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Texas' Liberty Ships: from World War II Working-Class Heroes to Artificial Reefs

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Texas' Liberty Ships: from World War II Working-Class Heroes to Artificial Reefs TEXAS PARKS AND WILDLIFE Texas’Texas’ LibertyLiberty ShipsShips From World War II Working-class Heroes to Artificial Reefs J. Barto Arnold III, Jennifer L. Goloboy, Andrew W. Hall, Rebecca A. Hall Texas Historical Commission and J. Dale Shively Texas Parks and Wildlife Bulletin No. 99-1 Texas’ Liberty Ships From World War II Working-class Heroes to Artificial Reefs by J. Barto Arnold III, Principal Investigator Jennifer L. Goloboy Andrew W. Hall Rebecca A. Hall Texas Historical Commission and J. Dale Shively, Editor Texas Parks and Wildlife December 1998 J. Barto Arnold III J. Dale Shively Institute of Nautical Archaeology Texas Parks and Wildlife Texas A&M University Coastal Fisheries Division, Artificial Reef Program P.O. Drawer HG 4200 Smith School Road College Station, Texas 77841-5137 Austin, Texas 78744 abstract In an ironic twist of fate, the stripped hulls of to Great Britain more than once. Many also 12 Liberty Ships which survived enemy sinking made the treacherous Murmansk run, a cold, attempts during World War II were intentionally miserable, airplane and submarine-plagued sunk as artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico off journey through the Arctic Circle to northern the Texas coast during the mid-1970s. Texas Russia. The Liberty Ships helped save the Allied acquired the surplus ships from the Maritime cause during World War II. After the war, they Administration Reserve Fleet and placed them at were moth balled in the Reserve Fleet, and then five sites during 1975-76 to create habitat for brought out to ship cargo to Europe under the marine organisms. The Liberty Ships serve as Marshall Plan. The ships served again during reefs by providing a solid foundation for the the Korean War before being moth balled again. growth and attachment of sessile organisms. This epitaph for these proud ships not only keeps In 1994, Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Texas their memory and history alive, but allows them Historical Commission jointly accepted the to continue to serve the citizens of Texas by challenge to designate the ships in the Liberty enhancing marine habitat through the Texas Ship Reefs as historical heritage sites. The Parks and Wildlife Artificial Reef Program. Liberty Ships in Texas readily attract sport anglers and scuba divers, offering them a dual Liberty Ships were originally built to bolster the encounter with magnificent reefs and America’s United State’s inadequate merchant marine fleet maritime heritage. Individual type EC-2 Liberty at the beginning of World War II. Relatively Ships lying in Texas waters include the: George inexpensive and expendable, Liberty Ships were Vancouver, William H. Allen, B.F. Shaw, Jim virtually mass-produced, with 2,581 completed. Bridger, George Dewey, Dwight L. Moody, Each ship was 441 feet in length and able to George L. Farley, Edward W. Scripps, Joshua carry 10,088 tons of cargo in their five giant Thomas, Charles A. Dana, Rachel Jackson, and holds. These lightly armed ships carried numer- Conrad Weiser. Other WWII ships found in ous tons of cargo and thousands of troops to Texas waters include the V.A. Fogg (ex-SS Four battle zones in Europe, Africa, and the South Lakes) and the John Worthington (Type 2 Pacific throughout World War II. The ships saw Tanker). While these ships had similar functions nearly every theater of war and traveled along during WWII, each has a unique and fascinating several essential supply routes. Most of Texas’ wartime history. This report documents that Liberty Ships joined the perilous history and their role in the North Atlantic convoys artificial reef program. table of contents List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables........................................................................................................................................................ vi Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................... vii Introduction......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Texas Liberty Ships ............................................................................................................................................ 2 Ship Histories ...................................................................................................................................................... 15 SS William H. Allen ............................................................................................................................. 15 SS Jim Bridger...................................................................................................................................... 17 SS Charles A. Dana.............................................................................................................................. 20 SS George Dewey ................................................................................................................................. 23 SS George L. Farley .............................................................................................................................. 27 SS V.A. Fogg (ex-SS Four Lakes) .............................................................................................................. 31 SS Rachel Jackson ............................................................................................................................... 38 SS Dwight L. Moody ............................................................................................................................. 41 SS Edward W. Scripps ......................................................................................................................... 45 SS B.F. Shaw ......................................................................................................................................... 49 SS Joshua Thomas ............................................................................................................................... 53 SS George Vancouver .......................................................................................................................... 56 SS Conrad Weiser................................................................................................................................. 60 SS John Worthington ........................................................................................................................... 68 Liberty Ships Built in Texas ............................................................................................................................. 73 Liberty Ships and the Texas Artificial Reef Program .................................................................................. 87 Acquisition of Texas’ Liberty Ships ......................................................................................................... 88 Determination of Artificial Reef Sites ..................................................................................................... 89 Sinking Process ........................................................................................................................................... 91 Location ........................................................................................................................................................ 94 Texas Legislation and the Artificial Reef Program ............................................................................... 102 Conclusions.......................................................................................................................................................... 103 References ............................................................................................................................................................ 104 Appendices 1. Vessel Status Cards ................................................................................................................................. 107 2. Instructions to Masters ........................................................................................................................... 114 3. Instructions to Armed Guards .............................................................................................................. 115 4. Lists of Sample Crew and Equipment Issued ..................................................................................... 130 list of figures Figure 1. Location of the Liberty Ship artificial reef sites off the coast of Texas...................................... Page 2 Figure 2. Liberty Ship production line at the California Shipbuilding Corp. Courtesy of the Library of Congress (Hoehling 1990)............................................................................................. Page 2 Figure 3. Modular construction of a Liberty Ship (Pitt 1978). ...................................................................... Page 3 Figure 4. Elevation drawing of a Liberty Ship (Sawyer and Mitchell 1973). ............................................. Page 4 Figure 5. General specifications for the Liberty Ships (Bunker 1972: 269). .............................................. Page 5 Figure 6. View of the engine room of an EC-2 Liberty Ship (Douglas and Salz 1943). ........................... Page 5 Figure
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