A Liberty ship is a class of cargo ship mass produced in the United States during the Second World War to replace merchant shipping lost to German submarines, built to a simplified, standardized design using prefabricated sections welded together to speed construction. Over twenty six hundred were built between 1941 and 1945, and the fastest were assembled in only a few days, making the program a symbol of American wartime industrial capacity.
Facts
YearMarks the start of Liberty ship construction under the wartime Emergency Shipbuilding Program; production continued through 1945. SignificanceThe Liberty ship became the symbol of American wartime industrial output, mass produced to replace merchant tonnage sunk by German submarines. 1 Open Questions
Manufacturer or BuilderBuilt by eighteen American shipyards under the United States wartime Emergency Shipbuilding Program, not by one company. 1 No single manufacturer: mass produced across many U.S. shipyards under a coordinated wartime program. FAQs
How many Liberty ships were built and how fast were they produced?
Eighteen shipyards built 2,710 between 1941 and 1945.
Eighteen American shipyards built 2,710 Liberty ships between 1941 and 1945, an average of three ships every two days. That was easily the largest number of ships ever produced to a single design.
Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Liberty Ship
WikipediaLead section, sentence on shipyards and production total
Eighteen American shipyards built 2,710 Liberty ships between 1941 and 1945
Lead section, sentence naming the Emergency Shipbuilding Program
built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program
Lead section, closing sentence
the Liberty ship came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output.
In Group: General Cargo and Coastal Ships, Lead sentence
Liberty ships are a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program.
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