THE LIBERTY SHIP HERO OF THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC

摘要

John W. Brown and Jeremiah O'Brien remain today as the only two operational examples of the 2,710 vessels of the EC2-S-C1 class of ship built between 1941 and 1945, better known as Liberty ships. For a ship with a design life of five years, and built in wartime, for two to be afloat and in service over 70 years later is not bad going. Liberty ships were based on a British design, which was modified by the United States Maritime Commission to make them easier and cheaper to build. They were as standardised as possible, with a length of around 441ft and displacement of 14,245 tons, and were able to carry over 10,000 tons of cargo. With a speed of 11.5 knots, they could steam for 20,000 nautical miles, using their two oil-fired boilers to power simple reciprocating steam engines that proved reliable and easy to repair. Fitted with various machine guns, they also sported a stern-mounted four-inch gun for defence against submarines.