Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass-produced on an unprecedented scale, the Liberty ship came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output.
SS John W. Brown is a Liberty ship, one of two still operational and one of three preserved as museum ships. As a Liberty ship, she operated as a merchant ship of the United States Merchant Marine during World War II and later was a vocational high school training ship in New York City for many years. Now preserved, she is a museum ship and cruise ship berthed at Pier 13 in Baltimore Harbor in Maryland.
SS Samuel Huntington was an American liberty ship during World War II. She was the 248th liberty ship authorized by the United States Maritime Commission and was named in honor of Samuel Huntington, a Founding Father and signer of the American Declaration of Independence. SS Samuel Huntington was launched in 1942 and sailed to ports in the Pacific, South America, Africa, and the United Kingdom. She was one of a select group of liberty ships that were outfitted to carry a limited number of either troops or prisoners of war. As part of a convoy to resupply the Allied troops at Anzio, she sank after a successful German bomb attack in January 1944.
USS Thurston (AP-77) was a troop transport that served with the United States Navy during World War II. She was named after counties in Nebraska and Washington.
SS Bantam was built by N.V. Machinefabriek & Scheepswerf van P. Smit Jr. of Rotterdam, Netherlands in 1930 of 3322 gross weight and operated by Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij. Bantam, under charter, became a part of the initial United States Army local fleet in Australia, was severely damaged 28 March 1943 in New Guinea and eventually scuttled off Sydney.
SS Antoine Saugrain was a Liberty ship of the United States that served in World War II. The ship was built at the Permanente Metals Corporation Yard No. 2 in Richmond, California under Maritime Commission Contract 1728. Laid down on 26 July 1943, the ship was launched on 15 August, and delivered on 28 August to Agwilines Inc. She was named after Antoine Saugrain, a French physician and chemist who immigrated to America at the end of the 18th century and led various pioneering works, including on vaccination against smallpox.
The action off Cape Bougaroun, or the Attack on Convoy KMF-25A was a Luftwaffe action against an Allied naval convoy off the coast of Algeria during World War II. The convoy of American, British, Greek and Dutch ships was attacked on 6 November 1943 by 25 German land-based aircraft. Six Allied vessels were sunk or damaged and six German aircraft were destroyed. German forces achieved a tactical victory, though the Allied warships involved received credit for defending their convoy and reacting to their losses quickly. The quick response led to the rescue of over 6,000 servicemen and civilians without further loss of life.
SS Marcus Daly was a liberty ship built by the Kaiser Shipyards at their Permanente No.1 yard at Richmond, California, and launched on 24 July 1943.
SS William S. Ladd was an American Liberty ship built during World War II, one of the 2,710 type 'EC2-S-C1' ships that carried all kinds and types of dry cargo during the war. She was named for William S. Ladd, an American politician and businessman in Oregon, who twice served as Portland's mayor in the 1850s. The ship's keel was laid on August 29, 1943, and 15 days later, on September 13, the hull was launched. William S. Ladd was fitted out in seven days, and was delivered to the U.S. Navy on September 20. The Navy placed Ladd under charter to Weyerhaeuser Steamship Co.
Aikoku Maru (愛国丸) was an armed merchant cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. The ship entered service in 1940, the ship was later converted to an ammunition ship. She was sunk in February 1944 during Operation Hailstone.
The T1 tanker or T1 are a class of sea worthy small tanker ships used to transport fuel oil before and during World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War. The T1 tanker classification is still in use today. T1 tankers are about 200 to 250 feet in length and are able to sustain a top speed of about 12 knots. The hull designation AO is used by the US Navy to denote the ship is a T1 oil tanker and AOG that the T1 is a gasoline tanker. The small size allows the T1 to enter just about any sea port or to anchor around a small island, this was very useful during the Pacific War. The T1 tanker can carry about 48,000 to 280,000 bbls. Some T1 tankers were used to transport goods other than oil, a few were used for black oil-crude oil, diesel, chemicals and rarely bulk cargo like grain. T1 tankers are also called liquid cargo carriers. The T1 tanker has about a 6,000 to 35,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) of cargo. The small size also gives the ships short turn around time for repair, cleaning, loading and unloading. A T1 tanker carrying dirty cargo, like crude oil needs a few weeks of labor to clean before carrying clean cargo. Most T1 ships during World War II were named after major oil fields.
SS James J. Pettigrew was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after J. Johnston Pettigrew, a Confederate general from North Carolina killed during the American Civil War.
SS Albert Gallatin was an American Liberty ship that operated during World War II. She was named for Albert Gallatin (1761–1849), an American politician, diplomat, ethnologist, and linguist who served as the United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1801 to 1814. She was sunk by the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-26 in the Arabian Sea in 1944.
SS Anne Hutchinson was a Liberty ship built by the Oregon Shipbuilding Company of Portland, Oregon, and launched on 31 May 1942 The ship was named after the Anne Hutchinson, a 1600 Massachusetts Bay Colony Puritan.
SS Alexander Majors was a Liberty ship built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. The ship was named in honor of Alexander Majors an American who with William Hepburn Russell and William B. Waddell founded the Pony Express. The ship was assigned by the War Shipping Administration to Isthmian Steamship Company of New York who operated it throughout World War 2. Alexander Majors was Laid down on 27 December 1943, launched on 20 January 1944 and completed on 4 March 1944, with the hull No. 2262 as part of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program.
SS Benjamin Ide Wheeler was a Liberty ship, a cargo ship during World War II. Built by California Shipbuilding Corporation (Calship) of Los Angeles for the United States Maritime Commission (USMC). Benjamin Ide Wheeler was Calship's 100th ship built. She was sponsored and christened by Mrs. Robert Gordon Sproul, wife of Robert Gordon Sproul President of the University of California system. She was named after Benjamin Ide Wheeler President of the University of California from 1899 to 1919. Her Hull # was 675, she was type EC2-S-C1 ship, built in 50 days as part of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Her keel was laid down on 28 October 1942, launched on 27 November 1942 and delivered on 17 December 1942. She was assigned to American-Hawaiian Steamship Company of San Francisco for merchant operation by the War Shipping Administration (WSA).
SS Jeremiah M. Daily was a Liberty ship built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. The ship was named in honor of Jeremiah M. Daily, (1871-1924) who was the manager of marine department of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. Jeremiah M. Daily inspired Jerry Dooley and the Affairs of Cappy Ricks. The ship was assigned by the War Shipping Administration to American South African Line of New York who operated it throughout World War II. Jeremiah M. Daily was laid down on 18 July 1943, launched on 9 August 1943 and completed on 22 August 1943, with the hull No. 1724 as part of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program, built is 35 days.
SS Benjamin Contee was an American Liberty Ship type EC2-S-C1 built in 1942 by the Delta Shipbuilding in New Orleans, Louisiana as part of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program for World War II. She was laid down on February 2, 1942, launched on June 15, 1942, and completed on August 7, 1942. She was operated by the Mississippi Shipping Company for the War Shipping Administration as a United States Merchant Marine ship. She was a Maritime Commission design. Like other Liberty ships, she was 441 feet (134 m) long and 56 feet (17 m) wide, carried 9000 tons of cargo and had a top speed of 11 knots (20 km/h). Most Liberty ships were named after prominent deceased Americans. She was converted from a cargo ship to a troop transport ship. She is named after Benjamin Contee, an American Episcopal priest and statesman from Maryland. He was an officer in the American Revolutionary War, a delegate to the Confederation Congress, and a member of the first United States House of Representatives.
SS Hobart Baker was a Liberty ship built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. The ship was named in honor of Hobart Baker. Hobart "Hobey" Baker (1892–1918) was an American amateur athlete and is considered the first American star in ice hockey. He was also an American football player. The ship was assigned by the War Shipping Administration to General Steamship Company of San Francisco who operated it throughout World War II. Hobart Baker was laid down on 16 April 1943, launched on 12 May 1943 and completed on 24 May 1943, with the hull No. 1114 as part of the Emergency Shipbuilding Program, built is 38 days.
World War II United States Merchant Navy was the largest civilian Navy in the world, which operated during World War II. With the United States fighting a world war in all the world oceans, the demand for cargo and fuel was very high. Cargo and fuel was needed around the world for the United States Navy, United States Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Army Air Forces, United States Coast Guard and the support of the allied nations of the United States. American steamship companies chartered ships from the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration to meet the demand. Many United States Merchant Marine ships were newly built in the Emergency Shipbuilding Program, other ships were older World War I ships that were put back in service, or private ships acquired under Emergency war requisitions. The Merchant Navy operated in the Pacific War and European war. Over 200 US Merchant ships took part in the D-day Normandy landings. To make a Normandy breakwater Harbor, called Mulberry harbour, 33 merchant ships were sunk 1,000 yards from shore. Some of the ghosts merchant ships used were damaged and others were deemed too old.
United States
