Type EC2-S-C1 “Liberty Ship” (1941)

Liberty Ships were one of the many reasons the allies won the Battle of the Atlantic in the second world war. The solution was brutally simple: To out-produce what the U-Boats can sink. These iconic mass-produced American cargo vessels of World War II are the best known, with their larger, better cousins the 1944 Victory Ships (534 delivered), to keep Allied supply lines alive. Built from a multitude of US yards across the continent on two coasts from 1941–1945 with feats of engineering to built them in a few days, 2,710 ships were delivered, making them the largest single-class ship production ever in history. They transported food, fuel, weapons, vehicles, troops and most were armed, sometimes heavily. They were rugged, familiar to merchant sailors, simple to built and operate.

They became a symbol of industrial scale and speed over perfection, but some had glaring structural issues resulting in accidents. They represented nevertheless a considerable logistics revolution with a postwar legacy: They flooded the merchant marines across the globe, made the fortune of some, and continued to carry goods until supplanted by container ships, long after being built. In recoignition of their effort, two were preserved, restored in their WW2 livery, SS John W. Brown and SS Jeremiah O’Brien. This article will obviously not cover all individual career of 2,710 vessels but pick up the most remarkable ones, and points out registers in the sources.

In Short

During the Battle of the Atlantic, German U-boats were sinking Allied merchant ships faster than they could be replaced. Britain was running out of cargo ships. The U.S. stepped in with a radical idea:
Build simple ships extremely fast and in huge numbers. The result was a logistics revolution. Liberty ships, designed by the US maritime Commission, were intentionally simple, cheap, easy to build, hyper-standardized. They were based on an older British “Ocean-class” design, but modified for mass production. The key idea was not to build perfect ships but building enough ships faster than the enemy can sink them. Still, there were sub-variations, but on average they measured 134 m (441 ft) long for 17 m (56–57 ft) in beam, had triple-expansion steam engine (2,500 hp) for 11 knots (20 km/h) a range of 20,000 nautical miles and a cargo capacity of 10,800 tons. Crewed by 38–62 merchant sailors and sometimes coast guard or Navy personal, like 21–40 naval gunners they were almost always armed, with at least a deck gun, some 20mm or 40mm anti-aircraft guns.

On the industrial standpoint they were nothing less than a a Production Miracle, almost legendary. They were built in 18 U.S. shipyards a peak rate for some of 3 ships every 2 days (like Kaiser) with a construction speed in the early days which averaged 200 days, already a feat in itself, but which could be lowered down over the years, down to a later average of 42 days. Some yards challenged themselves in records and Kaiser (again) managed to made headlines by building SS Robert E. Peary in an unbeaten record of 4 days, 15 hours from keel laying to completion. This is still standing today.
Innovations made it possible like welding instead of riveting, faster, modular and hyper-modular and lean, distributed construction that required less skilled labor, heavy emphasis on prefabrication, with the ships built in sections, then assembled and a Ford-style assembly-line shipbuilding, like cars, but on a gigantic scale. These methods revolutionized shipbuilding forever. Some were launched before fully finished at an average cost of c$2 million per ship. They were built so fast they became iconic of the U.S. industry.

That unpredented effort required an equally enormous workforce and it had a consireable Social Impact. Many authors recoignized postwar it changed American society: Indeed, like in many other industries as the war progressed and most men in the three branches of the military, the massive use of women workers (“Rosie the Riveter”) and increased employment of African Americans, and the rapid training of unskilled labor opened considerable alleys of social empowerment and opportunities in wartime, they remained open in postwar years. This shipbuilding became a symbol of the U.S. “home front” war effort anyways.

Liberty ships were the backbone of Allied logistics, carrying not only all the civilian consumption, indistrial consumption goods that kept Britain alive, but as the war progress, all military hardware needed to retake northern Europe under German occupation, after North Africa and Italy, brining to the front tanks, trucks, jeeps, ammunition, food, parts and fuel and in many cases troops in addition to dedicated troopships and assault ships. An average capacity was for 2,800 jeeps or 440 tanks, or huge ammo loads. This means every one of them could make the difference tactically. Without them, the Allies likely could not have sustained overseas warfare.

However that fast construction and the many shortcuts taken in simplification generated weaknesses & problems: First off, these ships were slow. Their VTE engines were a trusted, reliable powerplant, but 11 knots maximum was lacking to escape submarines, which by night and surfaced could reach 18 knots. Fast construction also generated lots of structural failures. Some ships cracked or broke in half due to new welding techniques and lack of knowledge on steel composition, with brittle steel in cold water. For the crews, they were not liked much either: They were extremely crude, basic & uncomfortable with poor crew conditions. They were “expandbble ships” by designed with a short lifespan of five years. And of course there were losses as expected: About 200 Liberty ships lost during the war, many temained unexplained to this day, many were explained many years later by the steel used and welding techniques of the time. But many survived as well and had long careers of their own, far exceeding expectations.

Some Liberty ships were also modified into troop transports, Hospital ships, Repair ships, Tank carriers as they proved extremely versatile. They completed well the C1, C2, C2 cargo family designed by MARCOM at the start of the war. These conversions became more common as the war progressed and after V-E day in May 1945, many continued service in the far east and Pacificn taking part in the allies logistic train agains Japan. After the War, liberty ships placed in reserve by the USN, were also used in Korean War logistics, but after the 1950s the bulk ended sold to commercial shipping companies where they helped rebuilding global trade. Most were scrapped by the 1960s, so after 20 years service “only” due to their original shortcomings, and because they were now too slow and inefficient for modern shipping. The faster, larger Victory Ships, with their steam turbines were just judged superior in every way and remained in service for much longer.

Development

In 1936, the American Merchant Marine Act was voted by the congress. Its goal was to subsidize annual construction of 50 merchant vessels usable in wartime by the United States Navy as naval auxiliaries. They were to be crewed by U.S. Merchant Mariners still. As tenstions continue to grow in the “old world”, this number was doubled in 1939, and then again in 1940, up to 200 ships a year. Types included two tankers models, three cargo vessel standards, all powered by steam turbines. However, limited industrial capacity notably for reduction gears, curtailed these efforts.
In 1940, the British government, desperate of its losses to U-Boote (The British Merchant Marine was the world’s largest at the time), ordered sixty “Ocean-class” freighters, submitting their own design from American yards, to replace war losses, boost their own merchant fleet.

These ships were simple, but fairly large for the time. Instead of turbines they had instead a single 2,500 horsepower (1,900 kW) compound steam engine. This was clearly an outdated but, utterly reliable powerplant. Britain also specified they would be supplied by steam from coal burning boilers given its own extensive coal mines, no significant domestic oil production, and thus, spare oil for its wartime fleet.

The British Ocean Class

The predecessor designs included the “Northeast Coast, Open Shelter Deck Steamer” based on a vessel produced in Sunderland, at J.L. Thompson & Sons shipyard. It was a simple 1939 design of tramp steamer, heap to build and run ordered by the Silver Line. SS Dorington Court, built in 1939 was the first of them. The British commission however wanted them to be deeper in draft by 18-inch (0.46 m) for extra capacity, thus reaching an extra 800 long tons (810 t), to 10,100 long tons (10,300 t). Anotehr model which was taken as example was the SS Scottish Monarch, 9,300 deadweight tonnage by Caledon Shipbuilding Co. in 1938, and a standard motorship tramp-type built by the Burntisland Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. for the carriage of coal, grain and general cargo. This “economy ship” had a deadweight tonnage of 10,200 tons and a speed of 12 knots.

The general design was very conventional, with the bridge and main engine located amidships, a tunnel connecting the main engine shaft to the propeller, via a long aft extension below the holds. This freed the entire forward and aft section for payloads, with three holds forward and two aft. The first Ocean-class ship was SS Ocean Vanguard, launched on 16 August 1941. The British alsop came out with the Empire type. The Empire Liberty became the parent ship or prototype of the ships built for British account in the United States Here. Are the differences:

⚙ specifications
	Ocean Type (mostly welded)	Empire Type (mostly riveted)
Length B.P.	416 ft 0 in	416 ft 0 in
Breadth extreme	57 ft .375 in	57 ft 2 in
Breadth molded	56 ft 10.75 in	56 ft 10.5 in
Draft extreme	26 ft 10.875 in	26 ft 11.75 in
Draft molded	26 ft 10 in	26 ft 9.625 in
Both types:
Camber 2nd deck – nil; upper deck 14 in
Sheer 2nd deck – nil; upper deck 8 ft 9 in. forward, 4 ft 6 in. aft
Gross tonnage 7,157
Deadweight tonnage 10,100

A rejected Design

It should be said that adopting the British design was met with resistance from US shipbuilders. Washington correspondant of the Daily telegraph reported that

“In American shipping circles – the British plan is said to involve a new conception in shipbuilding. It involves the construction of a 28-way assembly yard to turn out ‘powered scows.’ Little more than pointed boxes with riveted steel hulls and a large cargo space. Parts would be built throughout the United States and assembled at the yards. Some parts might even be constructed in inland points.”

Further more Admiral Land, Chairman of MARCOM in a memo dated 18 November 1940 stated:

In my judgment, we are not interested in the type of ship proposed by the British, which type is for emergency use only. If it is decided to augment our own program we should build ships for 20 years life and have an eye on the future. Therefore, build ships to our standard designs.

In Britain also, was an amount of skepticism regarding the value of building this type. Shipping interests after the First World War were plagued with slow and inefficient tonnage inherited from US effort already to build standardized emergency ships. They argued that the slowness of these new attempts, made then unsafe in convoy already (as U-Boote could exceed 15 kts surfaced) and expected to be useless back in a competitive post-war context. However the British could trust President Roosevelt to see the matter differently, when reviewed in considerable detail in November and December.

On 2 December the White House requested information on the British emergency vessel and Mr. Bates of MARCOM’s Technical Division phoned F. H. Gibbs, of the legendary naval architecture agency Gibbs & Cox of NyC for technical information, with the latter contacting in turn the British Merchant Shipbuilding Mission. Drawings were published, and on 6 December the choice of a speed of 11 kts was preferred over 15 kts, as the latter required more steel for construction. However MARCOM recoignized later in December that it needed to revise the program to make the ship easier to build. Admiral land wanted a 100-ship ordered and confered again with Gibbs & Cox as the boiler type was still undecided at this point. On 8 December 1940 Churchill wrote to Roosevelt: “Looking into the future it would seem that production on a scale comparable to that of the Hog Island scheme of the last war ought to be faced for 1942”.

On 28 December 1940, the President authorized facilities for 200 ships and asked Robert Morganthau, Secretary of the Treasury, to allocate for this 500,000$ on emergency funds. After his famous speech about the “arsenal of democracy”, on 3 January 1941, he announced the launching of a $350 million merchant shipbuilding program, and allocated 36 million dollars to fund the construction of new shipbuiding facilities. The ships planned then were 7,500 tons each, and advocated for the highest level of prefabrication. On 8 January at the White House conference it was decided to launch the program in ten days. MARCOM already was prepared to a considerable effort after the two-ocean Navy act in July 1940.

In a final resolution at the Congress the president allocated $313.5 million for the shipbuilding program on 6 February 1941. Initial prospects for construction were 12 months to build 50 slipways for 63,000,000 $ total at yards respectively at Portland, Maine, or Baltimore in Curtis Bay and Los Angeles or Portland in Oregon. Extra capacity was looked after at the Great Lakes area to the limit of available facilities for the Boilers, Water tube or fire tube at Scotch and construction in the Delaware River and N. Y. area and if not sufficient to Chicago, Cleveland and Pittsburgh areas with Boiler plate from Lukens Iron & Steel Co. At this point both all-oil or 50% coal and oil were considered. In the end it was estimated the first 200 ships would cost approx. $350,000,000.

Final Design

This design was first drafted in a reunion at MARCOM between Admiral Vickery, Vice Chairman of the US Maritime Commission, with Mr. Schmeltzer, Chief of the Construction Division and Mr. Bates, Chief of the Technical Division on 3 January. Since there was emergency, and the ships were planned for Britain, the British design would be the groundwork for the new design. There was sitll an option for a design of American origin. Steam turbines were rejected for a VTE using oil fuel and watertube boilers, instead of procuring only Scotch boilers, already in short supply. A day later it was decided to produce working plans for the 8th, drafted by W. F. Gibbs. He announced he would prepared two designs. To add validated data, Mr. A. Osbourne (Research Section of the Technical Division) exhumed plans of the World War I. “Los Angeles” hog islander class (238 constructed) given their comparable size. They were a bit smaller still at 410 ft x 54 ft x 24 ft FL for 7,500 tonnes. Its issues had been noted for improvements, a weak skeg, badly located air pump, insufficiently rigid engine foundation. But the design was quite close had in caracteristics and capable of 10.5 knots.

However the plans needed considerable reworking as they were for riveted ships. Meanwhile Gibbs & Cox teams worked on simplification and standardization. They found ways to eliminate for example all double turns or twists in individual plates. The goal was to remove all curvature from transverse sections. At that stage the design was 420 ft x 58 ft x 26 ft 3 in. for 13,490 tons, and 10,090 tons deadwieght, speed 11 kts, range 8,000 miles. The base was a T2 size tanker from George G. Sharp for the Shipping Board years before. On the 8th the choice had to be made between two alternated designs based on either 2,500 HP reciprocating engine, or low pressure simplified turbines. But no decision was taken. On 13 Dec. it was agreed to build the ships using both furnaced and rolled plates. On the 29th a compromise was chosen, with the British design adopted and Gibbs & Cox as purchasing agent for the plans.

This was signed on 7 February and the contract was schedule to be executed in April and at the time, 312 vessels were planned. It was chosen to stick also on watertube boilers designed by Babcock & Wilcox with their straight tubes and readily interchangeable parts as well as seasier to transport in knock-down sections unlike the archaic one-piece Scotch boilers. Classification was given to the American Bureau of Shipping.

MARCOM’s EC2-S-C1 Class

The design was modified by the US Maritime Commission. The main reason was to increase conformity to US construction practices. But in-house engineers believed extra simplification could mean and even quicker and cheaper construction. The new US version was designated ‘EC2-S-C1’:
-‘EC’ for Emergency Cargo
-‘2’ for a ship between 400 and 450 feet (120 and 140 m) long at load waterline length
-‘S’ for steam engines
-‘C1’ for design C1 (Cargo, #1).

This new design replaced riveting (1/3 of the labor costs) with welding, and replaced coal by oil-fired boilers. It was adopted as a Merchant Marine Act design. Production was then awarded to a conglomerate of West Coast engineering and construction companies. They were headed by Henry J. Kaiser as the “Six Companies”. The name chosen for the program, to make it more appealing to the congress and press, was “Liberty ship”. They were were designed to carry a symbolic 10,000 long tons (10,200 t) of cargo for a single type per ship. Howeve rin operatiosn they carried loads far exceeding that figure. On 27 March 1941 it was decided to bring 200 of these additional ships in lend-lease (from 60 initially ordered by the British) by the Defense Aid Supplemental Appropriations Act In April it was pushed to 306, of which 117 were Liberty ships.

Construction start was fast indeed: The final contract was signed on 14 March 1941 and the first keel was laid down on the 30th, launch on 27 September, first delivery on 30 December, so less than the 12 months planned. It was understood many compromises had to be made, and the ships would be ‘five-year’ vessels. Expendable, very simple but unable to compete with later merchant ships in a postwar context, nor the one already built since 1936 with all modern refinements. They were strictly wartime utility ships. It was however argued utility afterward could be found on the less strenuous coastal trade. However at the behest of Gibbs & Cox, certain changes were determined. For example it was decided to not be necessary to “furnace” more than two plates on each side of the forefoot. At Bethlehem-Fairfield yard, it was decided the seams would be riveted but the frames welded to the shell and the weather deck should have a straight camber. There would be wooden hatch covers and furniture but no wood on decks if possible.

Fuel tanks and deep tanks (oil only) were added in the No. 1 hold for salt water ballast forward, filling stations and CO2 smothering arrangements were made, the galley no was also oil-fired, and for external changes, kingposts were replaced by simpler masts and the No. 3 hatch was lenghtened. Chain rails at the weather deck sides were replaced by bulwarks. The brige was taller to eliminate canvas wind dodger, non-slip deck covering where guns should be, ladders to lower holds. A ratproofing was added as well as an after steering station, a 12-inch searchlight as well as extra refrigerated store space and running water in the officers staterooms, as well as cooled water tap in the midship house and slop chest for the crew. Despite of these, the press soon nicknamed them the “Ugly Duckling” by Washington Star in july 1941. Richard L. Stokes, Washington Correspondent of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch was particularly harsh on them, and advocated to cancel the entire program as a waste of resources.

Accomodations were considered more comfortable in the US design. There were however less hospital berth, round bar davits with operating gear, no emergency diesel generator, no spare bower anchor, and a reduced anchor chain from 300 to 240 fathoms. There were no mechanical ventilation, smaller crews’ lockers and rooms, no fire detection system, no double geared winches, cement in the toilets, no heat insulation in usual places, no gyro compass, no radio direction finder, or motor lifeboat equipments, among others. But this evolved during construction. The frame core design master were done at the mold loft at the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company. They matched the parent set sent from England apart some details at the waterline endings and stern post. The frames could be either riveted or welded depending on each yard’s capacity. The number of plate thicknesses was reduced, and the scantlings were revised down. The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) eventually approved Gibbs & Cox desigh on 12 February 1941 after they were submitted just a day prior, a schedule unmatched in its history.

All this was crowned by a first achievement, as on 27 September 1941, “Liberty Fleet Day”, President Roosevelt announced that 14 new merchant ships were launched that day from dawn to sunset and from coast to coast. It was announced at 12:55 pm, Eastern daylight time, 30 min. before “Patrick Henry”, first of the Maritime Commission Libert Ships, met the waters of the Patapsco River at Baltimore. She was followed by Surprise at Chester (Pennsylvania) and Ocean Ventura on the Pacific Coast. Mrs. Henry A Wallace, wife of the Vice President, was the first, baptising Patrick Henry. Rear Admiral Emory S. Land, Chairman of the Maritime Commission, made a spirited speech and the the president’s pleading for “more speed” in delivery. This was embraced fully in 1943, making history. The final name for these ships, was long in coming but ultimately derived from the initial “Liberty Fleet”. On 27 September 1941, Liberty Fleet Day, the press was there and eventually started to naturally call these by extension and facility, the “liberty ships”.

Design of the class

Hull and general design

A colored diagram of compartments on a Liberty ship, from the right side, front to the right:

Machinery spaces	Engine room
Command and control	Misc
Liquid stores	Dry stores
Dry cargo	Habitation

The ancient roots of the design, that some assimilated to a type of ship already developed in Sunderland in 1879, was in reality a concern of post-WWI coal steamers operating on the northern coast of Britain, with companies that desired the mosy effective design possible, with hull lines that would maximize capacity while enabling speeds of 9-12 knots with reasonable power output. But this move came from the British sqhipbuilders themselves, trying to convince these tramp owners that better designs were possible and seek replacement. Notably they presented ships with forebody lines, midship section and after body lines and appendages receiving individual and collective consideration. Engine builders also contributed and proposed a machinery capable of developing power at a reduced rate of fuel consumption per horsepower. These profitability margins came in handy when the 1929 crisis happened, and became soon standard.

Designers of the new Ocean Vanguard produced a wooden model, which showed a “cod’s head and mackerel tail as base and integrated the results of 1930s studied from the National Physical Laboratory in England on designing more efficient hull shapes. Many pool experiments were made to determine the best formula. It was accepted the principle of a new size and shape of the propeller as well, a new type of “cruiser” stern to assist the even flow of water to the propeller and a new rudder shape to boot. The new standard for propulsion (see below) were triple-expansion engines with small tibes of the Backbock-Wilcox design instead of coal fired Scotch boilers and the EC2 design was the first with engine parts interchangeable. They were even common to the Liberty ships, Ocean and Fort (Canadian-built) ships. Any parts manufactured at Wallsend or Sunderland could fit any US or Canadian Liberty ship.

Back in time, an important yard for this development was Robert Thompson’s shipyard. In WWI it delivered 17 merchant ships for c91,000 GRT. It was hit badly by the 1929 crisis, having no launches for four years, but developed its own hull form for an economic vessel, producting SS Embassage in 1935, tank-tested and very unusual for its fullness forward and sloping bow, fine stern lines in a Vee and completed as a 9100 GRT shelter decker. Fuel consumption was remarkable for the time at 16-17 tons daily at 10 kts. Next was better Dorlington Court which differed from the Empire Liberty by its bilge radius and parallel midbody (4 ft 6 in/69 ft) and a ship woth a bilge radius of 5 ft 6 in. for 149 ft of parallel body was drafted; the plans were carried in the US by the British commission.

In the end, the final US drafted plans for the EC2-S-C1 derived from SS Empire Liberty, from Joseph L. Thompson & Sons, Ltd. at North Sands Shipbuilding Yard in Sunderland. She inherited from the above figures and was essentially a sister ship of the Ocean Vanguard from Richmond NyD, California for the hull. British ships had their island placed further forward compared to the funnel. Its final particulars were a length overall of 441 feet 5 inches, between perpendiculars 416 feet for an extreme breadth of 57 feet 2 inches and a depth molded to the upper deck of 37 feet 4 inches. For the Lloyd’s her and the follow-up vessels were designed as open shelter deckers with a draft of 25 feet 6 inches. She had a have a straight and heavily raked stem, cruiser stern with sufficient sheer to compensate for the omission of a forecastle.

She had two complete steel decks, cellular double bottom with solid floors, amidship machinery, five cargo holds, one deep tank and a cross bunker. The engine compartment was compact, with three cyl. boilers side by side across the deck, and the main VTE engine further aft, making for a roughly squared machinery space. She also had better crew’s accommodation with larger rooms, better furnishings and the petty officers, seamen and fireman having large separate messrooms. The holds depended on ten 5-ton steel derricks, and 7-in x 12-in steam winches. There was a heavy derrick at the after side of the foremast and two 8-inch by 14-inch winches. The crew could be evacuated by four lifeboats of the same size (whaler type) for even distribution, and housed in Crescent type mechanical davits.

Powerplant

3-furnace scoth boiler for Ocean Vanguard. The illustration was taken in the works of the American Locomotive Co.

In 1941, steam turbine remained the preferred marine steam engine due to its greater efficiency compared to reciprocating compound steam engines or VTEs. Steam turbine were complicated however to manufacture with very skilled labout and precise tolerance of machining, notably for their complicated double helical reduction gears. Companies involved in these were alreayd at full capacity to provide the other massive fleet of warships wanted by the USN.

The prototype Empire Liberty had a North Eastern Marine Engineering Co. (1938) Ltd. VTE. The Libert ship machinery was designed to work with saturated steam, but with provisions to be easily converted after the war to operate with superheated steam at c750 degrees F. At any rate this engine had three-cylinder for a triple-expansion with cylinders of 24 inches, 39 inches, 68 inches by 48 inches stroke, and space at the back of the high-pressure cylinder to accomodate the reheater.

The massive 140 tonnes VTE engine block, vertical triple expansion steam engine of the type used to power World War II Liberty ships, assembled for testing before delivery
Instead of the antiquated British model reciprocating compound steam engine, MARCOM preferred a more modern 140-short-ton (130 t) vertical triple expansion steam engine. This was also still an old design, but it was selected as the cheapest and easiest to build in numbers for the program. Eighteen companies were elected to build it. It’s Kaiser that mostly convinced the British commission to use reciprocating engines and water-tube boilers Scotch boilers as a standard. The Empire Liberty and follow-up could have either two large main boilers and one auxiliary boiler, or three large
main boilers for a saturated steam at 220 Ib/Sq.in of working pressure and using the Howden forced-draft system.

This engine was less efficient, but known for its extreme ruggedness, simplicity and familiarity to all seamen. Parts made in all these companies were interchangeable due to rigid standards. The openness of the design made most of the moving parts easy to see as well as access and oil, and thus, to maintain. This was still a massive engine block at 21 feet (6.4 m) long, 19 feet (5.8 m) tall. It droved the single shaft at 76 rpm for a top speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). In average convoys, top speed was degraded to the slowest ship in it, hence on average 10 knots in “slow formations” (SC). 15 knots (like for the Victory ships or other modern turbine-powered or diesel-powered vessels) was called an HX convoy. The following number were for identification.

Ocean Vanguard, the trailblazer of the Liberty ships, had its triple-expansion main engine built by the Hooven-Owens-Rentschler division of the General Machinery Corporation, Hamilton, Ohio, better known for its Hamilton-M.A.N. diesels. The Ocean Vanguard engine developed 2,500 I.H.P. with cylinders 24½ in., 37 in., and 70 in. by 48 in. stroke. It was fed the steam from three Scotch Boilers working at a pressure of 225 bb. per sq. in. (). These were single-ended coal-fired boilers built by the Western Pipe & Steel Co., of Los Angeles. They operated with Howden’s system of forced draught, with fans by the Todd Shipyards Corporation. Smoke-tube super-heaters raised the steam temperature to 550°F.

Auxiliary power counted on two two steam-driven 25kW. 110-volt generating sets in the engine room and main circulating, feed, bilge, ballast, and general service pumps were supplied by the Worthington Pump & Machinery Corp. Harrison, New Jersey. They also used a Crompton-type ash hoist. Ocean Vanguard as built showed up well in a stormy maiden crossing, and was a good steamer with a daily coal consumption of about 25 tons.

Protection

Naturally, the design did not incorporated any “hard protection”, that is any form of armour plating. The ships were strictly merchant and if they integrated double-bottom sections for protection in case of a grounding, it was unable to stop a torpedo hit. The hull was subdivided by seven watertight bulkheads, spaced, to give the maximum degree of safety without impairing cargo capacity or stowage. So the large holds were separated by civilian grade bulkheads, not armoured, and remained at risk of cracking in case of rapid flooding, as there was no side compartmentation to maximize payload volume. In case of fire, there were the usual hand-held fire extinguishers and electrically powered pumps, provided the ship did not lost all power. There were also backup manual pumps to use seawater to douse any fire. Crews were trained for such emergencies.

Armament

It was almost systematic, but entirely focused on A/S and AA defence, there was no ASW suite. That was the job of the escort destroyer and frigates. One reason was quite obvious: Their single propeller and tall poop would have created a succion so powerful as to made a depth charge collide with the rudder at any but the highest draft. The A/S armament wa sgenerally cmposed on a 5-in/38 gun at the poop, a 3-in/50 gun forward and six 20 mm Oerlikon AA guns located on individual platforms on the four corners of the bridge and two aft, close to the main aft gun.

However this was the latter complement. Early ship were limited to a single stern-mounted 4-in/50 (102 mm) deck gun intended to deal with surfaced submarines. Anti-aircraft guns were almost always 20 mm Oerlikon, rarely the high demand 40 mm Bofors, reserved to the fleet. The troop transport variants were likely the best armed, and its not impossible they received individual 40 mm Bofors if available for specific operations in contested areas.

Assault transports such as the Orsmby class in contrast, based in 1942 on C2, C3, C4 hulls received four twin Bofors, up to twelve twin 20 mm AA Mark 24 plus radars for example. One aspects is clear: Liberty ships were pretty low on the priority list for ordnance. So armament could vary considerably and sometimes, in particular early ships, could have been equipped with whatever was available, like leftovers from conversions and modernizations, like the 28 mm (1.1 in) “chicago piano” for example or older types of 4-in and 3-in guns, from WWI stocks. Examples:
-SS Patrick Henry, the first completed, had a bow-mounted 3-inch/50, a stern-mounted 4-in/50, two 20 mm Oerlikon and two 37 mm M1 AA guns as completed.
-SS John Brown, which carried troops, had one 3-inch/50 caliber gun in the bow, one 5-inch/38 caliber gun and two 3-inch/50 caliber guns in the stern and eight 20mm anti-aircraft guns.
-Aviation transport USNS Albert M Boe (T-AKV 6) had at the end of her career a bow-mounted 3-in/50, stern mounted 4-in/50, eight 20 mm and eight 37 mm AA guns.

5-in/38 Mark 21

Although some sources states Mark 30 it’s more likely an older Mk 21 was posted on the aft platform. This weighted 31,200 lb (14,200 kg) on an unprotected, open pedestal. It fired a 127×680mmR shell of 53 Ib (24 Kg) HE (only effective against U-Boats) of 127 mm, 38 caliber. The gun worked with a vertical sliding-wedge, for a recoil of 15 in (38 cm) and an elevation of −15° to +85°, 15 rpm for a muzzle velocity of 2,600 ft/s (790 m/s) initial. The depression that high was useful to fire on closing surfaced U-Boats. Max range was 18,000 yards (16,000 m). The 5-in/38 was a dual purpose whereas the 4(in/50 was purely usable against surfaced submarines.

4-in/50 Mark 9

The Mark 9 is a likely guess as they made the bulk of production (2988 versus 89 for the Mark 7). Most common heavy gun mounted intead of the 5-in/38 as the latter was in short supply in 1941.
The Mark 9 was a WWI gun introduced in 1914, production ceased in 1918. It weighted 5,900 lb (2,700 kg) with breech and the barrel measured 206.53 in (5,246 mm). It fired a fixed ammunition of 33 lb (15 kg), 102 mm, 50 caliber, with an elevation of -15° to +20° and 8-9 rpm at 2,900 ft/s (880 m/s) and 15,920 yd (14,560 m) range at 20°.

3-in/50 Mark

The most common guns on Liberty ships, a good compromise between caliber and rate of fire, with enough range to deal with surfaced U-Boats. In addition to all Liberty Ships, they armed all eighteen Armadillo-class tankers (Z-ET1-S-C3) (1 per ship), forty-eight of sixty-five Crater-class cargo ships (EC2-S-C1) (1 per ship), all sixteen Guardian-class radar picket ships (Z-EC2-S-C5) (2 per ship) and eleven Acubens-class stores ships (EC2-S-C1) (1 per ship). The exact mark is unknown, but they likely used an older moderate elevation models, so possibly WWI leftover and interwar stocks of the Mark 3, 5, 8 or 10. Or even the initial Mark 2 (1898) if local stocks were depleted.

The Mark 18, 20 and 21 were reserved for submarines. The Mark 22 was a luxury reserved for the best ships and only appeared in 1944. So the most likely the best candidate was either the Mark 10 or the Mark 17. It was 153.8 inches (3.91 m) long for 2,086 pounds (946 kg) (with breech) complete round: 24 lb (11 kg); projectile weight: 13 lb (5.9 kg) projectile types: AP, AA (with VT proximity fuze), HE, Illumination. This 76 mm, 50 caliber gun was mounted on a pedestal Mount for an elevation of -10° to +15°. 15-20 rpm and c10,000 yards at 2,700 ft/s (820 m/s).

1.45 in (37 mm)/54 M1 AA

This autocannon was designed for the Army as standard AA gun, but some ended in the Navy as well due to its mass production and simplicity. Produced from 1939 to July 1943 at least 7,278 were made, weighting 2,780 kg (6,130 lb), 2 m (6.56 ft)/54 calibers, 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) wide and 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) tall, firing a fixed QF 37×223mmSR weighting 0.61 kg (1 lb 6 oz). It used a vertical breech block
and elevated from -5° to + 90° for 120 rounds per minute at 792 m/s (2,598 ft/s) and max 3,200 m (3,499 yds) effective range, or in theory 8,275 m (9,049 yds).

20mm Oerlikon AA

The well-known ex-German, ex-Swiss, British and US-patented light AA piece. Single operator, simple flat shield, mpount easy to upgrade to a twin mount, as it could have happened later in the war. What’s important, it could depress to -15° of needed. It’s 450 rpm cyclic ROF with HE rounds could “cleanup” an U-Boat deck of needed. Each Liberty ship by default carried four, installed at the four corners of the islands, two more on a platform aft, and sometimes more, especially for ships used for troop transport close to landing areas.

Sensors

By default these ships carried no radars during the war, it was never planned. In short supply, radars were reserved for the combat Navy only and the Liberty ships aimed at simplification and were seen as “expandable”. However, postwar conversions did included radar ships and pickets, such as former Navy Z-EC2-S-C5 (crated aircraft transports) that became the Guardian-class radar picket ships (YAGR/AGR) with sixteen converted in 1955.

Variants

The EC2-S-C1 design was modified as the war progressed. This resulted into three major variants, all with the same basic dimensions but variable tonnage and specifications. These variants had all four rather than five holds, large reinforced hatches, and new kingpost with largeer capacity booms, designated for transport of tanks and boxed aircraft:

EC2-S-AW1

5 holds Colliers (coal seams, ex. SS Banner Seam, Beckley Seam and Bon Air Seam).

Z-EC2-S-C2

Tank carrier with four holds, new kingposts (example; SS Frederic C. Howe).

Z-ET1-S-C3

T1 tanker (example SS Carl R. Gray). 18 commissioned into USN in 1943 as the Armadillo-class tanker, well armed.

Z-EC2-S-C5

Boxed aircraft transport (four holds, new kingposts) like SS Charles A. Draper. Post war, 16 of these were converted in 1954–1958 as the Guardian-class radar picket ship.

EC2-MT-C1

In preparation for the Normandy landings and afterward, modification were made to standardize mass vehicle transport. They were noted as “MT” for ‘Motor Transport’ (vessels). They gad five holds, but four loaded with vehicles and a fifth modified to house accomodations for drivers and assistants. Modifications into troop transports had no known designations.

ARU(F)

Six Liberty ships were converted at Point Clear, Alabama, by the USAAF (United States Army Air Force) into floating aircraft repair depots. They were operated by the Army Transport Service from April 1944 under the program “Project Ivory Soap”. They supprted B-29 Superfortress bombers and P-51 Mustang fighters on Guam, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa from December 1944. Designation was ARU(F)s (Aircraft Repair Unit, Floating), fitted with landing platforms to accommodate four Sikorsky R-4 helicopters in order to provide medical evacuation in the Philippine and at Okinawa. This made them the first helicopter carriers in history.

Feats of Construction

Launch of SS Patrick Henry on Liberty Fleet Day, 27 September 1941 (AI colorized).

Liberty ships were constructed by sections welded together. The technique was pioneered in UK, by Palmer’s at Jarrow but with riveting, not welding. The work force was newly trained, as they never previously built welded ships and that included many women, to replace enlisted men. In 1940 such construdtion was planned to take 12 months initially but as the design was finalized aznd the construction method streamlined it fell to c200 days, and as the war progress, methods were further improved to the point in early 1943 already only 24 days were needed from keel laying to completion, a never seen construction speed in the naval industry, never repeated or equalled since:

Ex: Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards (Baltimore) schedule by March/April 1943:

• Day 2 : Laying of the keel plates
• Day 6 : Bulkheads and girders below the second deck are in place.
• Day 10 : Lower deck being completed and the upper deck amidship erected
• Day 14 : Upper deck erected and mast houses and the after-deck house in place
• Day 24 : Ship ready for launching

About the name “Liberty ships”, President Franklin D. Roosevelt himself referred to them as “dreadful looking objects”, and “Ugly Duckling” which also in the press, but that change on 27 September 1941 with the Liberty Fleet Day to assuage public opinion with the simulaneous launch of SS Patrick Henry and 13 more vessels the same day, coast to coast. FDR was present at the ceremony of Patrick Henry (a fampous American revolutionary), citing his 1775 speech finished “Give me liberty or give me death!” and the name Liberty ship stuck afterwards. Patrick Henry was an early ship and 244 days were needed. Others already fell to 230 days, but by 1943 it average 39 days. The most famous record was set by SS Robert E. Peary (see below), launched 4 days and 150 plus half an hour after keel laying. But it was only for the guiness of records, a publicity stunt from the Yard that was not repeated. Indeed, the ships was barebones and needed much fitting-out after launch.

The assembly-line style heavily depended on prefabricated sections so that three Liberty ships could be completed daily in 1943 and usually named after famous Americans, like the signatories of the Declaration of Independence for the first built and seventeen named in honor of outstanding African-Americans like Booker T. Washington in 1942, or SS Harriet Tubman on 3 June 1944. War bonds worth $2 million afforded such a name. One of the most strange was SS Stage Door Canteen, after the USO club in New York or SS U.S.O. after the United Service Organizations (USO).

Failures

This the occasion to debunk the myth that every Liberty ship was a disaster waiting to happen: Hard facts tells that of the 12 ships that did break in half, only three of them were Liberty Class ships (over 2,710 that’s a drop in in ocean), versus one T1 tanker and eight T2 tankers, far more significant. After a couple of such failures, a board of investigation was established by the Secretary of the Navy in 1944. It was suspected from the start the all-welded construction was the culprit. However overall of fractures occurred to 432 ships, they were mostly minor and could be repaired with patching up and more welding. 95 ships however had fractures extended into the hull girder and needed drydocking, and 20 suffered complete fractures of the strength deck, and needed complete-rewelding and bracing. Of these, five completely broke in two and were written-off. The factors were cited at the time as contributing to the problem:

• Stress concentrations due to square corners (due to cimplifications) and discontinuities like square hatches
• Steel with low manganese content (reserved for armour plates) that proved brittle in low temperature (most full fracture cases)
• Poor quality welding, improper welding sequence creating “locked-up” stresses.
• Vessels overloaded and heavy weather in the North Atlantic adding further stress

More research was done, including material analysis and model testing, strain gauging full scale hulls and in postwar years and with control quality progressing with technology, this problem never occured again. In 1945 alerady were recommended structural modifications to be incorporated on existing ships with noted structural problems and new ones like riveted connection of sheer strake to stringer strake as bilge strake, radiused corner reinforcement of hatch covers, mandatory installation of crack arrestors for troop carriers and earlier ships with reccuring structural problems. The modern techniques used to test and examine the structure and quality of the steel manufactured today allows to identify microscopic imperfections within, that can’t be seen by human eyes.
There were also issues with the powerplants, VTE like the boilers, but that’s for a future update in 2027.

⚙ specifications
Displacement GRT	7,176 gross tons registered (GRT)
Displacement (Ton)	14,245 long tons (14,474 t)
Dimensions	441 ft 6 in x 57 ft x 26 ft 10 in (134.5 x 17.3 x 8.5)
Propulsion	1 shafts VTE, 2 oil-fired boilers 2500 hp (1900 KW)
Speed	11–11.5 knots (20.4–21.3 km/h; 12.7–13.2 mph)
Range	20,000 nmi (37,000 km; 23,000 mi)
Armament	5-in or 4-in DP, 37mm and 20 mm AA, see notes
Crew	38-36 USMM, 21-40 USNAG

Dimensions

The Length overall was 441 ft 6 in (134.5 meters)
The Length between perpendiculars was 416 ft (127 meters)
The Length registered was 422 ft 8 in (129 meters)
The Length at the waterline was 427 ft (130.15 meters)
The Breadth moulded was 56 ft 10.75 in (17 meters)
The Breadth extreme was of 57 ft (17.37 meters)
The original draft was 26 ft 10 in (7.95 meters)
The Draft, as classed was 27 ft 8.875 in (8.4 meters).
Light draft was 7 ft 9 in. (2.5 meters)
The freeboard was 9 ft 8.75 in (3 meters).
The full height above bottom of the keel plate was 82 ft 0.25 in (25 meters).
The telescopic top masts from the keel plate measured 102 ft 0.25 in (31 meters).

Tonnage

The standard Gross Registered Tonnage was 7,176 gross and 4,380 net.
US measurement equivalent was 7,191 gross (4,309 net)
Panama measurement was 7,223 gross (5,093 net)
Suez measurement was 7,230 gross (5,399 net)
Deadweight as planned was 10,414 tonnes and as classed, 10,865 tonnes
Displacement was 14,245 tonnes fully loaded but lightly loaded 3,380 tonnes at 7 ft 9 in. draft
Lightweight (no oil, food, anything) was 3,401 tonnes. Adding to this 130 tons of defense equipment.
Capacities varied by holds from 84,181 (grain) 75,405 (bale) in the first 145,604 (grain) 134,638 (bale) in N°2
The deep tanks combined reached 49,086 (grain) 41,135 (bale).
In General stores they had a capacity of 11,626 cubic feet (0,905 m3)

They could have refrigerated stores up to 1,918 cubic feet (0.03 m3)
They carried up to 2,811 tons of water ballast not to loose balance when discharging goods

The Fixed ballast was 281 tons, and in addition they carried 1,819t of oil and 188t freshwater.
Each boom weighted 5 ton on the fore and after masts for 55 ft but 47 at No. 3 hatch and between 15, 30 and 50 ton for 51 ft centerline.

Some Outstanding Ships

Operated by Lykes Brothers Steamship Co., Inc. she was the first ship ordered by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) as the first type EC2-S-C1 hull, MCE hull 14, awarded on 14 March 1941 at Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland for a cost of $1,613,203 in Yard number 2001, Way number 1. She was laid down on 30 April 1941, launched on 27 September 1941, sponsored by Ilo Browne Wallace. She was completed on 30 December 1941. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was present for the “liberty fleet” day. The same day were launched SS John C. Fremont, SS Louise Lykes, SS Ocean Venture, SS Ocean Voice, SS Star of Oregon, and SS Steel Artisan. She made her maiden voyage was to the Middle East and in total, performed 12 voyages to Murmansk (PQ 18), Trinidad, Cape Town, Naples, and Dakar, and survived the war. She was badly damaged when running aground on a reef off Florida in July 1946. Laid up at National Defense Reserve Fleet in Mobile, Alabama until 18 September 1958, when sold to Bethlehem Steel for $76,191 to be scrapped after being stricken at Baltimore.6]

First Liberty ship ordered from Oregon Shipbuilding Co. Portland at Yard number 171, Way number 7 she was laid down on 19 May 1941, launched on 27 September 1941 and completed on 31 December 1941.
In complete contrast, albeit she was launched just a few hours behind Patrick Henry, she had a very different history. While undergoing an endurance trial up the Columbia River on 30 December 1941, her main engine’s HP crosshead slipper and guides and No. 6 main bearing ran hot and had to be cared for, and the steering gear failed so she ran aground. The same happened again on 4 January 1942, so she had to be drydocked to realign the main engine crankshaft, passing her re-trial. She was delivered to the States Steamship Company on 16 January and departed Los Angeles with a cargo winch and two generators not working. Repairs were done with new plug valves and pistons from the East Coast. She unloaded her caro in the Persian Gulf area and was back via Trinidad with chrome ore and sisal from East Africa but was hit underway by a torpedo on her starboard, flooding her No. 4 hold. The crew escaped and the Star of Oregon was finished off by gunfire from the surfaced U-Boat.

Built in 1942 by the South Portland Shipbuilding Company this 441 ft x 57 ft, 4380T vessel (7176 GRT) offered a cargo capacity of 500.500 sq.ft. She was named for Thomas Hooker (1586-1647) a clergyman and Puritan colonial leader which settled in the Hartford area and founded the Colony of Connecticut. She was sunk in a storm, suspected to be caused by a catastrophic hull failure and one of the cases that motivated an investigation in 1944. How it happened: On 11 August 1942, SS Thomas Hooker started operations for the American West African Line, Inc., sailing for England on 4 September (maiden voyage) and arrived at Glasgow to load supplyes and troops, she later made two round-trip voyages to North Africa. In the second one she was under Luftwaffe attacks. While docked at Bone, Algeria, she had a near-miss (50 feet) but was inspected and leaks were found.

Back to UK England she loaded fuel and water plus 1,300 tons of sand ballast and returned home on 11 February 1943. She entered a gale and pitched so heavily that the vibration from the propeller coming in out of the water, loosened bolts holding the steering engine so she had to take refuge in the nearest port for emergency repairs. Captain Hathaway (26) asked for 1,500 tons extra ballast but only got 800 tons when she departed on 11 February. On the 21st she was again at sea again but met heavy seas. On 5 March a large wave combined with another to create a rogue-like wave that hit her hard. A cracking sound was heard by all, and shell plating on both sides near No. 3 hold progressed over 6-8 ft above the waterline. The ship stopped, called for help, the crew was transferred to HMS Pimpernel. She was last seen rolling and pitching heavily, listing 12° to port. She was never seen again and likely sank soon afterwards. It was a case of failure that compounding initial welding or steel issues, a near-hit bombing and unsufficient ballast.

This 4,363t vessel or 7,196 GRT built in 1943 according to Lloyds was named after a gifted preacher and suffrage advocate, who went on to establish the first colony in Connecticut in the 17th century. JOEL R. POINSETT SS famously broke in two and was abandoned at 43.30°N/56.30° W, March 21st 1944 in heavy weather. The afterpart was towed to Halifax and converted to a depot ship. She was another case of catastrophic rupture. She was the 43rd Liberty ship built at the Todd-Houston Corp. delivered 28 February 1943, making a trip to the Mediterranean and another to Liverpool. She departed from there on 22 February 1944, ballasted with 4,700 tons of sand, salt water and fuel oil in all but No.3 hold. The Master considered it sufficient. On 4 March 1944 aft two days of very rough seas and coinstant battering, a loud noise was heard forward of the bridge. Engines stopped and just afterwards the crew witnessed the forward end of the ship separating, floating away. This happened between the engine room bulkhead and No.3 hatch. Both ended floated so the cew could be rescued by HMS Eddystone, the stern section was towed to Halifax safely intact with a engine room inspected and proving in good conditions. All thought at first she had been been torpedoed.

SS William Moultrie was built by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company, delivered to the U.S. Maritime Commission on June 11, 1942 and operating under a general agent agreement with the Seas Shipping Company. First departure was to join convoy PQ-18 war supplies from Loch Ewe in Scotland to Archangel in Russia, sailing around the western and northern coasts of Iceland and into the Greenland Sea from September 2 and on the 13th in the Barents Sea, U-Boats and Luftwaffe bombers attacked. Moultrie claimed three torpedo bombers splashed, six damaged. Her hull was intact and she had no leaks. On the next day, same and she shot down two more planes, one crashing into SS Mary Luckenbach loaded with TNT.

Her explosion created a concussion wave that knocked off all William Moultrie‘s standing crew. The entire ship was lifted, literally, out of the water and struck so hard when coming down she bounced, the bow went under but she righted herself. Again, through inspection, and she and appeared to have suffered no serious damage. Moultrie then shoot down two more planes, damage five. On the 18th bombers attacks was again repulsed, four torpedoes were however launched at William Moultrie, one was destroyed by gunfire underway, the others missed. She made it on the 21st, delivered her cargo and went back home safely. Her Naval Armed Guard received letters of commendation and the officer the Silver Star. Postwar laid up in the James River NDRF she was activated for the Grace Lines in 1951-1952, but inactive in Alabama Reserve Fleet until sold for scrap, August 1970. She is a good example of how these ships could be deadly if well handled, and that if some ships had structural issues, other could withstand severe punishment unscathed, proving Liberty ships were not all “disasters waiting to happen”.

Edgar Allan Poe is another example of severe treatment and surviving with flying colors. Ordered in 1942, making a few missions, badly damaged, repaired, re-acquired on 30 August 1943, in service from 23 February 1945 to 15 March 1946. She was chartered by the Navy in 1942, torpedoed in way of the engine room with the entire space damaged with the whole midship structure and lower decks lifted by the explosion, but the bulkheads held, no water entered the cargo spaces. She arrived safely, was repaired, and returned into service on 30 August 1943 as a dry storage ship under tow in the islands of the southwest Pacific, providing them supplies as well as small craft in the area. She returned to regular navy service from 23 February 1945 to 15 March 1946, returned to her owner until stricken on the 28th March. Her pennant changed to IX-103, 109 in 1943. That classification told she was damaged and could no longer be used as seagoing cargo. Some had their engine rooms destroyed, otherrs had their hulls severely weakened so they required towing all atimes.

This Liberty ship had no remarkable career by herself, but remained the record holder for the fastest cargo ship construction in history. Robert E. Peary was built at the Permanente Metals Corporation No. 2 Yard in Richmond, California, 47th in this yard. Her record resulted from a competition between shipyards. The Oregon Shipbuilding Corp. made Joseph N. Teal in ten days (13-23 Sept. 194) and the big boss, Henry J. Kaiser was asked by a reporter if it could have been done quicker, replying that only eight days wold ha been sufficient if not for President Franklin D. Roosevelt to attend the ceremony. Roosevelt agreed to be present if another ship could be for half the time.

For such deadline, the Richmond Shipyard prefabricated as much as possible, pre-positioned sections for workers to assemble the ship even more efficiently. Her keel was laid at 12:01 am, 8 November 1942. She was made from prefabricated 250-ton sections, engines already in place. The bottom shell came first, then inner-bottom unit to support the boiler, engine and pump, boilers installed by mid-morning, transverse bulkheads and shaft tunnel, upper deck the second day, lower forepeak, bulkheads and fantail and the 3rd day, the masts, derricks and superstructure. In the final day the wiring, welding, painting the 4th day, installation of the forward gun platform, inner stack, launched at 3:27 pm on 12 November after fitting 250,000 individual parts for 14,000,000 lb (6,400,000 kg). There was 26 minutes of speech and she was christened by Mrs. Maude Byrnes, wife of the head of Roosevelt’s Economic Stabilization Office and she slipped in create fanfare into the San Francisco Bay to be delivered for service on 15 November, making for 7 days, 14 hours and 32 minutes from laying to service delivery.

This record speed was a propaganda effort intended to show these ships could be built faster than sunk. It was as much direrted towards Germany’s Nazi officials than the US public. Normal standard, with the regular organization at Permanente yard was 50 days on average to build a ship. This was not realistically done and there was not enough steel or capacity to keep that pace on a regular basis. That “stunt ship” was felt by Kaiser as an “incentive ship” to boost morale and motivation to the workers and attract more. On average in 1942 these ships needed 1.4 million man-hours and 355 days. In 1943 the fell below 500,000 man-hours and 41 days.

Robert E. Peary otherwise had an unremarkable career. She made her maiden voyage on 22 November, operated by the Weyerhauser Steamship Company on the Pacific Theatre. She operated from Noumea, New Caledonia to Guadalcanal and later retuned to the Atlantic Ocean from April 1943, until the remainder of the war in usual convoy routes to Europe. She carried back to Canada and the US axis POWs after the allied won the African campaign, and saw action off Omaha Beach on D-Day. She ended in the Wilmington Reserve Fleet in December 1946, until sold for BU by June 1963, at Baltimore.

Ordered 1 May 1941 from Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Sparrows Point, Maryland, John Brown was laid down on 28 July 1942, Launched on 7 September and Completed on the 19th, acquired and in service the same day by the wartime transport administration. She was named after the Canadian-born American labor union leader John W. Brown (1867–1941) and sponsored by Annie Green, the wife of the president of the Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers. Fortunately she is among the best known of all Libertry ships since her presevation led to a lot of research.

After ten days of post-delivery work in Baltimore (yes ten days, far less than to train a proper warship !) she was underway on 29 September to the Chesapeake Bay and Norfolk for degaussing and deperming, then proceeded north through the Bay, and arrived off Annapolis on 3–4 October, the transoted the Delaware Canal and River to the Bay to join a convoy of four merchant ships, escorted by three escort vessels and a USN blimp, underway off New Jersey and into New York City on 6 October. She took there 8,381 long tons (9,387 short tons; 8,515 metric tons) of cargo for the Soviet Union: On the manifest, two Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, ten M4 Sherman tanks, 200 motorcycles, 100 jeeps, over 700 long tons (784 short tons, 711 metric tons) of ammunition, over 250 long tons (280 short tons, 254 metric tons) of canned pork lunch meat at Pier 17, Brooklyn. Her Oerlikon 20 mm cannons at the bow were also replaced by a 3-inch (76 mm)/50.

On 9 October she had work done on degaussing and compass adjusting ranges. On the 15 October she departed New York for her maiden voyage to the Persian Gulf to unload her cargo for delivery overland via Iran, a far less risky route to the Soviet Union than the arctic. This was a 14,400-nautical mile (26,667-km) route. She returned via Guantanamo Bay to join another convoy for the Caribbean Sea and Panama Canal reaching the Pacific and went alone on the west coast of South America to Cape Horn, for a 17-day independent crossing from there to Cape Town in South Africa, stopped to refuel and resuppy, then north in the western Indian Ocean, east coast of Africa and Persian Gulf on 25 December.

Ports there were overwhelmed by cargo from Allied countries. So she lied at anchor for a month until before unloading at Abadan in Iran and deropping two P-40s, some tanks by late January 1943. She finally entered Khorramshahr to unload the rest in March. She departed back on the 16th, along the east coast of Africa to Cape Town, crossed the South Atlantic to Bahia on 23 April and joined a convoy steaming to Paramaribo, Surinam, and Paranam to load bauxite, then Port of Spain for more bauxite and joined a convoy to Guantanamo Bay and New York City on 27 May. There she was selevcated to become the prototype of 220 Liberty ships converted as a “Limited Capacity Troopship” able to carry 450, 550, or 650 troops or POW due to the lack of regular troopships, most of the time converted liners. In Bethlehem, Hoboken Shipyard she had bunks stacked five deep on her forward tweendeck, shower and heads, plus two additional diesel-powered generators to provide light and ventilation in the cargo holds plus two more Oerlikon 20-mm AA guns.

Aerial photograph of John W. Brown outbound from the United States carrying a large deck cargo after her conversion to a “Limited Capacity Troopship”.

After completion of her conversion at Hoboken, John W. Brown returned to New York and was prepared and loaded as troopship with 5,023 long tons of cargo made of food, 306 passenger (5 officers, 145 army policemen, 3 medical assistants, 3 RN officers, 148 RN sailors, all survivors of a torpedoed ship back home). She departed on 24 June 1943 to join a convoy at Hampton Roads. They transited the Strait of Gibraltar, entered the Mediterranean on 18 July and made it into Algiers on 20 July to unl cargo and passengers except for 38 US Army personnel left guard 500 German POWs of the Afrika Korps back home. She departed Algiers on 5 August to Hampton Roads, on 26 August. For her third voyage she carried 7,845.5 measurement tons of TNT, gasoline, general cargo plus 339 U.S. Army personnel.Departing on 15 September, she arrived at Oran on 4 October, unloaded from the 6th to the 15th and embarked 15 officers and 346 men from the 1st Armored Division plus 274 vehicles, inc. 61 tanks for redeployment. On 1 November she made the first of eight Mediterranean shuttle trips. Augusta (Sicily) and Naples on 7 November for a start, unloading on 11 November, departing empty to Augusta, Oran (22 November) to take 241 US and Free French troops, 261 tank destroyers, trucks, cars, asphalt and joining a convoy on 30 November, to Naples on 7 December. Unloaded on the 9th, she left Naples on 10 December in convoy, to Augusta, then Bizerte on 16 December.

She embarked six Free French officers, 305 Free French enlisted troops, 958 tons of trucks, trailers, weapon carriers, ambulances, and cars to land them in Pozzuoli Bay, Italy on 26 December. Lter the Liberty ship SS Zebulon Pike rode over her anchor cable, collided with her starboard side. Nevertheless she resumed operations to Naples and on 4 January 1944 sailed for Oran, arrived on the 10th then Mostaganem to load 5,000 tons of gasoline to Oran. She took 263 passengers, 186 vehicles, 799 tons of engineering equipment and supplies and sailed for Augusta, and Naples on 5 February to unload.
There she embarked 106 U.S. Army and 13 USN personnel and left in a convoy via Augusta to Bizerte (14 February) unload and load scrap metal and personal effects of deceased soldiers to proceeded back home to New York on 18 March in convoy. U-969 attacked the convoy underway, and SS Peter Skene Ogden ahead of her, SS George Cleeve, off her starboard bow were both hits, severely damaged (beached, total losses) before even reaching Gibraltar. On 23 March she steamed up the Hudson River to Yonkers and Blair Shipyard for repairs. Two more 3-inch 50 were installed and new quarters for additional personnel to man them.

She proceeded to Brooklyn and on 3 April started to load a cargo of high explosives, leaving on 10 April to Hampton Roads, and joined a transatlantic crossing reaching Gibraltar on 29 April. On 5 May she was in Augusta and proceeded to Naples, arriving to unload from 8 May. She embarked US Army officers and 170 enlisted men plus 3,322 tons of high explosives and gasoline for the Anzio beachhead. She was present for the breakout on 23 April and departed a day later for Naples. On the 26th she embarked 336 German POWs and 36 guards, and via Augusta, sailed to Bizerte (31 May) to disembark them, loading 406 U.S. Army personnel, 939 tons of cargo. Departing on 10 June she arrived in Naples to load C rations and life preservers, life rafts, left on the 24th for the Anzio beachhead. Two days later she embarked about 1,000 French colonial troops back to Naples. On 29 June in a convoy to Cagliari she embarked 1,017 Italian Co-Belligerent troops to Naples on 3 July. To Cagliari next she loaded ammunition and 144 RAF personnel plus 759 Italian Co-Belligerent troops to Naples on 9 July.

She remained in preparations for Operation Dragoon to southern France. She was dressed overall for the 24 July, hosting King George VI. She remained fully loaded with 15 officers, 299 ratings and cargo from 29 July to departure on 13 August. As she passed, the US personal on deck cheered as a British destroyer carrying PM Winston Churchill was flashing his “V for Victory”. She crossed the Tyrrhenian Sea, Strait of Bonifacio, west coast of Corsica, then northwest to the Fre ch Riveria and arrived off the beachhead at Bougnon Bay in the evening of 15 August 1944, 10 hours after the initial landings to unload the troops and equipment the next day and until the 21st. She had to face numerous German air attacks and alerts. The Armed Guard gunners claimed one aircaft shot down (never confirmed).

SS John W. Brown then left the beachhead on 21 August back to Naples, arrived on 23 August, embarked 500 German POWs, 33 U.S. Army personnel guards and on 3 September stopped at Augusta but faced heavy weather towards the U.S. East Coast. She arrived at Hampton Roads on 28 September, unloaded POWs at Newport News on 29 September and steamed up to Baltimore. For her 5th trip she left Baltimore on 19 October to Hampton Roads, and a convoy. She carried 356 passengers inc. 30 fighter pilots and the all-African American 758th Tank Battalion on 22 October, battered all the crossing by very bad weather but no enemy attack. She made it in Augusta on 14 November, then Naples, disembarking fighter pilots and on 23 November to Leghorn for the remainder. She loaded mail for Naples in convoy and in 6 December with a new cargo, she proceeded to Oran alone, arrved on 11 December, unloaded cargo, then joined a convoy on 13 December for home, arrived at New York on 29 December.

Her 6th voyage started on 9 January 1945 independently with U.S. Army general cargo via Hampton Roads, to Charleston on the 12th, loading more cargo, underway on the 17th to Hampton Roads, loading 54 U.S. Army passengers at Newport News and joined a convoy on the 23th for Naples in heavy weather. She left the convoy on 7 February to steam alone to Naples but developed issues with her her port boiler, which was shut down, so she continued at reduced speed and arrived on 11 February to disembark passengers and repair her boiler. Next she departed for Leghorn, arrived on the 19th, unloaded her cargo, departed on the 27th to Piambino, and Naples on 1 March, then Oran independently, arrived on 5 March. On the 8th she returned to New York in convoy, still plagued by her port boiler so she dropped out of the convoy, proceeded independently until the boiler was repaired on 16 February and returned to full speed and rejoin her convoy, arrived with it at New York on 24 March.
She was repaired by the Atlantic Basin Iron Works, Brooklyn, 7-11 April and had a gyrocompass installed.

Her 7th trip started on 23 April 1945, in convoy with US Army general cargo and trucks lashed to her decks, which held in bad weather. She arrived off The Downs, southeast coast of England on V-E Day (8 May 1945) and proceeded to Antwerp in Belgium to discharge cargo. Next she sailed to Le Havre, France on the 22th to embarked 31 US Army officers and 321 enlisted men, many former POWs eager to return home. She departed on 24 May via the Solent and returned in convoy, arrived at New York on 11 June. After disembarking some Armed Guard personnel she left on 20 June for Philadelphia to unload the remainder but a few armed guards. Her 8th trip was from Philadelphia to Antwerp, unloading cargo and taking 419 U.S. Army troops to leave on 28 July for New York and unload fullu on 11 August.
On the 15th August her crew celebrated V-J Day. Until 10 Sept. she underwent alterations at the J. K. Welding Co. Yonkers to increase her troop-carrying capacity to 562 to take part in “Magic Carpet” Operations. On 13 September her guns were removed and her last Armed Guard detached. Her 9th voyage until November started on 15 September from New York via Baltimore to load a cargo of grain to Marseille, France, on 15 October. She embarked 645 U.S. Army personnel and returned to New York on 14 November.

She was one of the rare to have a basic, older radar installed at the Bethlehem Brooklyn yard and was prepared for her 10th trip, from 20 November to the Hudson River and Albany, loading a cargo of wheat and back to NYC. On 1 December she left for Naples, arrived on 20 December, left again on 3 January 1946 for Marseilles, arrived on 6 January, embarked 564 men from the US Army’s 100th Infantry Division. On 7 January she left for New York, arrived on 26 January, her last voyage as a troopship, after ferrying 10,000 troops. Her 11th voyage started on 16 February via the Chesapeake Bay to Baltimore, taking coal at the Curtis Bay Coal Pier, and leaving on the 20th to Copenhagen in Denmark, arrived on 11 March to unload the coal, embarked ten civilian airline pilots for a Government contract to fly planes to Denmark. She was back to Baltimore on 6 April but laid idle for 2.5 months. Her 12th trip started from Baltimore on 18 June with general cargo, to Hamburg, to unload it on 4-5 July, mostly postwar US aid for the populations. She departed on 9 July back to New York (23 July). Her 13th voyage, started at New York on 9 August to Galveston, Texas, the Houston, to load grain, then Kingston-upon-Hull in Britain on 22 October, unloading cargo then sailing to London, arriving on the 29th to take a small cargo aboard. She left on 1 November to New York, unloaded ahd this put an end to her final voyage on 19 November 1946.

John W. Brown moored at Pier 42 in Manhattan as a training ship, May 1973.

She was soon to start a new career. The New York City’s Metropolitan Vocational High School lacked a ship for training boys interested in seafaring. Indeed during the war, the ferryboat “Brooklyn” was returned to the city at the end of the war so Maritime Commission and City of New York signed a letter of agreement. The Maritime Commission would loan SS John W. Brown, ideally fitted with her tweendeck troop modifications and having a lot of useful internal space for classrooms. She was used from there for educational purposes at no charge and remained as a static training ship from her new berth at Manhattan’s Pier 4, East River, from 13 December 1946. Her new name was “SS John W. Brown High School”, only US floating nautical high school, remaining in that capacity until 1982 and graduating thousands of students for the merchant marine, USN and USNC. By 1950 she was moved to Pier 43 close to the East 25th Street.

By late 1956 however, the decline of the American merchant marine and budget issues in New York as well as maintaining and repairing or operating the ships, plus busing students had the high school in severe dificulties. Cost-cutting measures like a new schedule from September 1957 reduced expenses, but continuing budget problems led to close the school by mid-1982. She remained idle in New York Harbor, but at the same time, shop preservation had been now well-known and thus, as one of the very last liberty ship in her original state still around (many had been modified, some heavily, postwar to returned to civilian services, often resold many times and lacking maintenance). This made her an ideal candidate for restorations and transformation as a museum ship… Se below for the remainder of her career.

SS John Brown Museum

Named after the American Revolutionary War ship captain Jeremiah O’Brien (1744–1818), this equally famous liberty ship, still around on the West Coast, was ordered by the War Shipping Administration under the official operator Grace Line, Inc. registered in Portland, Maine and later San Francisco. She was laid down at New England Shipbuilding Corp. Yard number 230, on 6 May 1943, launched on 19 June and in service on 3 July so after 2 months construction as a regular EC2-S-C1.
She was deployed on the European Theater only, making four round-trip convoy crossings and taking part in Operation Neptune (D-Day navakl Operation). She also made 11 shuttle cross-channel round-trips in support. She was then sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations for 16 months of service in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, also stopping in Chile, Peru, New Guinea, Philippines, India, China, and Australia. She was decommissioned on 7 February 1946, mothballed in Suisun Bay for 33 years.

Her preservation made its way as she was largely unaltered. The driving force was Rear Admiral Thomas J. Patterson, USMS (Western Regional Director of the U.S. Maritime Administration). He wanted her preserved on the west coast, the first Liberty Ship to be transformed into a museum ship. He scrapping was never acted upon as she was frequently placed at the back of the list for disposal, contributing to her survival.

In 1979 the National Liberty Ship Memorial (NLSM), acquired her for restoration and she was drydocked at San Francisco in October, moved then to Fort Mason and Fisherman’s warf for a first time as museum ship, with funding provided by visitors and the remainder from funds allowed by her naming as National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1984, and National Historic Landmark in 1986.

Still maintained serviceable (the only one) she was able to take part in 50th “D-Day” Anniversary Celebrations in 1994 off Normandy, France. She is now berthed at Pier 70, then 45 close to the Gato-class USS Pampanito but moved at Pier 35 until the 2020 fire damage in nearby warhehouses was repaired. Since she had been moved to pier 35. 1 See more below:

SS Jeremiah O’brien Museum

Another notable Liberty ship was SS Stephen Hopkins, which sank the German commerce raider Stier in a ship-to-ship gun battle in 1942 and became the first American ship to sink a German surface combatant. SS Stephen Hopkins was built at the Permanente Metals Corporation (Kaiser) shipyards in Richmond, California, named after a Founding Father, signer of the Declaration of Independenc. She was operated by Luckenbach Steamship Co. chartered with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration. Famously she was engaged in battle in her first and last mission, completing her first cargo run, and never making it home. On September 27, 1942, en route from Cape Town to Suriname by herself as it was considered a safe route from U-Boats. There was heavy fog that day. Suddenly a watchman on the bridge’s wing spotted another cargo. The latter started to close by, a challenger signal was sent but unanswered, and the latter revealed its colors. She was the German commerce raider Stier, with her tender Tannenfels nearby. It all happened very fast as they were just 2 miles (3.2 km) apart.

KMS Stier

Stier’s captain ordered Stephen Hopkins to stop, but her own skipper refused to surrender knowing she had the artillery to face this threat. Stier opened fire and albeit Hopkins was greatly outgunned (Stier had three 150mm/48 guns and two 37mm/83 C30, two 20mm C38 as well as one 533mm TT torpedo tube facing her), she defiantly fought back from her lone 4-inch (102 mm) gun. The armed guards were quickly wiped out, they were replaced by volunteers while also fell in turn. This was fierce and short, both ships badly damaged each others though.

If Stephen Hopkins sank at 10:00, Stier was also badly damaged, shot at point-blank range by a still potent cannon and having no protection. She was scuttled less than two hours later, close to the closest shore. Captain Paul Buck and most of his crew were killed during the engagement, but there were 15 survivors, which drifted on a lifeboat for a month before reaching shore in Brazil.

Captain Buck was posthumously awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal, and the US Merchant Marine Academy cadet Edwin Joseph O’Hara which single-handedly fired the last shots as well as Navy reservist Lt. (j.g.) Kenneth Martin Willett, commander of the Armed Guard detachment, posthumously awarded the Navy Cross to start the engagement and continue firing when wounded. Later liberty ships were named in their honor, SS Paul Buck, Edwin Joseph O’Hara, Richard Moczkowski as well as the destroyer escort USS Kenneth M. Willett. There was even a SS Stephen Hopkins II.

Lawton B. Evans (named after author Lawton Bryan Evans (1862–1934)) was operated by the General Steamship Corporation, ordered from the Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company, at Yard number Hull 287, laid down on 11 November 1942, launched on 3 January 1943 and completed on the 27th. She was famous for her survival from an U-Boat attack, which was rare: While underway in the Convoy HX 228, she was hit at 21.31 hours on 10 March 1943 by a torpedo from U-221 (Hans-Hartwig Trojer). Out of the 22 torpedoed, she was the only one to survive. Repaired at her return, she took part in the Battle of Anzio.

In a latter notable incident she supported troops from 22 to 30 January 1944 with her artillery, taking part in the Battle of Anzio. First class seaman Calvin Stoddard O’Rourke received commendations on 24 June 1944 to answer repeated German field bombardment from shore and repalling aircraft over intense eight-day. The gun crew claimed to have shot down many aircraft, with five later recoignized. After a well-filled wartime career and a postwar civilian career, she was scrapped in Baltimore in 1960. The ship entered the popular culture with the 2021 movie “The Rebels of PT-218” wth the ship under command of Lt. William Snow (Eric Roberts).

The wreck of SS Richard Montgomery lies off the coast of Kent with 1,500 short tons (1,400 tonnes) of explosives still on board, enough to match a very small yield nuclear weapon should they ever go off.[20][21] SS E. A. Bryan detonated with the energy of 2,000 tons of TNT (8,400 GJ) in July 1944 as it was being loaded, killing 320 sailors and civilians in what was called the Port Chicago disaster. Another Liberty ship that exploded was the rechristened SS Grandcamp, which caused the Texas City Disaster on 16 April 1947, killing at least 581 people.

The last new-build Liberty ship constructed was 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. In 1950, a “new” liberty ship was constructed by Industriale Maritime SpA, Genoa, Italy by using the bow section of Bert Williams and the stern section of Nathaniel Bacon, both of which had been wrecked. The new ship was named SS Boccadasse, and served until scrapped in 1962.

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ww2.eagle.org/
ww2ships.com us-os-001-f-r00
en.wikipedia.org
navypedia.org US auxiliary assault ships
shipscribe.com
ssjeremiahobrien.org
ww2ships.com us-os-001-b
ssjohnwbrown.org
rarehistoricalphotos.com

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