SS Jeremiah O'Brien
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SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT Load Wafer Line
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R.H. JOHN CHART ,AGENcY Salutes the
Galveston Historical Foundation
Elissa
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R.H . John , 518 23rd St, Galveston , Texas
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SAIL AWAY TO YESTERDAY Sail the Maine Coast ... aboard the historic windjamme r
sc hooner Stephe n Taber. Weekly cruises . $425 includes every thin g.
For brochure call 207-236-3520 or write.
Schooner Stephen Taber 70 Elm St. Dra""'r D. Camden, Maine 04843
EXPLORE DIE MAINE COAST Weekly Salling Vllaltion Windjammer "MARY DAY" For Folder Write: Capt. H.S. Hawkins Box 798A Camden , Maine 04843 207-236-2750
THOMAS J. BROWN & SONS, Inc. Established 1929
Marine Towing • River & Harbor • Shoal Water "Our Work Determines Our Value"
698-4600 698-4601 P.O. BOX 52 STATEN ISLAND, NY 103_!0
Was !here a Seafarer in yo ur famil y? Wh y not purcha se a porlrail of hi s \'Csscl. - a fine oil painting using the best of materials. Also, vessel histories researched on request. Reasonable portrait prices. 20" x 24" canvas - SJ()()_Oo For more information & brochure, write:
~.....~-- Capt. Jeff Eldredge, P.O. Box 8, orth Carver, MA 02355
MAINE Windjammer CRUISES
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6 Carefree Days! Enjoy the grandeur of the Coastal Islands aboard Manie, Merca ntile o r Mistress. $355 in June & Sept. $395
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folde r 1el :
Capt. Les Bex, Box 617H
CAMDEN, MAINE 04843
lanterns
ship wheels
sextants
compasses
whaling items sha rk teeth
MARINE ANTIQUES & SEA SHELLS 10 Fulton Street . New York . N.Y. 10038 South Street Seaport & Fulton Fi sh Market (2 12) 344 -2262
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Last of the Libertys By William D. Sawyer National Liberty Ship Memorial
Drawing by William D. Sawyer, 1981.
and the barque
A Tough Breed Hangs in There
When the United States entered World War II , President Franklin D . Roosevelt authorized an emergency shipbuilding program, in a race against time , to build new cargo ships faster than enemy submarines could sink them . A design for an emergency cargo ship (EC2-S-CI), capable of carrying over 9 ,000 tons , had already been developed and the first of these " Liberty ships '', the SS Patrick Henry , was launched on September 7, 1941. By the end of 1945 , more than 2,750 Liberty ships had been completed, by far the largest number of a single class of ship ever built. To build these ships required the coordination of dozens of plants throughout the entire country. Eighteen yards on the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Coasts assembled the ships , while engines were manufactu red by 20 different plants , and hundreds of other companies supplied standardized components. Women comprised as much as 30 percent of the shipbuilding force , due to the shortage of male workers, and " Rosie the Riveter" was everywhere. Building times from keel laying to sea trials ranged from 245 days for the Patrick Henry to an average of two months , and a record of eight days was all that was required to build, test and deliver the SS Robert E. Peary at the Kaiser Shipyard in Richmond , California.* Nearly all of these vessels were cargo ships, however , some became colliers, tank transports , aircraft transports, oil tankers , school ships , troop transports and hospital ships . Liberty ships were usually manned by quickly trained merchant seamen. Libertys crossed the Atlantic , the Mediterranean , the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and were on the dreaded run through the northern seas past Norway to Murmansk, Russia . Their slowness made them a ready target , and about 200 were lost through enemy action or storms, but many others survived through the heroism of their crews . One Liberty reached port with her bow out of the water and her stern awash , but with her engine still running, 83 hours after being struck by a torpedo. After the war, Liberty ships carried supplies to rebuild and feed the people in war-torn areas . Many entered private service, and some served in the Korean *This yard built the Stephen Hopkins. Seep. 22 .
War. More were mothballed, and most of these have since been scrapped or sunk for fish reefs. The design of the Liberty ships was limited by the need for minimum cost, speed of construction and simplicity of operation. Therefore , they were patterned after the tried-and-true British tramp steamer, updated by naval architects Gibbs & Cox. Wide use is made of welding and prefabricated units. Five cargo holds are served by steam winches and booms, including one heavy lift boom of 50-ton capacity. A single house amidships, with wheel house, radio room, crew quarters and mess, took care of the crewof44 . Theengine room is also amidships and contains two oil-fired boilers , a triple-expansion steam engine, and auxiliary equipment , generators and pumps.
At last account the Liberty Georgios F. Andreadis (formerly the Michael Casey, built at Richmond, California in 1943) was still hauling cargo in Greek waters-the last Liberty in active trade. Several converted Liberty hulls still breast the seas, in changed configurations for special uses. Of the original wartime breed, only two have survived in operable condition and structurally intact. The first of these, the Jeremiah O'Brien, has been saved by the National Liberty Ship Memorial and is open to the public in San Francisco-across the Bay from the Richmond yard where she was built. (Memorial, GGNRA, Fort Mason, San Francisco CA 94123.) The second is the John W. Brown, built across the country in South Portland, Maine. She served in New York until recently as a maritime trades school; in 1983 she was towed away to join the laid-up reserve fleet in the James River, Virginia. President Reagan has signed into law an act designating her as a museum ship, and in March this year she was placed on the National Register, attesting to her historical importance. The challenge is now to the community to save this ship for posterity. Those interested in supporting this needed act may join the National Society's Project Liberty-$25 for non-members (including membership in the Society) or $5 for existing Society members. They'll receive editor Michael Gillen 's sparkling Liberty Log to be kept in touch. ..ti SEA HIS1DRY, SPRING 1985