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Photo Contest – April 26, 2013
Contest Photo 4/26/13 - S.S. John W. Brown
The answer to last week’s photo contest question is the S.S. John W. Brown. The photo was taken of the ship as she was hosting a Project Liberty Ship cruise from Baltimore. Congratulations to Donna Cunningham of Philadelphia, PA whose name was randomly selected from the four correct responses.
The John W. Brown is one of two surviving Liberty ships out of the 2,710 built during World War II. The other is the Jeremiah O’Brien, based in San Francisco, California. During the first few years of World War II, the Allies were losing more than twice as many ships as were being built. Most of these losses were the result of U boat torpedoes in the Caribbean and Atlantic. To counteract these unsustainable losses, the Brits and Yanks designed an expendable vessel that could be built cheaply and in great numbers. Thus, the Liberty ship came into being. They were built in an average of 6 weeks with the record being less than 5 days.
John W. Brown - on deck
The priority was quantity over quality. Some were so poorly constructed that they broke in two while at sea. They were slow and made good targets for U boats. Over 250 Liberty ships were lost during the war. Their design life was 5 years, so it is a tribute to the men and women who keep the memory alive by the loving care they give to these two surviving septuagenarians.
We cruised for a day on the John W. Brown last year and can tell you that they only thing it had in common with today’s luxury cruise ships was that there was plenty of food. However, the hot dogs and hamburgers were not served in a splendid dining room with white table cloths and attentive waiters. They were served buffet style in a converted cargo hold.
If you want to experience hot, visit the engine room where the temperature reaches over 110 degrees. Watch the massive connection rods as they pound out a rhythm of power.
Japanese World War II vintage aircraft
A highlight of the cruise was the “attack” by several Japanese World War II vintage aircraft and the victory of the American P-51 over these “aggressors”.
Project Liberty Ship will operate 4 special cruises this year from Baltimore. If you would like to experience one of these “living history” cruises, go to www.liberty-ship.com for dates and rates.