopted as the Merchant Marine Act design. On [[27 March]] [[1941]], the number of lend-lease ships was increased to 200 by the [[Defense Aid Supplemental Appropriations Act]], and increased again in April to 306, of which 117 would be Liberty ships. The ships were constructed of sections that were welded together. This is similar to the technique used by [[Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited|Palmer's]] at [[Jarrow]] but substitutes welding for riveting. Riveted ships took several months to construct. The work force was newly trained - no one previously built welded ships. As America entered the war the shipbuilding yards employed women to replace men who were enlisting in the armed forces. The ships initially had a poor public image because of their looks. In a speech announcing the emergency shipbuilding program, President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] had referred to the ship as "a dreadful looking object," and ''Time'' magazine called it an "Ugly Duckling." To try to assuage public opinion, [[27 September]] [[1941]] was designated ''Liberty Fleet Day'', and the first 14 "Emergency" vessels were launched that day. The first of these was [[SS Patrick Henry|SS ''Patrick Henry'']], launched by President [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt|Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. In remarks at the launch ceremony, FDR cited [[Patrick Henry]]'s 1775 speech that finished "[[Give me liberty or give me death]]". Roosevelt said that this new class of ships would bring liberty to Europe, which gave rise to the name Liberty Ship. Early on, each ship took about 230 days to build (''Patrick Henry'' took 244 days), but the average eventually dropped to 42 days. The record was set by [[SS Robert E. Peary|''Robert E. Peary'']], which was launched 4 days and 15 1/2 hours after the [[keel]] was laid, although this [[publicity stunt]] was not repeated -- and in fact much fitting-out and other work remained to be done after the ''Peary'' was launched. The ships were made assembly-line style, from prefabricated sections. In 1943, three new Liberty ships were being completed every day. They were mainly named after famous Americans, starting with the signatories of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]]. Any group which raised [[War bond]]s worth $2 million could propose a name. Most were named for deceased people. The only living namesake was Francis J. O'Gara, the [[purser]] of the [[SS Jean Nicolet|SS ''Jean Nicolet'']], who was thought to have been killed in a submarine attack but in fact survived the war in a [[Japan]]ese [[prisoner of war]] camp. Other exceptions to the naming rule were the [[SS Stage Door Canteen|SS ''Stage Door Canteen'']], named for the [[United Service Organizations|USO]] club in [[New York]], and the [[SS U.S.O.|SS ''U.S.O.'']], named after the organization itself <ref>[http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/116liberty_victory_ships/116facts1.htm Reading 1: Liberty Ships] ''[[National Park Service]] Cultural Resources.''</ref>. [[Image:Liberty ship transport SS Carlos Carrillo off San Francisco, California, circa 1945-46.jpg|thumb|300px|[[SS Carlos Carillo|SS ''Carlos Carrillo'']] ]] Another notable Liberty ship was [[SS Stephen Hopkins|SS ''Stephen Hopkins'']], which sank the German [[commerce raider]] [[German auxiliary cruiser Stier|''Stier'']] in a ship-to-ship gun battle in 1942 and became the first American ship to sink a German surface combatant. [[SS Richard Montgomery|SS ''Richard Montgomery'']] is also notable, though in a less positive way; the wreck of the ship lies off the coast of [[Kent]] with 1,500 tons of [[explosive]]s still on board, enough to match a small [[nuclear weapon]] should they ever go off. The last Liberty ship constructed was the [[SS Albert M. Boe|SS ''Albert M. Boe'']], launched on [[26 September]] [[1945]] and delivered on [[30 October]] [[1945]]. She was named after the chief engineer of a [[United States Army]] freighter who had stayed below decks to shut down his engines after a [[13 April]] [[1945]] explosion, an act that won him a posthumous [[Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal]] [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/a5/albert_m_boe.htm]. ===Problems===<!-- This section is linked from [[Problems of the Liberty ship]] redirect --> [[Image:JeremiahO'Brienbow27may07.jpg|thumb|''Jeremiah O'Brien'']] Early Liberty ships suffered hull and deck cracks, and a few were lost to such structural defects. During World War II, there were nearly 1,500 instances of significant [[brittle fracture]]s. Twelve ships, including three of the 2710 Liberties built, broke in half without warning, including the [[SS John P. Gaines|SS ''John P. Gaines'']]<ref>[http://www.armed-guard.com/gaines.html Wreck of the SS John P Gaines]</ref><ref>[http://www.mech.uwa.edu.au/DANotes/fracture/maritime/maritime.html Fracture - some maritime examples]. ''Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Western Australia.''</ref>, which sank on [[24 November]] [[1943]] with the loss of 10 lives. Suspicion fell on the shipyards who had often used inexperienced workers and new [[welding]] techniques to produce large numbers of ships in great haste. [[Constance Tipper]]<ref>[http://www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/125/1925-1950/tipper.html Constance Tipper (researcher into Liberty ship fracture)]</ref> of [[Cambridge University]] demonstrated that the fractures were not initiated by welding, but instead by the grade of steel used which suffered from [[embrittlement]]. She discovered that the ships in the North Atlantic were exposed to temperatures that could fall below a critical point when the mechanism of failure changed from [[ductile]] to [[brittle]], and thus the hull could fracture relatively easily. The predominantly welded (as opposed to riveted) hull construction then allowed cracks to run for large distances unimpeded. One common type of crack nucleated at the square corner of a hatch which coincided with a welded seam, both the corner and the weld acting as [[Stress concentration|stress concentrators]]. Furthermore, the ships were frequently grossly overloaded and some of the problems occurred during or after severe storms at sea that would have placed any ship at risk. Various reinforcements were applied to the Liberty Ships to arrest the crack problems, and the successor design, the [[Victory ship]], was built stronger and less stiff to better deal with [[fatigue (material)|fatigue]]. Several designs of mass-produced petroleum tankers were also produced, the most numerous being the [[T2 tanker]] series, with about 490 built between 1942 and the end of 1945. ===After the war=== [[Image:JeremiahO'Brien27may07.jpg|thumb|''Jeremiah O'Brien'']] Many Liberty ships survived the war, and made up a large percentage of the postwar cargo fleet. Many were bought by Greek shipowners at very low prices. Shipping magnates like [[Taki Theodoracopoulos]] were known to have started their fleets by buying many Liberties. The term "Liberty-size cargo" for 10,000 tons may still be heard in the shipping business. In the 1960s three Liberty ships were reactivated and converted to [[technical research ship]]s (they were actually used to gather electronic intelligence and for radar picket duties) by the [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] with the [[hull classification symbol|hull type]] AGTR. SS ''Samuel R. Ailken'' became the USS ''Oxford'' (AGTR-1), SS ''Robert W. Hart'' became the USS ''Georgetown'' (AGTR-2), and SS ''J. Howland Gardner'' became the USS ''Jamestown'' (AGTR-3). All of these ships were decommissioned and stricken from the [[Naval Vessel Register|Naval Register]] in 1969 and 1970. Only two operational Liberty ships survive: the [[SS John W. Brown|SS ''John W. Brown'']] (following a long career as a school ship and many internal modifications) and the [[SS Jeremiah O'Brien|''Jeremiah O'Brien'']], largely in original condition. Both [[museum ship]]s, they still put out to sea regularly. In 1994, the O'Brien steamed from San Francisco to England and France, the only large ship that participated in the World War II D-Day invasion to return for the 50th anniversary. The [[SS Albert M. Boe|SS ''Albert M. Boe'']] survives as ''Star of Kodiak'', a floating [[cannery]], docked in [[Kodiak, Alaska|Kodiak Harbor]]{{coor dms|57|47|12|N|152|24|18|W|type:landmark_scale:2000}}. Liberty ships continue to serve in a "less than whole" function many decades after their launching. In [[Portland, Oregon]] the hulls of the ''Richard Henry Dana'' and ''Jane Adams'' serve as the basis of floating docks. <ref>[http://www.portofportland.com/PortDispatch/PortDispatch.aspx?contentFile=Issue_2008_02/Content/page6.ascx Did You Know: Liberty Ships Still Afloat in Portland]</ref> ==U.S. shipyards== Liberty ships were built at seventeen shipyards located along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coasts:<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.coltoncompany.com/shipbldg/ussbldrs/wwii/merchantsbldg.htm | title = WWII Construction Records, Private-Sector Shipyards that Built Ships for the U.S. Maritime Commission | date = | publisher = Colton Company | accessdate = 2007-12-01 }}</ref> *[[Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company|Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding]], [[Mobile, Alabama]] *[[Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard]], [[Baltimore, Maryland]] *[[California Shipbuilding Corp.]], [[Los Angeles, California]] *[[Delta Shipbuilding Corp.]], [[New Orleans, Louisiana]] *[[J. A. Jones Construction Company]] **[[Panama City, Florida]] **[[Brunswick, Georgia]]. See [[Brunswick, Georgia]] for some interesting history. *[[Kaiser Shipyards|Kaiser Company]], [[Vancouver, Washington]] *[[Marinship]], [[Sausalito, California]] *[[New England Shipbuilding Corporation]], [[South Portland, Maine]], East and West Yards (both on the same 60 acres of shipyard) *[[North Carolina Shipbuilding Company]], [[Wilmington, North Carolina]] *[[Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation]], [[Portland, Oregon]] *[[Richmond Shipyards|Permanente Metals Corporation]], [[Richmond, California]] (a Kaiser facility) **Yard No. 1 **Yard No. 2 *[[St. Johns River Shipbuilding]], [[Jacksonville, Florida]] *[[Southeastern Shipbuilding]], [[Savannah, Georgia]] *[[Todd Pacific Shipyards|Todd Houston Shipbuilding]], [[Houston, Texas]] *[[Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc.]], [[Providence, Rhode Island]] ==Fictional appearances== A Liberty ship was featured in the ''[[Quantum Leap (TV series)|Quantum Leap]]'' episode 'Ghost Ship'. A Liberty ship, converted to a hospital ship, is the eponymous subject and setting of [[Alistair MacLean]]'s mystery thriller ''[[San Andreas (novel)|San Andreas]]'' (1984) The prologue to this novel, also by MacLean, is an interesting essay on Liberty ships and the conditions, character and behavior of the British Merchant Marine owners that used them, and sailors that sailed them. A Liberty ship is featured in the [[Humphrey Bogart]] 1943 film ''[[Action in the North Atlantic]]''. Its [[Deck guns|deck gun]] is described as being 5" rather than 4", probably for wartime propaganda reasons. In [[Clive Cussler]]'s book, ''[[Deep Six (Clive Cussler novel)|Deep Six]]'', the prologue details a Liberty ship that disappears in the 1960s and becomes a recurring Ghost Ship in ''[[The Flying Dutchman]]'' vein. It is later found by [[Dirk Pitt]] leading to further adventures from there. Most of the engine room scenes of the 1997 film ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'' were shot aboard the museum Liberty Ship {{SS|Jeremiah O'Brien}} in San Francisco Bay. The wreck of the [[SS Richard Montgomery]] is central to the plot of Stephen Barlay's 1977 novel ''Blockbuster'', in which an extortionist threatens to blow it up, thereby causing serious flooding in central London, if his demands are not met. ==See also== {{Commonscat|Liberty ships}} * [[Fatigue (material)]] * [[List of Liberty ships]] * [[List of Liberty ships by hull number]] * [[T2 tanker]] * [[Type C1 ship]] * [[Type C2 ship]] * [[Victory ship]] * [[Hog Islander]] ==Notes== {{Reflist}} ==References== * {{cite book | title = Ships for Victory: A History of Shipbuilding under the U.S. Maritime Commission in World War II | first = Frederic Chapin | last = Lane | authorlink = Frederic Chapin Lane | location = Baltimore | publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press | origyear = 1951 | year = 2001 | isbn = 9780801867521 | oclc = 45799004 }} * {{cite book | title = The Liberty Ships: The history of the "emergency" type cargo ships constructed in the United States during World War II | first = L. A. | last = Sawyer | coauthors = W. H. Mitchell | location = Cambridge, Maryland | publisher = Cornell Maritime Press | year = 1970 | isbn = 9780870331527 | oclc = 132649 }} *{{cite web |url=http://ww2ships.com/acrobat/us-os-001-f-r00.pdf |title=Liberty Cargo Ship |accessdate=2008-03-25 |first=James |last=Davies |date=2004 |work= |page=23|publisher=ww2ships.com}} ==External links== *[http://www.usmm.org/libertyships.html Liberty Ships built by the United States Maritime Commission in World War II] *[http://www.fiu.edu/%7Ethompsop/liberty/liberty1.html Links to Liberty Ship information] *[http://www.ssjeremiahobrien.org/cruises.html SS ''Jeremiah O'Brien'' website (one of two still operational Liberty ships)] *[http://www.liberty-ship.com/ SS ''John W. Brown'' website (one of two still operational Liberty ships)] *[http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/116liberty_victory_ships/116liberty_victory_ships.htm Liberty Ships and Victory Ships, America's Lifeline in War]for a lesson on Liberty ships and Victory ships from the National Park Service's Teaching with Historic Places. *[http://www.seafarers.org/log/2005/082005/bfelknor.xml Seafarers International Union] *[http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/liberty_ships/?link=vsbg&Welcome Ships for Victory: J.A. Jones Construction Company and Liberty Ships in Brunswick, Georgia] Eighty-four black-and-white photographs from the J.A. Jones Construction Company collection at the Brunswick-Glynn County Library that depict the company’s World War II cargo ship building activities in its Brunswick, Georgia shipyard from 1943 to 1945. * [http://www.liberty-ship.com/html/yards/introduction.html#top Project Liberty Ship - The Shipyards] * [http://www.usmm.net/libyards.html The United States Merchant Marine - Liberty Ships Built During World War II by Shipyard] * [http://www.us-maritime-commission.de/ Shipbuilding under the United States Maritime Commission, 1936 to 1950] * [http://www.ssrichardmontgomery.com Wreck of the Liberty ship SS Richard Montgomery Kent] [[Category:Liberty ships| ]] <!-- extra spaces are for proper sorting on category paage --> [[Category:Ship types]] [[cs:Liberty (loď)]] [[da:Liberty-skib]] [[de:Liberty-Frachter]] [[el:Λίμπερτυ]] [[fi:Liberty-alus]] [[fr:Liberty ship]] [[it:Liberty (navi trasporto)]] [[ja:リバティ船]] [[nl:Liberty (schip)]] [[no:Libertyskip]] [[pl:Statki transportowe typu Liberty]] [[ru:Либерти (судно)]]