You know yo're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there.
George Burns (1896-1996)
Picture: REX FEATURES
First Liberty ship deliveredIn 1941, the first Liberty ship, the S.S. Patrick Henry, was delivered at Baltimore, Maryland, to the U.S. Maritime Commission. It was built in 244 days and launched 27 Sep 1941, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipbuilding Co., of that city. It was the first of 2,741 Liberty ships launched, of which 385 were built at Baltimore, in a three-year WW II emergency merchant ship construction program. The S.S. Patrick Henry could average a speed of about 11 knots, and had a general cargo capacity of 9,146 tons. The American patriot Patrick Henry had ended a speech (23 Mar 1775) with the phrase “give me Liberty, or give me death,” Hence the emergency ships became known as Liberty ships, after President Roosevelt said their mission was to bring liberty to European allies with relief supplies.« |
