Imperceptible worker of the Second World War. Liberty type transports
Liberty type transports are a huge series of ships built in the USA during the Second World War. Ships were used to transport a variety of military goods and troops, as well as to compensate for the losses caused to the merchant the fleet German submarines. This series of transport ships provided during the war years both mass military transportations, as well as deliveries of food, goods and military goods under Lend-Lease from the USA to Great Britain and the USSR. Total from 1941 to 1945 American industry produced 2710 Liberty-type ships, and these ships themselves became one of the symbols of US industrial power.
Mass production and records
The first transport of the Liberty type descended from the stocks of the American shipyard of Bethlehem Fairfield in Baltimore on September 27 of the year 1941. It was the ship "Patrick Henry", which led a huge series of vessels of this type. Plans for the construction of transport ships appeared in the United States as early as the pre-war years, since Washington was concerned about the state of its merchant fleet and shipbuilding in particular. There was a clear need for the revitalization and expansion of foreign trade; for this, a large transport fleet was needed, capable of operating on sea lanes. Established in 1936, the US Maritime Commission has begun developing new sea transport projects, plans for their construction, as well as reorganization of the entire American shipbuilding industry. However, only the Second World War, which began in Europe in September 1939, gave a real impetus to the development of the American shipbuilding program.
Great Britain, which was an active participant in the outbreak of the war, was located on islands that were both a defense against large-scale invasion and a real problem. In order to live and fight, Great Britain had to receive about 40 million tons of various cargoes delivered by sea every year. Understanding this, the top leadership of Germany organized strikes against the most vulnerable places of the British Empire - its maritime communications. At the beginning of the war, the British transports went to the bottom one by one, and the German submariners sank transport ships almost with impunity. Already by the end of 1940, the loss of the English merchant fleet had reached enormous values - 4,5 million tons, which was 20 percent of its total tonnage. The situation with the delivery of goods to the islands became threatening.
Having problems with transport ships, the UK decides to order them in the USA. Initially, it was about the 60 transports of the “Ocean” type, which had a very conservative design and a payload of about 7 thousand tons. The ships were set in motion by steam engines operating on coal. The power plant looked the most archaic, but it suited the British, since the British Isles had rich reserves of coal, but there were no oil deposits at all. It was the project of this ship that was chosen in the USA to create a mass standard transport ship, of course, the ship was modernized and adapted to the American conditions of production and operation. For example, wherever possible, riveting was replaced by welding, instead of coal-fired boilers oil-fired oil-fired boilers were installed, etc.
For the first time in world practice, shipbuilding in the United States moved to fully all-welded hulls, abandoning common riveted joints. This solution had a lot of advantages, including significantly reducing the complexity of assembly work (reduction of labor costs by about 30 percent). In addition, the rejection of the use of rivets gave 600 savings in tons of steel on each hull. The welding of the buildings of the Liberty-type transports was carried out both manually and using automatic electric welding, which allowed us to speed up the process of assembling ships, replacing highly skilled manual labor. The construction program involved in-line installation with a sectional method for assembling hulls. Sections of the future ship were prepared in assembly shops and on pre-flooded platforms, after which they were submitted for assembly. The weight of each section reached from 30 to 200 tons. The main goal of the improvements was also the maximum price reduction of the ship itself and its adaptation to mass production. So, to simplify, it was decided to abandon the wooden deck flooring, even in the residential areas of transport, everywhere the tree was replaced with linoleum and mastic. In the process of mass production, the cost of one ship was reduced from 1,2 million dollars to 700 thousand dollars.
Initially, in January, 1941, it was planned to build 200 ships according to the “modified English project”, for which the US government chose 6 companies located on the west coast of the country. However, after the United States entered the Second World War, the need for transportation increased significantly, and the list of shipyards involved in their production was quickly increased to 18 (excluding numerous subcontractors). Moreover, not all of these companies had at that time experience in building ships for the merchant fleet. The construction of the first 14 ships took about 230 days, with the first SS ship Patrick Henry being built 244 of the day. However, by the end of 1942, the American industry took an unprecedented rate of production, on average 70 days were spent on building a ship, in 1944, this figure reached 42 days. The absolute record was set in November 1942 of the year at the Kaiser shipyard, it belonged to the SS Robert E. Peary transport, from the moment the ship was laid down until the launch of the entire 4 day and 15,5 hours. 12 November 1942, the ship was launched, and already 22 November 1942, the year went on his first voyage. Built in record time, the ship was able to survive the war and served in the Navy until the 1963 year. But this example is rather a propaganda trick, which was not possible to be repeated serially. But even without this, the achieved rates of construction of Liberty-type transports are worthy of respect; in 1943, American shipyards issued an average of three such transport ships per day.
The rush in the construction and launch of the series, especially in wartime conditions, could not pass without a trace. 19 ships of this type of early construction literally broke into the sea while sailing. The reason was poor-quality welding, unsuccessfully selected steels and not fully developed technologies. However, this number is less than a percentage of all built Liberty transports. During 1942, these deficiencies were tried to eliminate as much as possible, although problems with the strength of the hull, especially in difficult weather conditions at sea, persisted until the end of the use of ships. Later on, the experience gained during the construction and operation of Liberty-type transports was taken into account in the production of the next series of military transports, the Victory (534 ship) and the T2 tankers (490 ship). At the same time, the bulk of the Liberty-type transports survived the Second World War and was used in the fleets of many countries for decades. Therefore, the myth that these transports were “one way” ships is devoid of any basis.
Before the creators of the ships got another difficult task - to give the name of such a huge series. About 2500 transports that were used by the American fleet were given names in honor of the people, and necessarily in honor of the dead (there were at least exceptions). The first ships of the Liberty type were named after those who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, then the names of public figures, politicians, scientists and soldiers who died during the First World War and later the Second World War were used. After military bonds were issued in the United States, anyone (or a group of individuals) who purchased bonds for two million dollars could give the ship a name while maintaining the general rules. The 200 British ships transferred under Lend-Lease received names starting with “Sam”, but it quickly became clear that the word supply of “sam” in English was limited, so the British names such as SS Samara and SS Samovar were used. and even SS Samarkand.
Features of the design of transports like "Liberty"
The hull of the transports was quite typical for the layout of the ships of the 1930-s merchant fleet. There were a total of five cargo holds, in the bow from the superstructure three holds, two more in the aft half of the hull. Liberty-style ships were twin vessels, that is, cargo holds were divided into the upper and lower halves by a twin deck deck. The upper deck was made as free as possible from all sorts of mechanisms, which made it easier to receive cargo. For unloading in the port of destination on the ship there were three masts with cargo booms that could lift loads of up to 50 tons. The central part of the ship was occupied by boiler rooms and engine rooms, under which there were premises for the crew of the transport, and above them was the wheelhouse. The ship was distinguished by a sloping bow and a “cruising” stern of rounded shape. The service life of the ship hull was estimated at five years, it was believed that the ship would then be easier to write off than repair.
The ship’s propulsion system included a triple-expansion steam engine, which was borrowed from Ocean-type transports, and two oil water-tube boilers that worked on fuel oil. In addition to simplifying bunkering and fuel economy, the use of oil boilers allowed the ship to get rid of coal bunkers located in the superstructure, making movement around the ship more convenient. From the steam engine to the only screw was a long shafting, which was held under the holds No. XXUMX and No. XXUMX. The ship’s propulsion system provided him with a maximum travel speed of 4-5 knots, which was the standard value for transport ships of that time.
The armament of the ships consisted of five 127-mm or, less frequently, 102-mm guns (4-inch), which were mounted on a canopy and intended for self-defense from German submarines, and there were two 20-mm anti-aircraft guns on the canopy. On a sublime forecastle was installed a three-inch naval gun (76,2 mm). Further to the sides of the bow cargo boom, two 20-mm anti-aircraft guns were placed, another 4 anti-aircraft guns were installed at the corners of the superstructure.
According to the project, the crew of the Liberty-type transports was 45 seafarers and 36 gunners, while their composition could seriously change. Unlike the ships of the British merchant fleet, on which the sailors also worked as servants with guns for an additional shilling per day, the sailors of the American merchant fleet remained civilian personnel. For the maintenance of anti-aircraft and artillery guns were responsible sailors. The rescue equipment onboard the transports was represented by two 31-seat rowboats, two 25-seat motorboats and four rescue rafts (they were located in quite noticeable inclined boxes located at masts No.2 and No.3).
Service ships during the Second World War
It is impossible to accurately estimate how much cargo was transported by Liberty-type ships during the Second World War. These ships brought food and resources to the UK, military equipment and cargo to the USSR with all three Lend-Lease routes, various army equipment for landing in Normandy, soldiers and marines on islands in the Pacific Ocean and performed many other tasks. During the war years, in almost every corner of the world’s oceans, one could see a characteristic silhouette, in which a high-breasted cargo ship with an oblique bow and a low pipe located in the middle of the superstructure was easily guessed. The capacity of Liberty-type transports could reach: 2840 jeeps; 525 wheeled armored vehicles M8 or 525 ambulances; 260 medium or 440 lungs tanks; 300 thousand 105-mm or 651 thousand 76-mm shells. In practice, the cargoes transported by ships were modular.
For the period from 1942 to 1945. of the 2710 built ships of this type, 253 vehicles were killed, about 50 ships on their first voyage; in total, 9 percent of the ships built were lost during the fighting. In this case, the greatest losses occurred in the first series of 153 ships, which were launched in the first half of 1942, in the midst of the ensuing battle for the Atlantic. The 34 ships from this series died during the first year of service, another 13 was destroyed before the end of the war, the losses among the first series of ships were 31 percent. Moreover, among the sailors of the US merchant fleet during World War II, every 26 died.
During the years of the war for courage and bravery, which were manifested by the ship and its crew, the American government awarded the ships the honorary title “Gallant ship”. This rank was awarded to 7 transports of the Liberty type. The most famous of these ships was the SS Stephen Hopkins, who on September 27 1942 off the coast of Africa engaged the German raider Stier armed with six 150-mm guns. In the course of a fierce battle, the transport was sunk, however, he himself managed to hit the German raider from his only old 102-mm gun during the First World War, causing Stier to be seriously damaged, caught fire and left by the German crew that had gotten onto the ship supplies tannenfels. In this battle, most of the crew of the American transport died - 18 people, including the captain, 37 survivors drifted in the boat for more than a month until they were nailed to the shores of Brazil. In honor of the captain, senior assistant and cadet-artilleryman, who last fired from 19-mm guns, were named three transport type "Liberty", and in honor of the only officer on board the Navy was named escort destroyer.
The most tragic for Liberty-type ships were two days: December 2, 1943 during a massive German raid aviation Six transports died at once in Bari in the port from aerial bombs, the second day: June 29, 1944, when the German submarine U-984, operating in the English Channel, sank 4 of these transports at once. During the war years, a certain number of transports was converted for transporting troops, and a small part of the ships was originally built as specialized transports for transporting military personnel. The most terrible catastrophe involving Liberty transports was the death of the SS Paul Hamilton steamer off the coast of Algeria on April 20, 1944. The ship was the victim of the German torpedo bombers Ju-88. On board the transport was a huge amount of ammunition and explosives, as well as soldiers and Air Force officers. As a result of a torpedo hit, the ship exploded and sank in 30 seconds, out of 580 people on board, only one body was found.
In total, for the period of mass production from 1941 to 1945, the 2710 transports of the Liberty type were built in the United States. About 200 of them were transferred to the UK Lend-Lease, another 41 ship (38 transports and 3 tanker) were transferred to the USSR, and only Liberty-type ships went under the Soviet flag, including 54 ships were obtained in different ways, including bought after the end of the Second World War. The active operation of these transport ships continued until the end of the 13-s, when they began to be removed from flights due to increased operating costs. Currently, in the United States, two Liberty-type vehicles restored to the running state are preserved: SS John W. Brown in Baltimore and SS Jeremiah O'Brien in San Francisco.
Liberty tactical and technical characteristics:
Displacement - 14 450 tons.
Overall dimensions: length - 134,57 m, width - 17,3 m, draft - 8,5 m.
Power plant - one steam engine, two boilers, power - hp 2500
The travel speed is 11-11,5 knots (20,4-21,3 km / h).
Cruising range - 20 000 nautical miles.
Crew - 38-62 man (merchant seamen), 21-40 man (military sailors).
Armament: 127-mm (or 102-mm) gun at the stern to protect against enemy submarines, 76-mm gun on the tank, up to 8-X20-mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns.
Information sources:
Kuznetsov, N. A. 100 of the great ships / N. A. Kuznetsov, A. N, Zolotarev, Solomonov B.V. - Moscow: Veche, 2012. - 432 with.
https://scharapow-w.livejournal.com
https://warspot.ru
http://wiki.wargaming.net
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