The Liberty Ships of World War II

This book details the Liberty ships and the Emergency Shipbuilding Program during World War II. For the first time, comprehensive information is provided about the builders, the namesakes, and the operators under one cover. Included is a list of all 2,710 Liberty ships delivered by U.S. shipyards, giving each ship’s namesake and detailed descriptions of the companies that built the ships and the steamship companies that operated them during the war. This book also details the formation of two shipyards in South Portland, Maine, the Todd-Bath Iron Shipbuilding Co. and the South Portland Shipbuilding Corp. South Portland’s shady operations were investigated by the U.S. Congress and resulted in the merger of both companies into the New England Shipbuilding Corporation in April 1943. Also featured is the Jeremiah O’Brien. Built by New England Ship in 1943 and one of only two operational Liberty ships left in the world, its service history and crew information are given along with its postwar restoration and return to Normandy in 1994.

Greg H. Williams served four years in the Navy, including duty on the converted Liberty ship USS Granville S. Hall (YAG–40). He was one of 27 volunteer crewmen who made the entire five month voyage from San Francisco to Europe on the Jeremiah O’Brien in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of the Normandy Invasion. He lives near Noti, Oregon.

Greg H. Williams
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 372
Bibliographic Info: 13 photos, glossary, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2014
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7945-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1754-1
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Preface 1

Liberty Ship Builders 4

Part I. The Beginning: The British Contract and Six Companies 5

Part II. Building the Liberty Ships 14

Part III. Liberty Ship Construction by Shipyard 42

Part IV. Liberty Ship Operation and the General Agents 242

Part V. The Liberty Ship Jeremiah ­O’Brien 286

Part VI. Post-War Restoration and Voyages of the Jeremiah ­O’Brien 327

Glossary 341

Bibliography 345

Index 347

“packed with information, much of it new…. A solid reference book and well worth its price”—Nautical Research Journal; “a superb overview of the subject, which leaves no detail out. Recommended”—ARBA; “a useful addition to reference libraries on naval studies”—The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord.