The Ugly Ducklings

The Ugly Ducklings. . , When Rear Admiral Land, U.S. Maritime Commission Chairman showed President Roosevelt the Liberty ship plans, he remarked, "She'll carry a good load. She isn't much to look at though? A real ugly duckling." However, these simple but seaworthy ships were not designed for aesthetics. They were designed as ships of war, to carry huge amounts of cargo to the Allied forces around the world., The standardized design (EC2-S1-C1) was selected for its simplicity and adaptability to mass production. To save time on the design, the U.S. decided to use the plans for the British Ocean class ship, drawings for which were already underway with the naval architects Gibbs and Cox of New York City. These Ocean plans were modified to facilitate welding, to replace the split deckhouse with a single midship house, and to use a boiler that burned oil instead of coal., The U.S. would build over 2,700 Libertys, more than any other single design type in the history of shipbuilding., The design is the best that can be devised for an emergency product to be quickly, cheaply, and simply built. ...Whether they have any utility afterwards will have to be determined then. , House Committee Report, January 1941, Liberty Ship Specifications , Length Overall: 441 feet 6 inches , Beam: 56 feet 10 3/4 inches , Depth to upper deck: 37 feet 4 inches , Gross Tonnage: 7,191 , Deadweight Tonnage: 10,900 , Loaded Draft: 27 feet 6 7/8 inches , Horsepower: 2,500 , Speed: 11 knots , Average cost to build: 1.8 million dollars , Typical Liberty Crew: 44 Merchant marines, 12 Naval Gun Crew , Typical Armament: (varied by mission) , 3" gun in forward gun tub , 5" gun in aft gun tub , 2-8 20mm anti-aircraft guns , More Statistics: , Steel: 3,200 tons , Paint: 25 tons , Welds: 52 miles , Rivets: 28,000, Launching the Libertys , Over 2,700 Liberty Ships with over 2,700 names representing famous war heroes, dignitaries, entertainers, literary figures, politicians, and artists, as well as the not-so-famous yard workers, who were honored for their performance or attendance. At the launching, the sponsor would christen the vessel by breaking the customary champagne bottle over the bow. Sometimes the sponsor was a relative of the person for whom the ship was named. Sometimes she too was a famous figure. But in all cases, the sponsor was a woman. The launchings were especially exciting. On August 14, 1942, Maine's Governor, Sumner Sewall declared Maine Shipbuilding Day in recognition of eight ships being launched on one day: five Ocean ships at the East Yard, one Liberty at the West Yard, and two Destroyers at Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine., [Photo captions follow] , 1. Machinists working in the East Yard's machine shop used the overhead cranes to assemble the ship's largest components such as stern frames, propeller shafts, and pumps. , Courtesy of Hobbs Funeral Home , , , , , , , , 2. A single, 4 blade, 18 1/2 foot bronze propeller drives the 10,000-ton Liberty ship at 11 knots. , Courtesy of Blethen Maine Newspapers , , , , , , , , 3. Down in the basins, welders and shipfitters stand on the inner bottom of Eugene Hale. The partially assembled section shows the lightening holes that allowed welders access to the hull and lightened the weight of the ship. , Courtesy of Portland Harbor Museum , , , , , , , , The mass production of Liberty ships was made possible by pre-fabrication of entire sections of the ship prior to installation. This drawing from the NESC's [New England Shipbuilding Corp.] construction procedures illustrates the Liberty ship's simple, straight design. Side shell plates and frames were prefabricated, assembled in sections, and marked to indicate specific location and sequence on the ship. , Courtesy of Portland Harbor Museum , , , , , , , , 4. Pictured on December 26, 1943, Samteviot was under construction in the basins. The U.S. sold some of the Liberty ships directly to the British; all of these ships had the prefix Sam. , Courtesy of Maine Maritime Museum , , , , , , , , 5. The Thomas Hooker slid down the ways at the West Yard on July 13, 1942. This ship would ultimately crack and sink, giving support to those who contended that welding was inferior to riveting, resulting in poor quality ships. However, of the 266 ships built in South Portland, it was the only one that cracked. , Courtesy of the Shipyard Society , , , , , , , , 6. One of the West Yard's gantry cranes lifts a pre-assembled section for the lower bow. Plates are pre-fabricated and assembled in sections on the flats and then lifted into position on the keel already under construction on the ways. , Courtesy of Maine Maritime Museum , , , , , , , , 7. Both the William Pitt Fessenden and Winslow Homer launched from the East Yard on November 11, 1942. They were the first two Libertys to be built in the East Yard after the 30 Oceans were completed for the British. , Courtesy of Maine Maritime Museum , , , , , , , , 8. Nancy Moran, great-grandaughter [sic] of this ship's namesake christens the Michael Moran, on August 16, 1944. The ship was named for the founder of the Moran Towing Company, which runs towboats in Portland Harbor today. , Courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Peter J. Moran , , , , , , , , 9. The Liberty ships ran on a reciprocating steam engine, an old-fashioned but proven engine type that was simple to use and easy to obtain. The massive three-story tall engines were transported to the yard in four railroad cars., A view of this engine can be seen in the movie Titanic. Engine room scenes were shot on board the Jeremiah O'Brien in San Francisco. ,