Liberty : The Ships That Won the War

by Elphick, Peter

• ISBN13: 9781591144519
• ISBN10: 1591144515
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-03-29
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr

Summary

This stirring tribute tells the complete story of the renowned Liberty ships, from their design concept and production through their war service and post war careers. Designed for speed and ease of production, Liberty ships were turned out at American shipyards so rapidly that the Allies were able to replace thousands of ships lost to U-boats and keep the vital transatlantic supply routes open. Filled with firsthand accounts, the book brings to life the amazing industrial effort and sacrifice and heroism of the men who sailed the ships in every theater of the war. The construction of the Robert E. Perry in a record-breaking five days and ongoing efforts to preserve the last surviving ships are just two of the many stories illuminating this overlooked part of World War II. Essential reading for historians and naval enthusiasts, this book is a fascinating account of one of the great achievements in maritime history.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	6	(1)
Acknowledgments	7	(5)
Introduction	12	(11)
Part I: In the Beginning
The Parentage of the Liberty Ship	23	(11)
The British Shipbuilding Mission to the United States	34	(19)
Birth of the Liberty Ship	53	(27)
The Shipyards and their Workers	80	(22)
The Naming Game	102	(8)
The Wartime Liberty Crews	110	(33)
Close to Calamity: the Structural Failure Problem	143	(36)
Part II: The Liberty at War
Ubiquity	179	(10)
A Liberty versus a German Raider	189	(14)
The North Atlantic	203	(19)
Liberty Ships and the Northern Route to Russia	222	(22)
Liberties and Operation `Torch'	244	(8)
Liberties as Troopships and Animal Transports	252	(21)
Liberties in the Mediterranean	273	(9)
The Poison Gas Disaster at Bari	282	(15)
Liberties and the Allied Salvage Services	297	(13)
Normandy and the Campaign in Europe	310	(16)
`Let Sleeping Wrecks Lie': The On-going Saga of the Richard Montgomery	326	(17)
Liberties in the Indian Ocean	343	(20)
Liberties in the Pacific	363	(20)
The Other Allied Liberties	383	(16)
Part III: After the War
The Liberty Ship's Role in Peacetime	399	(14)
Tragedy off Porthcawl: The Loss of the Samtampa	413	(10)
Lost without Trace	423	(12)
More Post-war Disasters, Trials and Tribulations	435	(11)
The Last Years of the Trading Liberties	446	(11)
Treasure Hunt	457	(9)
The Surviving Liberties	466	(12)
Appendices	478	(12)
Bibliography	490	(8)
Abbreviations	498	(1)
Index	499