Liberty Ships to the Rescue in World War II
WWII in Europe was decided by the movement of material across the Atlantic from the U.S. to England. Liberty ships were crucial to this venture.
“Liberty ship” was the name given to the EC2 type ships designed for emergency construction by the U. S. Maritime Commission in World War II. They were nicknamed “ugly ducklings” by President Franklin Roosevelt.
The first of the Liberty ships, the SS Patrick Henry, launched on Sept. 27, 1941, and built to a standardized, mass-produced design. The 250,000 parts were pre-fabricated throughout the country in 250-ton sections and welded together in about 70 days. One Liberty ship, the SS Robert E. Peary was built in four and a half days. Each ship cost under $2,000,000.
Liberty ships were 441 feet long and 56 feet wide. Their three-cylinder, reciprocating steam engine, fed by two oil-burning boilers produced 2,500 hp and a speed of 11 knots. Each had five holds and could carry over 9,000 tons of cargo, plus airplanes, tanks, and locomotives lashed to their decks. One Liberty ship could carry 2,840 jeeps, 440 tanks, or 230 million rounds of rifle ammunition.
Liberty ships were named after prominent, deceased Americans, starting with Patrick Henry and the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Eighteen were named for outstanding African-Americans. The SS Francis J. O’Gara w
as named after a mariner who was presumed dead, but who in fact, was a Prisoner of War.
He was the only person to visit a Liberty ship named in his honor. Other exceptions to the naming rule were the SS Stage Door Canteen, named for the USO club in New York, and the SS U.S.O., named after the organization itself.
Any group which raised $2 million dollars in War Bonds could suggest a name for a Liberty ship, thus, one is named for the founder of the 4-H movement in Kansas, the first Ukrainian immigrant to America, an organizer for the International Ladies Garment Union, and the woman who suggested the poppy as a symbol of American soldiers who died in World War I.
Liberty ships carried a crew of about 44 and 12 to 25 Naval Armed Guard. Some were armed with:
- One 3 inch bow gun
- One 4 or 5 inch stern gun
- Two 37 mm bow guns
- Six 20 mm machine guns
More than 2,400 Liberty Ships survived the war. Of these, 835 made up the postwar cargo fleet. Greek entrepreneurs bought 526 ships and Italian entrepreneurs bought 98. Shipping magnates like John Theodoracopoulos, Aristotle Onassis, Stavros Niarchos, Stavros George Livanos, the Goulandris brothers, and families named Andreadis, Tsavliris, Achille Lauro, Grimaldi and Bottiglieri were known to have started their fleets by buying Liberty ships.
Two Liberty ships, the SS Jeremiah O’Brien in San Francisco and the SS John W. Brown in Baltimore, survive as “museum ships” open to the public for tours and occasional cruises.
Eighteen American shipyards built 2,751 Liberty ships between 1941 and 1945, easily the largest number of ships produced to a single design.
Phil Robertson, Editor
