'Liberty'cargo Ship
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‘LIBERTY’ CARGO SHIP FEATURE ARTICLE written by James Davies for KEY INFORMATION Country of Origin: United States of America Manufacturers: Alabama Dry Dock Co, Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards Inc, California Shipbuilding Corp, Delta Shipbuilding Co, J A Jones Construction Co (Brunswick), J A Jones Construction Co (Panama City), Kaiser Co, Marinship Corp, New England Shipbuilding Corp, North Carolina Shipbuilding Co, Oregon Shipbuilding Corp, Permanente Metals Co, St Johns River Shipbuilding Co, Southeastern Shipbuilding Corp, Todd Houston Shipbuilding Corp, Walsh-Kaiser Co. Major Variants: General cargo, tanker, collier, (modifications also boxed aircraft transport, tank transport, hospital ship, troopship). Role: Cargo transport, troop transport, hospital ship, repair ship. Operated by: United States of America, Great Britain, (small quantity also Norway, Belgium, Soviet Union, France, Greece, Netherlands and other nations). First Laid Down: 30th April 1941 Last Completed: 30th October 1945 Units: 2,711 ships laid down, 2,710 entered service. Released by WW2Ships.com USA OTHER SHIPS www.WW2Ships.com FEATURE ARTICLE 'Liberty' Cargo Ship © James Davies Contents CONTENTS ‘Liberty’ Cargo Ship ...............................................................................................................1 Key Information .......................................................................................................................1 Contents.....................................................................................................................................2 Introduction...............................................................................................................................4 Background.........................................................................................................................4 The Tonnage War..............................................................................................................5 The Liberty Ship Programme..........................................................................................5 Impact of Liberty Ships on the War...............................................................................6 Development.............................................................................................................................7 Britain Builds ‘Emergency’ Ships..................................................................................7 The American ‘Emergency’ Programme is Born .........................................................7 General Cargo Vessel Type EC2-S-C1 .........................................................................8 Liberty Ship Profile .........................................................................................................11 Variants....................................................................................................................................12 Tanker Type Z-ET1-S-C3 ..............................................................................................12 Tanker Profile ...................................................................................................................14 Collier Type EC2-S-AW1..............................................................................................15 Collier Profile ...................................................................................................................16 Operational Use......................................................................................................................17 Overview...........................................................................................................................17 Gallant Ships ....................................................................................................................18 SAM Ships........................................................................................................................19 Liberty Ship Fates ...........................................................................................................21 Wartime Liberty Ship Losses..................................................................................21 Overall Liberty Ship Fates .......................................................................................22 Specifications (As-Built)......................................................................................................23 Major Modifications..............................................................................................................24 Passenger Transport ........................................................................................................24 Hospital Ship ....................................................................................................................27 Repair Ship .......................................................................................................................28 Tank Transports and Boxed Aircraft Transports........................................................29 Appendix A: Surviving Examples ......................................................................................30 Jeremiah O’Brien............................................................................................................30 May 2004 2 of 164 Released by WW2Ships.com USA OTHER SHIPS www.WW2Ships.com FEATURE ARTICLE 'Liberty' Cargo Ship © James Davies Contents John W Brown..................................................................................................................32 Lane Victory.....................................................................................................................32 Appendix B: Production Figures.........................................................................................33 Ship Construction Distribution .....................................................................................33 Ship Construction Time, 1942 – 1945.........................................................................34 Ship Construction Time, Individual Shipyards..........................................................35 Appendix C: Ship Histories ................................................................................................36 General Cargo Type EC2-S-C1 ....................................................................................36 Alabama Dry Dock Co .............................................................................................36 Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards ...............................................................................38 California Shipbuilding Corp ..................................................................................58 Delta Shipbuilding Co ..............................................................................................73 J A Jones Construction Co (Brunswick)................................................................79 J A Jones Construction Co (Panama City)............................................................82 Kaiser Co ....................................................................................................................86 Marinship Corp ..........................................................................................................87 New England Shipbuilding Corp ............................................................................88 North Ca rolina Shipbuilding Co .............................................................................99 Oregon Shipbuilding Corp....................................................................................107 Permanente Metals Co Yard ................................................................................. 122 Southeastern Shipbuilding Corp ..........................................................................142 St Johns River Shipbuilding Co ........................................................................... 146 Todd Houston Shipbuilding Corp ........................................................................150 Walsh-Kaiser Co..................................................................................................... 159 Tanker Type Z-ET1-S-C3 ........................................................................................... 160 California Shipbuilding Corp ............................................................................... 160 Delta Shipbuilding Co ........................................................................................... 162 Collier Type EC2-S-AW1........................................................................................... 164 Delta Shipbuilding Co ........................................................................................... 164 May 2004 3 of 164 Released by WW2Ships.com USA OTHER SHIPS www.WW2Ships.com FEATURE ARTICLE 'Liberty' Cargo Ship © James Davies Introduction INTRODUCTION Background It is said of the armed services that amateurs study tactics, whilst professionals study logistics. This truism highlights the fact that wars can only be won if the fighting services receive the supplies they need at the time that they need them. For many of the nations involved in the Second World War these supplies had to travel across the seas at least once, and often twice or more, before they reached their ultimate destination. These supplies were carried in the merchant ships of nearly all countries of the world, even those who were 'neutral' in the