Sea History 069 - Spring 1994

Page 23

-

~

"

<>:

u

...i

Ul Q.

0 0

<(

..J ::i

Cl

0

~

<>:

Ul

>-

:i:

"'>-

0"' f-

"' ~:i:

0

:i: Q.

Q.

The Liberty ship John W . Brown steaming down the Chesapeake Bay in September 1991 , her first official trip after her restoration.

But the day came when there was only one Liberty ship left-the Jeremiah O'Brien. That's when the idea of preseiving a Liberty ship as a museum took form. Subsequentl y, the ship found friends in the maritime community and was listed on the National Register. A berth was arranged for her at Pier 3 at Fort Mason. Eventually, it was time to take her from the Reseive fleet in Suisun Bay. "Let's steam her down ," said Capt. Ernie Murdock. It was a crazy idea, no ship had ever sailed out of the Reseive Fleet under her own power, but Chief Engineer Harry Morgan and his crew put in 1,000 hours of labor to get the engine operating. On 6 October, 1979, she sailed straight into the drydock at Bethlehem Shipyard in San Francisco for an 8-month overhaul. She has cruised the Bay on Maritime Day every year since.

The Idea Was to Create a "Bridge of Ships" The concept for the Liberty ship was a simple one: the Maritime Administration wanted a "bridge of ships" from the US to Europe. The ship was built quickly and incorporated a dated, but proven and easil y assembled, powerplant-the triple expansion steam engine. Construction time averaged 58 days per ship, the astounding record being 4 days, 15 hours, set by Kaiser Shipyards. The John W. Brown was built in 41 days. She was one of the 2,351 still in operation at the end of the war. Two hundred had been lost to the enemy, and another 200 to marine casualty. The Brown did not go to Normandy, but as a troopship she participated in a number of invasions, including the invasion of Southern France at St. Tropez at 0600 hours, 15 August 1944, which was D-day, H-hour, transporting 350 Gls of the 36th division. Through a quirk she SEA HISTORY 69, SPRING 1994

A World War I/fighter does a fly-by ofthe Lane Victory steaming out of San Pedro, California on her inaugural cruise in October 1992 .

was lucky enough to suivive the post war dispossession of her sisters. In 1947 she went into seivice as a maritime trades high school in New York City. This was closed in 1983. She was to wed by the Maritime Administration to the James Ri ver in Virginia and slated to be scrapped. But public s upport, in the for m of the NMHS-sponsored Project Liberty Ship, bouyed by the O' Brien save in San Francisco and championed by individuals like Michael Gillen and Jim Ean, then President of the Intrepid Sea-AirSpace Museum, brought deliverance for the O'Brien. Through the intercession of John Boyleston, a home was found for the ship in Baltimore and the arduous task of restoring a second Liberty began. The third vessel to make up Convoy '94 is the Victory ship SS Lane Victory, now operated as a museum ship in San Pedro, California, by the US Merchant Marine Veterans of WWII. She too is a unique vessel-the only unaltered suivivor of 400 prefabricated Victory ships also built to haul troops and supplies, but engineered to be faster than the sluggish Libertys. As one of the next generation's

vessels, the Lane suivived two trips during World War II to seive during both the Korean war and the Vietnam War. She made history in December 1950 by rescuing more than 7 ,000 Koreans from Wonsan during the Chinese invasion. The Lane also spent years shedding paint and rusting away, one step from oblivion in Suisun Bay, until veterans adopted her in 1988 and brought her back to life.

Why the "Last Convoy" Should Sail As any good museum person knows, it is people that give an historic ship her life and meaning. The voyage to Normandy will climax many years and many thousands of hours of remarkable volunteer effort. This is why Convoy '94 must sail. It may be the last great group catharsis of the seivicemen of World War II. When the Jeremiah O'Brien steams through the Golden Gate en route to Omaha, she will be under the command of Capt. George Jahn, 78, with a crew of 45 old salts-average age about 70! Jahn captained a Liberty ship on the perilous Murmansk run as well as at Normandy. Aboard the John W. Brown, Continued on page 30

At left, volunteer Tom Dorn at the O ' Brien 's engine room controls. At right, the O'Brien's propeller shaft being inspected for the trip to Normandy.

21


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Sea History 069 - Spring 1994 by National Maritime Historical Society & Sea History Magazine - Issuu