1.
USS Polaris (AF-11)
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USS Polaris was a Type C2 Liberty fleet standard freighter and an Aldebaran-class stores ship acquired from the United States Maritime Commission by the US Navy for World War II and the Korean War. Polaris made five trips from the U. S. East Coast to Reykjavík, Iceland from June 1942 to February 1943 and she then made five voyages from the U. S. East Coast to Port of Spain, Trinidad, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, from March through September 1944 Polaris made three round-trip voyages in convoy from the east coast to Oran, Algeria, and other Mediterranean ports. In October she made another voyage to the Caribbean, on 10 November 1944 she departed New York for the Panama Canal Zone escorted by the USS Leland E. Thomas and arrived at Cristóbal, Colón 16 November 1944. Polaris then sailed to Enewetak, Saipan, Tinian, and Apra before returning to Seattle and she was underway 16 January to Pearl Harbor, Eniwetok, and Ulithi. After serving in Japanese waters and on the China coast, Polaris decommissioned 18 January 1946 and she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register 7 February 1946 and transferred to the Maritime Commission 30 June 1946. Polaris served in the Korean War with Service Squadron 1 and made six cruises to Korean waters between 29 January 1951 and 23 July 1954 and she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register 10 October 1957, and transferred to the Maritime Administration. Into 1970 she was in the National Defense Reserve Fleet berthed in Suisun Bay and this article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
2.
Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.
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Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company was a major shipbuilding company in Chester, Pennsylvania, about 15 miles south of Philadelphia on the Delaware River. Its primary product was tankers, but the company built many types of ships over its 70-year history, during World War II, it participated in the U. S. The company was developed by Sun Oil Company, and launched its first ship in 1917, under the direction of its president, John Glenn Pew, the company experienced tremendous success over the following decades. In the 1920s, it had become a large shipyard that built tankers for the Standard Oil Company and by the start of World War II, it was among the five largest shipyards. Twenty slipways were added during the war, making Sun Ship the countrys largest shipyard, at its peak, the company employed more than 40,000 workers at four shipyards, including one manned almost entirely by African Americans. Sun Shipbuilding built 281 T2 tankers during World War II, about 40% of the U. S. wartime total and it also built hospital ships, cargo ships, and escort carriers for the United States Maritime Commission. On 27 September 1941, it contributed one of the 14 Liberty ships launched on Liberty Fleet Day, Sun continued as a merchant shipbuilder after the war, but sold the South and #4 Yards for industrial development. In the 1970s, Sun built ten roll-on/roll-off ships for various operators, one of them, sailing under the name SS El Faro, was lost in a hurricane on October 1,2015, while steaming from Jacksonville, Florida, to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The company was sold to Pennsylvania Shipbuilding in 1982, and closed in 1989, the Central Yard site has been sold or leased for multiple uses, while the North Yard is now an independent cargo terminal. In 2006, a new casino, named Harrahs Philadelphia opened on the Sun Ship site and is currently in operation, Sun Shipbuilding historical site Federation of American Scientists Military Analysis Network http, //users. telenet. be/doxford-matters/sundoxford. html
3.
Western Pipe and Steel Company
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The Western Pipe and Steel Company was an American manufacturing company that is best remembered today for its construction of ships for the Maritime Commission in World War II. It also built ships for the U. S, Shipping Board in World War I and took part in the construction of the giant Grand Coulee Dam project in the 1930s. The origins of the company are somewhat obscure and it appears it was organized in Los Angeles, California around 1907 by two brothers named Talbot and possibly a partner named T. A. Hays. An early President of the company was James A. Talbot, later to make, Western Pipe & Steel quickly began to expand its operations. In 1910 it established a factory in Taft, California for the supply of pipes, Another factory was opened in Fresno in 1913. In 1915 a third new factory was established in Phoenix, Arizona to serve the agricultural, the company made its first move into San Francisco in 1910 with the purchase of a local riveted pipe manufacturer, the Francis Smith Company, whose own origins dated back to 1854. Shortly thereafter, WPS purchased land in the Richmond District of San Francisco, in 1917 Western Pipe & Steel bought out another local San Francisco company, the Schaw Batcher Pipe Works. Schaw Batcher had frontage on San Francisco Bay and had just received a contract from the U. S, Shipping Board for the building of 22 merchant ships in accordance with the Boards strategic goal of developing a naval auxiliary and merchant marine fleet. With the purchase of Schaw Batcher, Western Pipe & Steel inherited these contracts, the Shipping Boards contract with WPS called for the building of eighteen vessels of about 5,650 tons each and four larger vessels of 8,800 gross tons. The larger vessels were cancelled in 1918 but all eighteen of the smaller ships were completed. All of the vessels were of riveted construction, in accordance with the technology of the period. They had a length of 410 feet, a beam of 54 feet, a draft of 24 feet 2 inches, and they ran on oil fuel and had a speed of 11 knots and a crew of 39 to 45. Because of the shortage of water frontage, the company dredged a large rectangular launching basin, the side launching method was not ideal for ships of this size and some of the vessels suffered hull damage on launch which then had to be repaired. The company was however, to persevere with side launching for the whole of its existence, the channel and the four shipping ways were completed in only three months, and the keel of the companys very first ship, Isanti, was laid on 30 November 1917. The first eight of the ships were fitted with General Electric steam turbines with a horsepower of 2500, some of these vessels were lost at sea after foundering due to breakdown, and the rest were scrapped by 1930. The remaining 10 vessels were fitted with triple expansion engines built by Joshua Hendy, the 2,800 horsepower Joshua Hendy plant proved much more reliable, and many of the vessels powered by this engine went on to have long careers. While many of Americas First World War emergency shipyards shut down at the end of the war, the company closed its Richmond operation in 1921 and moved the plant located there to the San Francisco shipyard, which now began building barges and pipes. During this period the company is reported to have built self-propelled fuel, gasoline and water barges, the exact number is not known, but the companys hull number sequence suggests that as many as 34 such vessels may have been completed in the interwar years
4.
Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
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The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard, active from 1917 to 1948. It was founded during World War I to build ships for the United States Shipping Board, during World War II, it built ships as part of the U. S. The shipyard site is now part of River Terminal, a distribution facility that is partially a foreign trade zone. Federal built numerous destroyers, destroyer escorts and a handful of light cruisers as well as merchant ships during, around 570 vessels were contracted for construction by Federal SB&DD Company with about 100 not delivered fully completed due to the end of the World War II. Federal also had a yard at Port Newark during World War II that built destroyers, Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company was founded July 24,1917 as a subsidiary of United States Steel Corporation to supply ships for the United States Shipping Board during World War I. The site on Kearny Point was first surveyed during the summer of 1917, the shipyard was to consist of everything needed to fully complete a ship from a facility power plant to a wood joining shop. A steel plate mill and boiler shop were to be built as well, $10 million was allocated for construction. The American Bridge Company was contracted to provide 10,000 tons of steel for the structures, gary was president of Federal in August 1917. The ship-ways were completed by the fall of 1917 with keels being laid by November 1917, Federal completed a 9,600 ton ship around six weeks before World War I ended as well as two other ships before the close of 1918. 27 ships were delivered to the Emergency Fleet Corporation in 1919, Federal accounted for 5% of the steel merchant tonnage built in 1919. By June 1921, the Federal yard at Kearny had a 535 by 161.5 feet boiler construction shop to build Scotch marine boilers, exhaust stacks, tanks, uptakes,235 boilers had been constructed from September 1919 to June 1921. Boilers constructed there were mostly 15 feet diameter or larger, at that time,250 men were able to construct three boilers a week with a single 8 hour shift each day. By November 1921, Federal had shipbuilding ways for twelve 15,000 ton vessels and had constructed a 9,000 ton floating dry dock, the dry dock was first used June 23,1921 when Transmarine corps SS Suhulco docked. The Kearny yard was 17 acres with 2,400 feet of frontage on the Hackensack River, a wet basin was located at the southern end with a 100-ton 3-legged jib crane for fitting out new ships. On Sunday night, May 18,1924, a fire destroyed the largest building at the Kearny yard causing an initially estimated $500,000 in damage, other estimates were $1.6 million or as high as several million dollars in damage. Firemen used four mobile cranes to try to extinguish fires in the pattern building, over a thousand workers were idled by the fire. The shipyard had around 5,000 workers at the time and was said to be one of the largest steel plants in the world. Fireboats and numerous firemen from around the area were called in to fight the fire spread rapidly through the wooden structures at the Kearny yard
5.
Deadweight tonnage
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Deadweight tonnage or tons deadweight is a measure of how much mass a ship is carrying or can safely carry, it does not include the weight of the ship. DWT is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provisions, passengers, DWT is often used to specify a ships maximum permissible deadweight, although it may also denote the actual DWT of a ship not loaded to capacity. Deadweight tonnage is a measure of a weight carrying capacity. It should not be confused with displacement which includes the ships own weight, nor other volume or capacity measures such as gross tonnage or net tonnage
6.
5"/38 caliber gun
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The Mark 12 5/38 caliber gun was a US naval gun. The gun was installed into Single Purpose and Dual Purpose mounts used primarily by the US Navy, the 38 caliber barrel was a mid-length compromise between the previous United States standard 5/51 low-angle gun and 5/25 anti-aircraft gun. The increased barrel length provided greatly improved performance in both anti-aircraft and anti-surface roles compared to the 5/25 gun, however, except for the barrel length and the use of semi-fixed ammunition, the 5/38 gun was derived from the 5/25 gun. Both weapons had power ramming, which enabled rapid fire at high angles against aircraft, the 5/38 entered service on USS Farragut, commissioned in 1934. The base ring mount, which improved the rate of fire, entered service on USS Gridley. Even this advanced system required nearly 100 rounds of ammunition expenditure per aircraft kill, however, the planes were normally killed by shell fragments and not direct hits, barrage fire was used, with many guns firing in the air at the same time. Base ring mounts with integral hoists had a rate of fire of 15 rounds per minute per barrel, however. On pedestal and other mounts lacking integral hoists,12 to 15 rounds per minute was the rate of fire, useful life expectancy was 4600 effective full charges per barrel. The 5/38 cal gun was mounted on a large number of US Navy ships in the World War II era. It was backfitted to many of the World War I-era battleships during their wartime refits and it has left active US Navy service, but it is still on mothballed ships of the United States Navy reserve fleets. It is also used by a number of nations who bought or were given US Navy surplus ships, each mount carries one or two Mk 12 5/38cal Gun Assemblies. The gun assembly shown is used in single mounts, and it is the gun in twin mounts. It is loaded from the left side, the left gun in twin mounts is the mirror image of the right gun, and it is loaded from the right side. The Mk12 gun assembly weighs 3,990 lb, the major Mk12 Gun Assembly characteristics are,158 Semi-automatic During recoil, some of the recoil energy is stored in the counter-recoil system. That stored energy is used during counter-recoil to prepare the gun for the next round, the firing pin is cocked, the breech is opened, the spent powder case is ejected, and the bore is air cleaned. Hand loaded A Projectile-Man and a Powder-Man are stationed at each gun assembly and their job is to move the round, consisting of a projectile and a powder case, from the hoists to the rammer tray, and then start the ram cycle. The hydraulically driven Rammer Spade, called the Power Spade in that picture, is at the back of the Rammer Tray, if the multiple names of the Spade is confusing, look at this footnote. Vertical sliding-wedge breech block The breech block closes the chamber behind the powder case and it also holds the firing pin assembly
7.
Weapon mount
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A weapon mount is a weapon component used to affix an armament for stabilization. Weapon mounts can be broken down into two categories, static mounts and non-static mounts, a static mount is a non-portable weapon support component used on a self-propelled vehicle. A gun turret protects the crew or mechanism of a weapon, a turret is a rotating weapon platform. This can be mounted on a building or structure such as a coast artillery battery, or on an armoured fighting vehicle. Turrets may be armed with one or more guns, automatic cannons, large-calibre guns, missile launchers. It may be manned or remotely controlled, and is often armoured, a small turret, or sub-turret on a larger one, is called a cupola. The term cupola also describes rotating turrets that carry no weapons but instead are sighting devices, a finial is an extremely small sub-turret or sub-sub-turret mounted on a cupola turret. The protection provided by the turret may be against battle damage or against the weather, conditions and environment in which the weapon or its crew operate. A coaxial mount is mounted beside the primary weapon and thus points in the general direction as the main armament. The term coaxial is a misnomer as the arrangement is often actually paraxial, nearly all main battle tanks and most infantry fighting vehicles have a coaxial machine gun mounted to fire along a parallel axis to the main gun. Coaxial weapons are usually aimed by use of the gun control. It is usually used to infantry or other soft targets when the main gun collateral damage would be excessive. A fixed mount is not moveable with respect to the vehicle, the vehicle must move in order to change direction of fire. Fixed mounts are most commonly found on aircraft, and most commonly direct the forward, along the aircrafts vector of movement, so that a pilot could aim. Some minor aircraft designs used different concept of fixed mounts, as found in Schräge Musik or AC-47 Spooky, a pintle mount is a fixed mount that allows the gun to be freely traversed and/or elevated while keeping the gun in one fixed position. It is most commonly found on armoured vehicles, gunner stations on bomber aircraft, unlike a turret, a pintle has little or no armour protection. A swing mount is a mount that allows a far greater. Utilising a system of one or two articulated arms the gunner can swing the weapon through a wide arc even though the position is fixed relative to the mount
8.
3"/50 caliber gun
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For Army 3-inch gun see 3-inch M1918 gun The 3″/50 caliber gun in United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile 3 inches in diameter, and the barrel was 50 calibers long. Different guns of this caliber were used by the U. S. Navy and U. S. Coast Guard from 1890 through the 1990s on a variety of combatant and transport ship classes. The US Navys first 3″/50 caliber gun was a model with a projectile velocity of 2,100 feet per second. Low-angle mountings for this gun had a range of 7000 yards at the elevation of 15 degrees. The gun entered service around 1900 with the Bainbridge-class destroyers, and was fitted to Connecticut-class battleships. By World War II these guns were only on a few Coast Guard cutters. These guns fired the same 2,700 feet per second used by the following dual-purpose Marks. These were built-up guns with a tube, partial-length jacket, hoop, dual-purpose 3″/50 caliber guns first entered service in 1915 as a refit to USS Texas, and were subsequently mounted on many types of ships as the need for anti-aircraft protection was recognized. They also replaced the original low-angle 4/50 caliber guns on flush-deck Wickes and these dual-purpose guns were quick-firing, meaning that they used fixed ammunition, with powder case and projectile permanently attached, and handled as a single unit weighing 34 pounds. Maximum range was 14,600 yards at 45 degrees elevation, useful life expectancy was 4300 effective full charges per barrel. The 3/50 caliber gun Marks 17 and 18 was first used as a deck gun on R-class submarines launched in 1918-1919. At the time it was an improvement on the earlier 3/23 caliber gun, after using larger guns on many other submarines, the 3/50 caliber gun Mark 21 was specified as the standard deck gun on the Porpoise- through Gato-class submarines launched in 1935-1942. The small gun was chosen to remove the temptation to engage enemy vessels on the surface. The gun was mounted aft of the conning tower to reduce submerged drag. Wartime experience showed that larger guns were needed and this need was initially met by transferring 4/50 caliber guns from S-class submarines as they were shifted from combat to training roles from late 1942. Later, the 5/25 caliber gun, initially removed from battleships sunk or damaged in the attack on Pearl Harbor and later manufactured in a submarine version, post-war experimentation with an extended range variant was abandoned as shipboard surface-to-air missiles were developed. The United States Navy considered contemporary 5/38 caliber guns and 5″/54 caliber guns more effective against surface targets, the 3″/50 caliber gun was a semiautomatic anti-aircraft weapon with a power driven automatic loader. These monobloc 3″ guns were fitted to both single and twin mountings, the single was to be exchanged for a twin 40 mm antiaircraft gun mount and the twin for a quadruple 40 mm mount
9.
Oerlikon 20 mm cannon
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The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German 20 mm Becker design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models employed by both Allied and Axis forces during World War II, and many still in use today. During World War I, the German Reinhold Becker developed a 20 mm caliber cannon and this used a 20x70 RB cartridge and had a cyclic rate of fire of 300 rpm. It was used on a scale as an aircraft gun on Luftstreitkräfte warplanes. Because the Treaty of Versailles banned further production of weapons in Germany. SEMAG continued development of the weapon, and in 1924 had produced the SEMAG L, the Oerlikon firm, named after the Zürich suburb where it was based, then acquired all rights to the weapon, plus the manufacturing equipment and the employees of SEMAG. In 1927 the Oerlikon S was added to the product line. This fired a larger cartridge to achieve a muzzle velocity of 830 m/s, at the cost of increased weight. The purpose of development was to improve the performance of the gun as an anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapon. An improved version known as the 1S followed in 1930, three sizes of gun with their different ammunition and barrel length, but very similar mechanisms, continued to be developed in parallel. In 1930 Oerlikon reconsidered the application of its gun in aircraft and introduced the AF and AL, designed to be used in flexible mounts, the 15-round box magazine used by earlier versions of the gun was replaced by drum magazine holding 15 or 30 rounds. In 1935 it made an important step by introducing a series of guns designed to be mounted in or on the wings of fighter aircraft, designated with FF for Flügelfest meaning wing-mounted, these weapons were again available in the three sizes, with designations FF, FFL and FFS. The FF fired a larger cartridge than the AF, 20x72RB. The FF weighed 24 kg and achieved a velocity of 550 to 600 m/s with a rate of fire of 520 rpm. The FFL of 30 kg fired a projectile at a velocity of 675 m/s with a rate of fire of 500 rpm. And the FFS, which weighed 39 kg, delivered a high velocity of 830 m/s at a rate of fire of 470 rpm. Apart from changes to the design of the guns for wing-mounting and remote control, for the FF series drum sizes of 45,60,75 and 100 rounds were available, but most users chose the 60-round drum. The 1930s were a period of global re-armament, and a number of foreign firms took licenses for the Oerlikon family of aircraft cannon
10.
United States Maritime Commission
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It also formed the United States Maritime Service for the training of seagoing ships officers to man the new fleet. The purpose of the Maritime Commission was multifold as described in the Merchant Marine Acts Declaration of Policy. S, Merchant Marine prior to the Act. Another function given to the Commission involved the formation of the U. S. Maritime Service for the training of seagoing ships officers to man the new fleet, the actual licensing of officers and seamen still resided with the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation. President Roosevelt nominated Joseph P. Kennedy first head of the Commission, Kennedy held that position until February 1938 when he left to become US Ambassador to Great Britain. The other four members of the Commission in the years before the beginning of World War II were a mix of retired officers and men from disciplines of law. The man most notable in the group Land brought to the Commission was Commander Howard L. Vickery, USN, as a symbol of the rebirth of the U. S. Upon the U. S. entry into World War II, America was requisitioned by the U. S. Navy and became USS West Point. Most of the C2s and C3s were converted to Navy auxiliaries, notably attack cargo ships, attack transports, the Commission also was tasked with the construction of many hundred military type vessels such as Landing Ship, Tank s and Tacoma-class frigates and large troop transports. By the end of the war, U. S. shipyards working under Maritime Commission contracts had built a total of 5,777 oceangoing merchant, in early 1942 both the training and licensing was transferred to the U. S. S. With the end of World War II, both the Emergency and Long Range shipbuilding programs were terminated as there were far too many merchant vessels now for the Nations peacetime needs. In 1946, the Merchant Ship Sales Act was passed to sell off a portion of the ships previously built during the war to commercial buyers. Although not sold outright to nations that were enemies during the war, for the next 25 years, in ports all around the world one could find dozens of ships which had been built during the war but which now were used in peace. Ships not disposed of through the Ship Sales Act were placed one of eight National Defense Reserve Fleet sites maintained on the Atlantic, Pacific. On several occasions in the postwar years ships in the fleets were activated for both military and humanitarian aid missions. The last major mobilization of the NDRF came during the Vietnam War, since then, a smaller fleet of ships called the Ready Reserve Force has been mobilized to support both humanitarian and military missions. The Maritime Commission was abolished on 24 May 1950, and its functions were divided between the U. S. S. Merchant Marine Academy which had built and opened during World War II. 1936, Merchant Marine Act abolishes Shipping Board and establishes Maritime Commission,1937, Joseph P. S. merchant shipping has been held by many agencies since 1917
11.
King post
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A king post is a central vertical post used in architectural or bridge designs, working in tension to support a beam below from a truss apex above. In aircraft design a strut called a king post acts in compression, usage in mechanical plant and marine engineering differs again, as noted below. A king post extends vertically from a crossbeam to the apex of a triangular truss, the king post, itself in tension, connects the apex of the truss with its base, holding up the tie beam at the base of the truss. The post can be replaced with a rod called a king rod. The king post truss is called a Latin truss. The crown post rises to a crown plate immediately below and supporting collar beams, historically a crown post was called a king post in England but this usage is obsolete. An alternative truss construction uses two queen posts and these vertical posts, positioned along the base of the truss, are supported by the sloping sides of the truss, rather than reaching its apex. A development adds a collar beam above the queen posts, which are then termed queen struts, a section of the tie beam between the queen posts may be removed to create a hammerbeam roof. The king post truss is used for roof trusses and short-span bridges. It is the simplest form of truss in that it is constructed of the fewest number of truss members, for a roof truss, the diagonal members are called rafters, and the horizontal member may serve as a ceiling joist. A bridge would require two king post trusses with the surface between them. A roof usually uses many side-by-side trusses depending on the size of the structure, pont-y-Cafnau, the worlds first iron railway bridge, is of the king post type. King posts were used in timber framed construction in Roman buildings. The oldest surviving roof truss in the world is a king post truss in Saint Catherines Monastery, Egypt, King posts also appear in Gothic Revival architecture, Queen Anne architecture and occasionally in modern construction. King post trusses are used as a structural element in wood. In this example, beams in compression are supported by king post several feet below the apex. Architectural historians in Louisiana use the term Norman roof to refer to a pitched roof. This is a truss consisting of a tie beam and paired truss blades
12.
United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
13.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
14.
Bethlehem Steel
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Bethlehem Steel Corporation was Americas second-largest steel producer and largest shipbuilder. Bethlehem Steel and a company, Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, were two of the most powerful symbols of American industrial manufacturing leadership. In 2005, ISG merged with Mittal Steel, ending American ownership of the assets of Bethlehem Steel, the companys roots go back to 1857 when the Saucona Iron Company was first organized by Augustus Wolle. The Panic of 1857, a financial crisis, halted further organization of the company. Eventually, the organization was completed, the site moved elsewhere in South Bethlehem, on June 14,1860, the board of directors of the fledgling company elected Alfred Hunt president. On May 1,1861, the title was changed again. Construction of the first blast furnace began on July 1,1861, the first rolling mill was built between the spring of 1861 and the summer of 1863, with the first railroad rails being rolled on September 26. A machine shop, in 1865, and another blast furnace, during its early years, the company produced rails for the rapidly expanding railroads and armor plating for the US Navy. In 1899, the company assumed the name Bethlehem Steel Company, in 1904, Charles M. Schwab and Joseph Wharton formed the Bethlehem Steel Corporation with Schwab becoming its first president and chairman of its board of directors. The Bethlehem Steel Corporation installed the gray rolling mill and producing the first wide-flange structural shapes to be made in America and these shapes were partly responsible for ushering in the age of the skyscraper and establishing Bethlehem Steel as the leading supplier of steel to the construction industry. In the early 1900s, the corporation branched out from steel, with mines in Cuba. In 1913, it acquired the Fore River Shipbuilding Company of Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1917, it incorporated its shipbuilding division as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Limited. In 1922, it purchased the Lackawanna Steel Company, which included the Delaware, Lackawanna, the nations decision to rebuild the United States Navy with steam-driven, steel-hulled warships reshaped Bethlehem Iron Companys destiny. Following the American Civil War, the Navy quickly downsized after the end of hostilities, as national energies were redirected toward settling the West, almost no new ordinance was produced, and new technology was neglected. By 1881, international incidents highlighted the poor condition of the U. S. fleet, in 1883, Secretary of the Navy William E. Chandler and Secretary of the Army Robert Todd Lincoln appointed Lt. William Jaques to the Gun Foundry Board. Jaques was sent on several fact-finding tours of European armament makers and on one of these trips he formed ties with the firm of Joseph Whitworth of Manchester. He returned to America as Whitworths agent and, in 1885, was granted a furlough to pursue this personal interest. Jaques was aware that the U. S. Navy would soon solicit bids for the production of heavy guns and other products such as armor that would be needed to further expand the fleet
15.
Chester, Pennsylvania
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Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware, the current mayor of Chester, Thaddeus Kirkland, was elected on November 3,2015 and served his first day in office on January 4,2016. The first European settlers in the area were Swedes and they called the settlement that became Chester first Finlandia, then Upland. They built Fort Mecoponacka in 1641 to defend the settlement, by 1682, Upland was the most populous town of the new Province of Pennsylvania. On October 27, the ship Welcome arrived at the town, Penn renamed the settlement for the English city of Chester. Chester served as the county seat for Chester County, which stretched from the Delaware River to the Susquehanna River. In 1789, the city became the county seat for the newly created Delaware County, the courthouse is near the new City Hall building. Chesters naval shipyard supplied the Union during the Civil War, the Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. later Pennsylvania Shipyard & Dry Dock Company, was located in Chester until it closed in 1990. Two ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Chester in honor of the city, on April 10,1917, an explosion at the Eddystone Ammunition Corporation near Chester resulted in the deaths of 133 workers, mostly women. Chester is one of places that claim to be the birthplace of the hoagie sandwich. It is also known as the Cradle of Rock n Roll, poverty and crime rose as the city declined. In 1995, the state designated Chester as a distressed municipality. When Chester became eligible for Pennsylvanias Keystone Opportunity Zone program, firms began to accept state, one of its tenants is AdminServer, which makes software for the insurance industry. It moved from Malvern, Pennsylvania in 2003 and was acquired by Oracle in 2007, another one of the Wharfs tenants is Power Home Remodeling Group, the nations 2nd largest exterior home remodeling company. Harrahs Casino and Racetrack built its facilities beginning in 2005, launching harness racing along the Delaware River in September 2006, the employment status for workers sixteen and older, and not in the labor force is at 41 percent. Chester has a government system, consisting of a popularly elected city mayor. The terms of the mayor and members are four years, the Chester City Council is made up of four members, Councilwoman Elizabeth Williams, Portia West, William A. Jacobs, and Edith Blackwell and the presiding officer, the mayor, Thaddeus Kirkland. The City Controller is currently Ms. Edith Blackwell, the current mayor of the City of Chester is State Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland who won the Democratic nomination in May 2015 over incumbent Mayor John Linder
16.
Tampa, Florida
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Tampa is a major city in, and the county seat of, Hillsborough County, Florida. It is located on the west coast of Florida on Tampa Bay, near the Gulf of Mexico, the city had a population of 346,037 in 2011. The current location of Tampa was once inhabited by peoples of the Safety Harbor culture. The area was explored by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, resulting in violent conflicts and the introduction of European diseases, which wiped out the original native cultures. In 1824, the United States Army established a frontier outpost called Fort Brooke at the mouth of the Hillsborough River, near the site of todays Tampa Convention Center. The first civilian residents were pioneers who settled near the fort for protection from the nearby Seminole population, today, Tampa is part of the metropolitan area most commonly referred to as the Tampa Bay Area. For U. S. Census purposes, Tampa is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, the Greater Tampa Bay area has over 4 million residents and generally includes the Tampa and Sarasota metro areas. The Tampa Bay Partnership and U. S. Census data showed an annual growth of 2.47 percent. A2012 estimate shows the Tampa Bay area population to have 4,310,524 people, Tampa was ranked as the 5th best outdoor city by Forbes in 2008. Tampa also ranks as the fifth most popular American city, based on where people want to live, a 2004 survey by the NYU newspaper Washington Square News ranked Tampa as a top city for twenty-somethings. Tampa is ranked as a Gamma+ world city by Loughborough University, ranked alongside other world cities such as Phoenix, Charlotte, Rotterdam, and Santo Domingo. The word Tampa may mean sticks of fire in the language of the Calusa and this might be a reference to the many lightning strikes that the area receives during the summer months. Other historians claim the name means the place to gather sticks, toponymist George R. Stewart writes that the name was the result of a miscommunication between the Spanish and the Indians, the Indian word being itimpi, meaning simply near it. The name first appears in the Memoir of Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda and he calls it Tanpa and describes it as an important Calusa town. While Tanpa may be the basis for the modern name Tampa, archaeologist Jerald Milanich places the Calusa village of Tanpa at the mouth of Charlotte Harbor, the original Bay of Tanpa. A later Spanish expedition did not notice Charlotte Harbor while sailing north along the west coast of Florida, the name was accidentally transferred north. Map makers were using the term Bay or Bahia Tampa as early as 1695, people from Tampa are known as Tampans or Tampanians. Latin Americans from Tampa are known as tampeños, or tampeñas for females and these terms of Spanish origin emerged after 1900 for the immigrant communities in West Tampa and Ybor City
17.
Kearny, New Jersey
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Kearny is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Newark. Kearny is named after Civil War general Philip Kearny and it began as a township formed by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 8,1867, from portions of Harrison Township. Portions of the township were taken on July 3,1895, Kearny was incorporated as a town on January 19,1899, based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier. The Arlington section of town was named for Arlington Station on the Erie Railroad at the Arlington Mill plant, owned by Arlington Mills of Lawrence, Massachusetts. The area of Kearny Township, created in 1867, had part of the original Crown Grant of 30,000 acres obtained by Major William Sandford of Barbados on July 4,1668. Major Sandford named it New Barbadoes Neck after his old home, as was the custom of the time, the Major paid 20 pounds sterling to Chief Tantaqua of the Hackensack tribe for all their reserve rights and titles. Sanfords friend Major Nathaniel Kingsland acquired the property in 1708 and sold the western tract of the Grant for 300 pounds sterling to Captain Arent Schuyler two years later. The new purchase included present-day Kearny, North Arlington, Lyndhurst, shortly after Schuylers purchase of his new homestead, a peculiar green stone was uncovered. It was sent to England for analysis and he learned that it contained 80% copper and his opening of a copper mine brought the first steam engine to America from England, it was used to pump out the deep mine shaft. The engine was delivered by its engineer, Josiah Hornblower. The engine and mines were destroyed by fire in 1772 and remained idle for some years, Schuyler Mansion played a role during the American Revolutionary War Era. When Lord Howe of England took possession of New York Harbor and they generally traveled over a road that today is referred to as the Belleville Turnpike, which was originally constructed in 1759 using cedar logs from the nearby swamps. In the middle 19th century, Kearny was the upper, or northern, a prominent citizen and resident of the upper section, General N. M. Halsted, felt it was impossible under these political conditions for his section to obtain proper recognition. He engaged an energetic campaign for an independent township and he succeeded when the NJ Legislature of 1867 on March 14, adopted an act creating the Township of Kearny. The town was named to honor Major General Phil Kearny, Commander of the New Jersey Forces in the Civil War, on April 8,1867, the first election of town officers was held. General N. M. Halsted was elected Chairman, the first official seat of Government was three rooms in the old Lodi Hotel, on the northeast corner of Schuyler and Harrison Avenues. In the early 1870s, Kearny erected its first Town Hall, on the corner of Kearny and Woodland Avenues and this served as a Town Hall, Court House, and Schoolhouse. The Minute Book of the Township states on August 16,1870, the first schoolhouse was housed in the Town Hall built at Kearny and Woodland Avenues in 1873
18.
Bath Iron Works
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Bath Iron Works is a major American shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine. Since its founding in 1884, BIW has built private, commercial and military vessels, the shipyard has built and sometimes designed battleships, frigates, cruisers and destroyers, including the Arleigh Burke class, which are currently among the worlds most advanced surface warships. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics, during World War II, ships built at BIW were considered by sailors and Navy officials to be of superior toughness, giving rise to the phrase Bath-built is best-built. Bath Iron Works was incorporated in 1884 by General Thomas W. Hyde, after the war, Hyde bought a local shop that helped make windlasses and other iron hardware for the wooden ships built in Baths many shipyards. He expanded the business by improving its practices, entering new markets, by 1882, Hyde Windlass was eyeing the new and growing business of iron shipbuilding, two years later, it incorporated as Bath Iron Works. On February 28,1890, BIW won its first contract for complete vessels, the Machias, one of these 190-foot gunboats, was the first ship launched by the company. In 1892, the yard won its first commercial contract for a steel vessel, in the 1890s, the company built several yachts for wealthy sailors. In 1899, General Hyde, suffering from the Brights Disease that would kill him later that year, resigned from management of the shipyard, leaving his sons Edward and that year the shipyard began construction of the Georgia, the only battleship to be built in Bath. The ship dominated the yard for five years until its launching in 1904, the yard faced numerous challenges because of the weight of armor and weapons. In sea trials, the Georgia averaged 19.26 knots for four hours, making her the fastest ship in her class, the company continued to rely on Navy contracts, which provided 86% of the value of new contracts between 1905 and 1917. The yard also produced fishing trawlers, freighters, and yachts throughout the first half of the century, at peak production during World War II, the shipyard launched a destroyer every 17 days. Bath Iron Works ranked 50th among United States corporations in the value of World War II military production contracts, in 1981, Falcon Transport ordered two tankers, the last commercial vessels built by BIW. In 1988, the USS Samuel B, Roberts, commissioned two years earlier at Bath, survived a mine explosion that tore a hole in its engine room and flooded two compartments. Over the next two years, BIW repaired the Roberts in unique fashion, the guided missile frigate was towed to the companys dry dock in Portland, Maine, and put up on blocks, where its damaged engine room was cut out of the ship. Meanwhile, workers in Bath built a 315-ton replacement, when it was ready, the module was floated south to Portland, placed on the dry dock, slid into place under the Roberts, jacked up, and welded into place. In 2001, BIW wrapped up an effort to build an enormous concrete platform. Instead of being built on a way so that they could slide into the Kennebec at launch. This greatly reduced the work involved in building and launching the ships, the 750-foot,28, 000-ton dry dock was built by Chinas Jiangdu Yuchai Shipbuilding Company for $27 million
19.
Bath, Maine
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Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, in the United States. The population was 8,514 at the 2010 census, and 8,357 as of 2013 and it is the county seat of Sagadahoc County, Which includes one city and 10 towns. The city is popular with tourists, many drawn by its 19th-century architecture and it is home to the Bath Iron Works and Heritage Days Festival, held annually on the Fourth of July weekend. It is commonly known as The City of Ships, Bath is part of the metropolitan statistical area of Greater Portland. Abenaki Indians called the area Sagadahoc, meaning mouth of big river and it was a reference to the Kennebec River, which Samuel de Champlain explored in 1605. Popham Colony was established in 1607 downstream, together with Fort St George, the settlement failed due to harsh weather and lack of leadership, but the colonists built the New Worlds first oceangoing vessel constructed by English shipwrights, the Virginia of Sagadahoc. It provided passage back to England, most of Bath, Maine, was settled by travelers from Bath, England. The next settlement at Sagadahoc was about 1660, when the land was taken from an Indian sagamore known as Robinhood, incorporated as part of Georgetown in 1753, Bath was set off and incorporated as a town on February 17,1781. It was named by the postmaster, Dummer Sewell, after Bath in Somerset, in 1844, a portion of the town was set off to create West Bath. On June 14,1847, Bath was incorporated as a city, Land was annexed from West Bath in 1855. Several industries developed in the city, including lumber, iron and brass, with trade in ice, but Bath is renowned for shipbuilding, which began here in 1743 when Jonathan Philbrook and his sons built 2 vessels. Since then, roughly 5,000 vessels have been launched in the area, Bath became the nations fifth largest seaport by the mid-19th century, producing clipper ships that sailed to ports around the world. The last commercial enterprise to build ships in the city was the Percy & Small Shipyard. But the most famous shipyard is the Bath Iron Works, founded in 1884 by Thomas W. Hyde who also became the manager of it in 1888. It has built hundreds of wooden and steel vessels, mostly warships for the U. S. Navy, during World War II, Bath Iron Works launched a new ship an average of every 17 days. The shipyard is a regional employer, and operates today as a division of the General Dynamics Corporation. The city is noted for its Federal, Greek Revival, and Italianate architecture, including the 1858 Custom House, Bath is sister city to Shariki in Japan, where the locally-built full rigged ship Cheseborough was wrecked in 1889. Scenes from the movies Message in a Bottle and The Man Without a Face were filmed in the city, Bath is located at 43°54′59″N 69°49′21″W
20.
Oakland, California
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Oakland /ˈoʊklənd/ is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. The city was incorporated in 1852, Oaklands territory covers what was once a mosaic of California coastal terrace prairie, oak woodland, and north coastal scrub. Its land served as a resource when its hillside oak and redwood timber were logged to build San Francisco. In the late 1860s, Oakland was selected as the terminal of the Transcontinental Railroad. Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, many San Francisco citizens moved to Oakland, enlarging the citys population, increasing its housing stock and it continued to grow in the 20th century with its busy port, shipyards, and a thriving automobile manufacturing industry. Oakland is known for its sustainability practices, including a top-ranking for usage of electricity from renewable resources, in addition, due to a steady influx of immigrants during the 20th century, along with thousands of African-American war-industry workers who relocated from the Deep South during the 1940s. Oakland is the most ethnically diverse city in the country. The earliest known inhabitants were the Huchiun Indians, who lived there for thousands of years, the Huchiun belonged to a linguistic grouping later called the Ohlone. In Oakland, they were concentrated around Lake Merritt and Temescal Creek, in 1772, the area that later became Oakland was claimed, with the rest of California, by Spanish settlers for the King of Spain. In the early 19th century, the Spanish crown granted the East Bay area to Luis María Peralta for his Rancho San Antonio, the grant was confirmed by the successor Mexican republic upon its independence from Spain. Upon his death in 1842, Peralta divided his land among his four sons, Most of Oakland fell within the shares given to Antonio Maria and Vicente. The portion of the parcel that is now Oakland was called encinal—Spanish for oak grove—due to the oak forest that covered the area. In 1851, three men—Horace Carpentier, Edson Adams, and Andrew Moon—began developing what is now downtown Oakland, on May 4,1852, the Town of Oakland incorporated. Two years later, on March 25,1854, Oakland re-incorporated as the City of Oakland, with Horace Carpentier elected the first mayor, the city and its environs quickly grew with the railroads, becoming a major rail terminal in the late 1860s and 1870s. In 1868, the Central Pacific constructed the Oakland Long Wharf at Oakland Point, a number of horsecar and cable car lines were constructed in Oakland during the latter half of the 19th century. The first electric streetcar set out from Oakland to Berkeley in 1891, at the time of incorporation, Oakland consisted of the territory that lay south of todays major intersection of San Pablo Avenue, Broadway, and Fourteenth Street. The city gradually annexed farmlands and settlements to the east and the north, Oaklands rise to industrial prominence, and its subsequent need for a seaport, led to the digging of a shipping and tidal channel in 1902. This resulted in the town of Alameda being made an island
21.
San Francisco
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San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California. It is the birthplace of the United Nations, the California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time. San Francisco became a consolidated city-county in 1856, after three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. In World War II, San Francisco was a port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. Politically, the city votes strongly along liberal Democratic Party lines, San Francisco is also the headquarters of five major banking institutions and various other companies such as Levi Strauss & Co. Dolby, Airbnb, Weebly, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Yelp, Pinterest, Twitter, Uber, Lyft, Mozilla, Wikimedia Foundation, as of 2016, San Francisco is ranked high on world liveability rankings. The earliest archaeological evidence of habitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC. Upon independence from Spain in 1821, the became part of Mexico. Under Mexican rule, the system gradually ended, and its lands became privatized. In 1835, Englishman William Richardson erected the first independent homestead, together with Alcalde Francisco de Haro, he laid out a street plan for the expanded settlement, and the town, named Yerba Buena, began to attract American settlers. Commodore John D. Sloat claimed California for the United States on July 7,1846, during the Mexican–American War, montgomery arrived to claim Yerba Buena two days later. Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco on January 30 of the next year, despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography. The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers, with their sourdough bread in tow, prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia, raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849. The promise of fabulous riches was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor. Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times as storeships, saloons and hotels, many were left to rot, by 1851 the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870 Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create new land, buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings. California was quickly granted statehood in 1850 and the U. S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate, silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859, further drove rapid population growth. With hordes of fortune seekers streaming through the city, lawlessness was common, and the Barbary Coast section of town gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution, entrepreneurs sought to capitalize on the wealth generated by the Gold Rush
22.
Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation
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Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation is a former shipbuilding corporation in Chickasaw, Alabama. On August 17,1917, the announced that a shipyard would be constructed in Chickasaw. Steel would be provided from the Fairfield, Alabama site of Tennessee Coal, a large area of land, including the location of the future city of Chickasaw, was purchased. Federal Shipbuilding developed the shipyard with twenty million dollars from the United States Navy, the cypress swamp adjacent to the stream was drained, dikes were constructed, and drainage pumps were installed. Simultaneously, a town was constructed to house and serve the shipyard workers. Before operations at the shipyard could commence, the Armistice was declared, however, before closing, the Chickasaw Shipbuilding and Car Company produced and launched fourteen concrete ships destined for use as cargo ships. While some town occupants left for opportunities after the shipyard closing. In April 1939, Mobile businessman Ben May acquired the shipyard, in July 1940, the town and shipyard were sold to Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation, a subsidiary of Waterman Steamship Corporation. Both the shipyard and town were renovated by the new owner, the corporation began to receive its first contracts from the Maritime Commission for cargo ships. Later followed the U. S. Navy contracts to build the new Fletcher Class Destroyers, due to the scale of the operation, a large number of workers migrated to Chickasaw. With production activity at its peak, Gulf Shipbuilding employed between 10,000 and 15,000 workers and this population boom required the introduction of eligibility requirements for living in company-owned properties. Only persons with connection to the shipyard could rent houses from the company while many previous occupants were forced to vacate, to further accommodate the demand for housing, the federal government constructed the Gulf Homes housing project, other temporary housing structures, and Navy barracks. Also, during World War II was produced 37 cargo ships,7 destroyers,1 amphibious landing ship and 27 US and 2 Royal Navy Minesweepers, after the war, the number of government contracts dropped. There was a surplus in the market for commercial vessels, Gulf Shipbuilding produced ships for the United States Maritime Commission and United States Navy as well as for the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. At the end of World War II, the demand for ships diminished, the ships produced by Gulf Shipbuilding are summarized below. Grace Marsh, a Jehovahs Witness, and her colleagues began to visit Chickasaw in November 1943, in addition to door-to-door visits, the religious workers would distribute literature along sidewalks in the business district. Beginning in December 1943, the Witnesses were arrested on multiple occasions, in January 1944, the Inferior Court of Mobile County found Marsh and the other Witnesses guilty of trespassing. Upon further appeal, the Court of Appeals of Alabama granted certiorari hearing the case in November 1944, the decision in January 1945 confirmed the decision of the lower courts
23.
Chickasaw, Alabama
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Chickasaw is a city in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 U. S. Census the population is 6,106 and it is included in the Mobile metropolitan statistical area. Chickasaw is located at 30°45′54″N 88°05′01″W, according to the U. S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.6 square miles, of which 4.4 square miles is land and 0.1 square miles is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 6,364 people,2,747 households, the population density was 1,436.3 people per square mile. There were 2,989 housing units at a density of 674.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 88. 89% White,8. 12% Black or African American,1. 35% Native American,0. 24% Asian,0. 02% Pacific Islander,0. 30% from other races, and 1. 08% from two or more races. 1. 15% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,32. 9% of all households were made up of individuals and 18. 4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the family size was 2.95. In the city, the dispersal was 23. 6% under the age of 18,8. 5% from 18 to 24,26. 0% from 25 to 44,20. 3% from 45 to 64. The median age was 39 years, for every 100 females there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.0 males, the median income for a household in the city was $27,036, and the median income for a family was $33,125. Males had an income of $29,074 versus $21,181 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,190, about 13. 0% of families and 17. 1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25. 1% of those under age 18 and 13. 9% of those age 65 or over. As of the census of 2010, there were 6,106 people,2,430 households, the population density was 1,387,7 people per square mile. There were 2,879 housing units at a density of 654.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 63. 0% White,33. 6% Black or African American. 8% Native American,0. 5% Asian,0. 0% Pacific Islander,0. 9% from other races, and 1. 2% from two or more races. 2. 3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,29. 5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12. 5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the family size was 3.12
24.
Wilmington, North Carolina
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Wilmington is a port city and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. The population is 112,067, according to the 2010 Census it is the eighth most populous city in the state, Wilmington was settled by European Americans along the Cape Fear River. Its historic downtown has a one-mile-long Riverwalk, originally developed as a tourist attraction and it is minutes away from nearby beaches. The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Wilmington, North Carolina, in 2003 the city was designated by the US Congress as a Coast Guard City. It is the port for the USCGC Diligence, a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. The World War II battleship USS North Carolina is held as a war memorial, located across from the port area. Other attractions include the Cape Fear Museum, the Wilmington Hammerheads United Soccer Leagues soccer team, Wilmington is the home of EUE Screen Gems Studios, the largest domestic television and movie production facility outside of California. Dream Stage 10, the facilitys newest sound stage, is the third-largest in the US and it houses the largest special-effects water tank in North America. After the studios opening in 1984, Wilmington became a center of American film. Numerous movies in a range of genres and several series, including Iron Man 3, Foxs Sleepy Hollow, One Tree Hill, Dawsons Creek. In recent years, however, the end of tax credits to the industry has severely impacted filmmaking in the entire area. The area had long inhabited by various cultures of indigenous peoples, at the time of European encounter. The ethnic European and African history of Wilmington spans more than two and a half centuries, giovanni da Verrazano is reportedly the first European to observe the area, including the citys present site, in the early 16th century. The first permanent European settlement in the area came in the 1720s when English colonists began settling the area, in September 1732, a community was founded on land owned by John Watson on the Cape Fear River, at the confluence of its northwest and northeast branches. The settlement, founded by the first royal governor, George Burrington, was called New Carthage, governor Gabriel Johnston soon after established his government there for the North Carolina colony. In 1739 or 1740, the town was incorporated with a new name, Wilmington, in honor of Spencer Compton, many of the settlers were indentured servants, mainly from the British Isles and northern Europe. As the indentured servants gained their freedom, the colonists imported a number of African slaves as laborers into the port city. By 1767, slaves accounted for more than 62% of the population of the Lower Cape Fear region, many worked in the port as laborers, and some in ship-related trades
25.
USS Adirondack (AGC-15)
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However, that project was cancelled, and Adirondack reported to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard for inactivation. On 1 February 1950, she was placed in reserve, in service, as flagship of the Philadelphia Group, over a year later, the command ship returned to the active fleet. Following a recommissioning ceremony in Philadelphia on 4 April 1951, Adirondack reported to the Atlantic Fleet Training Command in Norfolk, Virginia, for inspection, Naval Forces, Northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Fleets. Adirondack steamed to the Mediterranean, and on 18 August, moored in Naples, on 29 May 1953, she departed Naples and returned to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for overhaul and reassignment. Following a shakedown and training cruise to Guantanamo Bay, Adirondack headed back to Norfolk, Virginia and she sailed from Norfolk on 12 February 1954 to conduct a tour of inspection of amphibious bases in the Caribbean area. In a transfer of flags at San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 23 March, one week later, the amphibious command ship participated in Operation Sentry Box held off Vieques, Puerto Rico. The exercise was the first joint Army-Navy exercise in the Atlantic since the fall of 1952 and this rigorous operation touched off a year of Atlantic Fleet exercises in which Adirondack played a major role. In April COMPHIBGRU FOUR—still embarked in Adirondack — was designated Commander of the group for LANTAGLEX-54. The umpire group exercised the participating units, evaluated training, on 20 July, the ship departed Norfolk for Operation Keystone, a combined land, sea, and air maneuver in the Mediterranean involving forces of the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Planning conferences were held in Naples, Italy, and the task force sortied on 30 August with observers from the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Greece. On 4 September, the force landed more than 1,500 Marines on the beaches at Dikili. The flagship arrived back in Norfolk on 27 September and immediately began preparations for the series of drills. On 22 October, she departed Norfolk to rendezvous with other ships participating in Operation NORAMEX off the coast of Labrador, a battalion of marines landed on the beaches of Hamilton Inlet on 1 November to test amphibious cold weather doctrine and equipment. After a successful drill, Adirondack sailed on 3 November for Bogue Inlet, North Carolina and she returned to Norfolk on 20 November and leave and upkeep. During 1955, Adirondack served as umpire for ANGEX II, a naval exercise held in February off Vieques and Culebra. In early March she observed the TRAEX 11-55 landing off Vieques as part of the group for the atomic defense exercise phase. She remained in port in Norfolk from 9 March to 11 April, Adirondack was stricken from the Navy list on 1 June 1961 and sold on 7 November 1972 to Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation of New York City for scrap. This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, the entry can be found here
26.
USS Akutan (AE-13)
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USS Akutan was a Lassen-class ammunition ship commissioned in the United States Navy. She was laid down on 20 June 1944 at Tampa, Fla. by the Tampa Shipbuilding Co. launched on 17 September 1944, Daggett, the wife of Capt. Daggett, USN, the supervisor of shipbuilding at Tampa, and commissioned on 15 February 1945, Comdr. She is named after Akutan Island, a volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Following shakedown training in the Chesapeake Bay, the ship entered the Norfolk Navy Yard for an availability. In early April, she moved to Earle, N. J. to take on ammunition, on the 9th, Akutan shaped a course for the Pacific. She transited the Panama Canal on 16 April and proceeded independently to Ulithi, upon reaching that advanced base on 11 May, the ship reported to Service Squadron 10, Service Force, Pacific Fleet. On 15 May, Akutan got underway with Task Group 50.8, the ship arrived there on the 21st and operated from that island during the next four weeks, supplying ammunition to various units of the fleet. She sailed for Ulithi on 18 June and weathered a typhoon before arriving there on the 22d, two days later, the vessel shaped a course for Leyte, Philippine Islands. Akutan reached San Pedro Bay on 26 June and was assigned to Service Squadron 8 for duty and she remained in Philippine waters until mid-August discharging and receiving ammunition. On 14 August the ship got underway with TG30.8 to replenish ammunition for vessels of the 3d Fleet, Akutan returned to San Pedro Bay on 10 September and operated there until 28 October, when she sailed for the east coast of the United States. The ship paused en route at Eniwetok and Pearl Harbor, retransmitted the Panama Canal, following a brief stay there, Akutan sailed to Earle, N. J. to discharge her ammunition. When her cargo had been unloaded, the ship got underway for Orange and she left Texas on 10 March and proceeded to New Orleans, Louisiana, to undergo repairs. Five days later, the vessel set sail for Houston, Tex. disposing of her cargo of gas shells off the Florida coast, en route. and upon arriving there, on 26 April, the ship returned to Orange, Tex. and began preparations for deactivation. Akutan was decommissioned on 19 October 1946 and her name was struck from the Navy list on 1 July 1960, and the ship was transferred to the Maritime Administration for layup at Beaumont, Tex. Akutan earned two stars and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon for her World War II service. This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, the entry can be found here. AE-13 Internet Links Photo gallery at navsource. org
27.
Cape Henry
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Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia located in the northeast corner of Virginia Beach. It is the boundary of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. Across the mouth of the bay to the north is Cape Charles, named for sons of King James I of England in 1607, together Cape Henry and Cape Charles form the Virginia Capes. After an unusually long voyage of 144 days from England, it was their first landfall, soon after this landing the English colonists erected a wooden cross and gave thanks for a successful crossing to a new land. In the First Charter of Virginia, King James I devoted parcels of land for the purpose of spreading the Christian religion, the Cape Henry Memorial commemorates The First Landing of the settlers that established Jamestown. Nearby, the historic Cape Henry Lighthouse was the first in the United States, First Landing State Park occupies and protects the rest of the cape itself, as well as some of the nearby area. Shore Drive, a locally well-known road, facilitates viewing of the rest of the shoreline in Cape Henry, NPS Cape Henry website Cape Henry Lighthouse info
28.
USS Starlight (AP-175)
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USS Starlight was a Storm King class auxiliary transport. She was designed as a troop carrier, staten Island, N. Y. and commissioned on 15 February 1944, CDR. W. O. Britton, USNR, in command, Starlight, as an auxiliary transport, was assigned to the Naval Transportation Service for duty. Sea trials were held in Long Island Sound, and she sailed to Hampton Roads, Virginia and she remained there from 12 May to 5 June when she weighed anchor for the Panama Canal and the Hawaiian Islands. The transport arrived at Pearl Harbor on 26 June and was assigned to Transport Division 38, the 305th Regimental Combat Team of the 77th Infantry Division was combat loaded on board on 1 July and TransDiv 38 sailed for Eniwetok, Marshall Islands, the next day. There, she joined units of Task Group 53.2, Assault Group Four, for the amphibious assault on Guam. The task group sortied on the 17th and, four days later, Starlight remained in the combat area until 29 July. She was loaded with Marine Corps combat casualties for evacuation, and sailed, via Eniwetok, Starlight arrived at Pearl Harbor on 10 August. After a few repairs were made and the ship was provisioned, on 17 September, the transport sailed for the invasion of Yap, Caroline Islands, but these orders were cancelled when two days out of port. Her new orders routed the ship, via the Marshall Islands, as a unit of Attack Group Able, Starlight landed troops on the Dulag beachhead on 20 October as the Leyte invasion began. When all troops had disembarked from TransDiv 38, it sailed for Hollandia, New Guinea. Starlight returned to Leyte on 18 November with replacements for casualties which were unloaded in eight hours. The transport shot down two aircraft before steaming to Manus and Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, for amphibious training of the 145th RCT. Starlight returned to Manus on 21 December 1944 and sortied late in the month with TG79.1 for Luzon and she landed troops on Binmaley Beach, Lingayen Gulf, on 9 January 1945 and remained there for three days during which she shot down two more Japanese planes. The ship returned to New Guinea on the 22nd, loaded troops of the 41st Infantry Division for Mindoro and she then sailed for Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, and Lunga Point, Guadalcanal, to embark elements of Marine Air Group 33 for delivery to Okinawa. She embarked some elements at both ports and departed the Solomons on 14 March for Manus, Ulithi, and Peleliu, as a unit of Amphibious Group 4, TF53, she reached Okinawa on 11 April and unloaded her cargo at Hagushi Beach and Nago Wan. During the next week, she had splashed two more Japanese planes, the ship returned to Ulithi on 24 April and was ordered to proceed to San Francisco for an overhaul. Starlight was at San Francisco from 12 April to 11 July when she sailed for Manila with elements of the 780th Field Artillery, after making calls at Eniwetok and Ulithi, the troops were unloaded at Manila during the first week of August
29.
Da Nang
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Danang is the third largest city in Vietnam in terms of urban population and one of the major port cities, in addition to Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong. Situated on the coast of the Eastern Sea, at the end of the Han River. It is governed as one of the five direct-controlled municipalities of the SRV and is thus under direct administration of the central government. It is located within 100 km of several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Imperial City of Hue, the Old Town of Hoi An, the city was previously known as Cửa Hàn during early Đại Việt settlement, and as Tourane during French colonial rule. Before 1997, the city was part of Quang Nam-Da Nang Province, on 1 January 1997, Da Nang was separated from Quảng Nam Province to become one of four independent municipalities in Vietnam. Da Nang is listed as a first class city, and has a higher ratio than any of Vietnams other provinces or centrally governed cities. Most of the names by which Da Nang has been known make reference to its position at the Hàn River estuary, the citys present name is generally agreed to be a Vietnamese adaptation of the Cham word da nak, which is translated as opening of a large river. Other Chamic sources, with definitions, have been proposed. Another name given to Da Nang was Cửa Hàn, the name used by the French, Tourane, is said to derive from this name, by way of a rough transliteration. Notably, this appears on maps of the area drafted by Alexandre de Rhodes in 1650. The name Kean was another name used during the 17th century to refer to the land situated at the foot of the Hải Vân Pass. Other names referring to Da Nang include, Vũng Thùng, a name which survives in folklore. Trà Úc, Trà Áo, Trà Sơn and Đồng Long Loan, in Sino-Vietnamese script, used until 1945, Đà Nẵng is written as 沱灢. Thái Phiên, a name used briefly after the 1945 August Revolution, commemorating Thái Phiên, the citys origins date back to the ancient kingdom of Champa, established in 192 AD. At its peak, the Chams sphere of influence stretched from Huế to Vũng Tàu, the city of Indrapura, at the site of the modern village of Dong Duong in Quảng Nam Province, was the capital of Champa from about 875 to about 1000 AD. In the latter half of the 10th century, the kings of Indrapura came into conflict with the Đại Việt, in 982, three ambassadors sent to Champa by King Lê Hoàn of the Đại Việt were detained in Indrapura. Lê Hoàn decided to go on the offensive, sacking Indrapura, as a result of these setbacks, the Cham eventually abandoned Indrapura around 1000 AD. The Đại Việt campaign against Champa continued into the late 11th century, soon afterwards, Vietnamese peasants began moving into the untilled former Cham lands, turning them into rice fields and moving relentlessly southward, delta by delta, along the narrow coastal plain
30.
South Vietnam
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South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam, was a state governing the southern half of Vietnam from 1955 to 1975. It received international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam, the term South Vietnam became common usage in 1954, when the Geneva Conference provisionally partitioned Vietnam into communist and non-communist parts. The Republic of Vietnam was proclaimed on 26 October 1955, with Ngô Đình Diệm as its first president and its sovereignty was recognized by the United States and eighty-seven other nations. It had membership in several committees of the United Nations. After the Second World War, the Viet Minh, led by Ho Chi Minh, in 1949, anti-communist Vietnamese politicians formed a rival government in Saigon led by former emperor Bảo Đại. Bảo Đại was deposed by Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm in 1955, after Diệm was killed in a military coup led by general Dương Văn Minh in 1963, there was a series of short-lived military governments. General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu led the country from 1967 until 1975, the Vietnam War began in 1959 with an uprising by Viet Cong forces armed and controlled by Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Fighting reached a climax during the Tet Offensive of 1968, when there were over 1.5 million South Vietnamese soldiers and 500,000 U. S. soldiers in South Vietnam. Despite a peace treaty concluded in January 1973, fighting continued until the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong armies overran Saigon on 30 April 1975, the creation of this republic, during the Indochina War, allowed France to evade a promise to recognise Vietnam as independent. This pre-Vietnam government prepared for a unified Vietnamese state, but the countrys full reunification was delayed for a year because of the problems posed by Cochinchinas legal status, Nguyễn Văn Xuân 1949–55 State of Vietnam. Roughly 60% of Vietnamese territory was controlled by the communist Việt Minh. Vietnam was partitioned at the 17th parallel in 1954, once highly lauded by America, he was ousted and assassinated in a U. S. -backed coup. In 1963–65, there were numerous coups and short-lived governments, several of which were headed by Dương Văn Minh or Nguyễn Khánh, Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ was the top leader in 1965–67. Surrendered to Communists when others abandoned their posts, 1975–76 Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam. Huỳnh Tấn Phát Before World War II, the third of Vietnam was the concession of Cochinchina. Between Tonkin in the north and Cochinchina in the south was the protectorate of Annam, Cochinchina had been annexed by France in 1862 and even elected a deputy to the French National Assembly. It was more evolved, and French interests were stronger than in parts of Indochina. During World War II, Indochina was administered by Vichy France, japanese troops overthrew the French administration on 9 March 1945, Emperor Bảo Đại proclaimed Vietnam independent
31.
USS Towner (AKA-77)
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USS Towner was a Tolland-class attack cargo ship of the United States Navy named after Towner County, North Dakota. She was designed to military cargo and landing craft, and to use the latter to land weapons, supplies. She served as a ship for 18 months. The two ships transited the Panama Canal on 10 January and headed for Hawaii the next day, Towner stood out to sea again on 9 February bound for New Caledonia and arrived at Nouméa 10 days later. For the next two and one-half months, she made runs to Uarai Bay and participated in amphibious training exercises. In late April, Towner loaded elements of the 710th Tank Battalion and, with Transport Division 33 and she unloaded at Dulag on the 16th and reported to the 7th Fleet the following week. On 27 May, she sailed independently, via Hollandia, to Milne Bay to load a cargo of boats which she delivered to Manus. In early June, she loaded base hospital units at Lae for transportation to the Philippines, from mid-June to mid-October, she shuttled troops and cargo from New Guinea to the Philippines. On 26 August, Towner joined the Transport Division of the 3rd Amphibious Force at Cebu to assist in carrying troops, the convoy sortied on 1 September and arrived at Yokohama a week later. Towner discharged her troops and cargo and was back in the Philippines on the 17th, in early October, she made another round-trip to Tokyo Bay. The cargo ship departed Leyte on 24 October and, after calling at Okinawa and Taku, on 2 December 1945, Towner proceeded — via Guam, Guadalcanal, the Russell Islands, and Hawaii — to the United States. Towner arrived at Seattle on 25 January 1946 and entered the Bremerton Navy Yard for voyage repairs and she got underway for the east coast on 19 March and arrived at Norfolk on 10 April. Towner was decommissioned on 10 June 1946, returned to the War Shipping Administration on 13 June, after being sold by the Navy, Ex-USS Towner was renamed SS Philippine Bear, SS Kaimana, and SS Guam Bear. She served as a ship for various carriers until July 1967 when she was involved in a collision outside Apra Harbor. Judged a constructive total loss, the hulk was towed 2 nautical miles off shore and this article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here, navsource. org Wrecksite. eu Photo gallery of USS Towner at NavSource Naval History 51 Years of AKAs
32.
Apra Harbor, Guam
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Apra Harbor is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. The harbor is formed by Orote Peninsula in the south and Cabras Island in the north, to the south, the harbor narrows and then widens again to form an inner harbor. The southern end of the harbor is the location of Naval Base Guam, the northern end is the commercial port, which handles about 2 million tons of cargo a year. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific, Apra comes from the Chamorro word apapa low. Apapa is the name for what is now Cabras Island. During Spanish rule, a name was added and the area became known as the port of San Luis de Apra. Since 1898, ships that burned coal, and later products, used Guams ports. From 1941 to 1944 during World War II Apra Harbor was under Japanese control and was used for repair and refueling of their submarines. The liberation of Guam in 1944 caused huge amounts of damage to the coastal environment, Navy News noted that over 7,000 tons of explosives had been used that previous year to clear ship passages in Guam. 50 pounds of explosives is enough to destroy a volume of coral 100 by 3 feet deep. The Glass Breakwater and inner Apra Harbor were built to support the US military after World War II, Apra Harbor served military, civilian shipping needs, and included facilities for ships and nuclear submarines. Also for repair, supply, and fuel transfer, nuclear and conventional weapon transfer, fishing, recreational, and tourist also used the harbor. Apra Harbor was home to fishing grounds. It took the ports of Umatic and Central Hagatnas place during the 19th century when the ports of Piti, Piti was the main port for Hagatna while Summay was used for a rest stop for whalers. As many as 60 whaling ships came through the harbor per year, while Hagatna was the capital of Guam, Summay became the commercial and financial part of town. During the whaling period, Apra was considered to be one of the best ports in the Pacific, as the whaling era came to an end Guams economy was in decline. Guams economy started to improve when Spains reign came to an end, U. S. naval Captain Henry Glass claimed Guam as part of the U. S. on June 20,1898. Guam connected with the rest of the world in 1903 when it became the site of cable stations
33.
Type C1 ship
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Type C1 was a designation for small cargo ships built for the U. S. Maritime Commission before and during World War II. The first C1 types were the smallest of the three original Maritime Commission designs, meant for shorter routes where high speed and capacity were less important, only a handful were delivered prior to Pearl Harbor. But many C1-A and C1-B ships were already in the works and were delivered during 1942, many were converted to military purposes including troop-transports during the war. The Type C1-M ship was a design, for a significantly smaller and shallower draft vessel. This design evolved as an answer for the needs for military transport. Note any Type C1 ship in the control of the British Ministry of War Transport took an Empire name even if being built as another name e. g. Cape Turner. S, shipping Board which had existed since World War I. S. By the end of the war, U. S. shipyards working under MARCOM contracts had built a total of 5,777 oceangoing merchant, what was later known as the C1-A was among the three original cargo ship designs including the basic C2 and C3. Deliveries of the C1-B began before the models, in mid 1941. The C series of ships differed from the Liberty and Victory ships, the first C series vessels were designed prior to hostilities and were meant to be commercially viable ships to modernize the US Merchant Marine, and reduce the US reliance on foreign shipping. The C series ships were more expensive to produce, but their economic viability lasted well into the late 1960s and early 1970s in military, several ships are still in operation. The Type C1-A and C1-B ships were similar in design, All had a top speed of 14 knots. The primary difference between them was that C1-A ships were shelter deck ships, while C1-B ships were full scantling ships, there were many adaptations of the design for special purposes from hospital ships to petroleum gas carriers. With the exception of ships built for specific shipping lines before the war, forty-six Type C1-A ships were built at Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc. in Beaumont, Texas, with another 19 being built by Pusey and Jones in Wilmington, Delaware. Most were built with motors, though 19 were built with steam turbine engines. These were shelter deck ships, having a very light upper deck, the first keels were laid in 1939. Two of the Pusey and Jones ships were converted to PT boat tenders before entering service, some of the diesel vessels were powered by 2, 6-cylinder Nordberg 2-stroke engines driving the single shaft via magnetic couplings and a reduction gear-box. They were manufactured by Nordberg Manufacturing Company, the engine speed was 220 rpm and the shaft 110 rpm. The engine room was a pleasure to operate and the workmanship outstanding, the Type C1-B ships were built in six different yards, the majority at Consolidated Steel Corporation in Wilmington, California
34.
Type C3-class ship
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Type C3-class ships were the third type of cargo ship designed by the United States Maritime Commission in the late 1930s. As it had done with the Type C1 ships and Type C2 ships, the design presented was not specific to any service or trade route, but was a general purpose ship that could be modified for specific uses. The C3 was larger and faster than the C1 and C2 contemporaries, measuring 492 feet from stem to stern, like the C2, it had five cargo holds. A total of 465 of these ships were built between 1940 and 1947, Type C1 ship Type C2 ship Type C4 ship T2 tanker Liberty ship Victory ship Hog Islander U. S. Merchant Marine Academy Sawyer, L. A. Mitchell, W. H, from America to United States, The History of the Long-range Merchant Shipbuilding Programme of the United States Maritime Commission. United States Maritime Commission C3 Type Ships
35.
Type C4-class ship
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The Type C4 class ship were the largest cargo ships built by the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. The design was developed for the American-Hawaiian Lines in 1941. Eighty-one ships were built as cargo or troopships in four shipyards, Kaiser Richmond, CA, Kaiser Vancouver, WA, Sun Shipbuilding and Drydock in Chester PA, all ships were capable of 17 knots, driven by a single screw steam turbine generating 9,900 shp. Among the variations of the design were the Haven class hospital ship and they were followed post-war by thirty-seven of the larger C4-S-1 class, also known as the Mariner class. Built by Kaiser Shipyards at Permanente No.3 in Richmond, USS General G. O. Squier USS General T. H. Bliss USS General J. R. Brooke USS General O. H. Ernst USS General R. L. Howze USS General W. M. Black USS General H. L. Scott USS General S. D. Sturgis USS General C. G. Morton USS General R. E. Callan, later USNS General H. H. Langfitt USS General Omar Bundy USS General R. M. Blatchford USS General LeRoy Eltinge USS General A. W. Brewster USS General D. E. Aultman USS General C. C. Ballou USS General W. G. Haan USS General Stuart Heintzelman C4-S-B1, C4-S-B2, C4-S-B5 DWT,15,300 Built by Sun Yards of Chester, Pennsylvania. SS Mount Davis SS Mount Greylock SS Mount Mansfield SS Mount Rogers SS Mount Whitney C4-S-A3 DWT,14,863 Built by Kaiser Shipyards in Vancouver, land SS Willis Vickery SS Louis McH. Howe SS Ernie Pyle C4-S-B2 DWT,15,300 Built by Sun Yards in Chester, SS Santa Magdelena SS Santa Mariana SS Santa Maria SS Santa Mercedes C4-S-49b DWT,13,915. Built in 1965 by Bethlehem Steel of Sparrows Pt, the last two C4 ships were constructed in 1966 for the Prudential Lines. SS Prudential Seajet SS Prudential Oceanjet Marine Perch a C4-S-A3, was renamed the SS Yellowstone was in a collision, Type C1 ship Type C2 ship Type C3 ship T2 tanker Liberty ship Victory ship Hog Islander U. S. A. Sawyer and W. H. Mitchell. London,1981, World Ship Society Ships for Victory, A History of Shipbuilding under the U. S. Maritime Commission in World War II, by Frederic C. Lane ISBN 0-8018-6752-5
36.
Liberty ship
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The Liberty ship was a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, the design was adapted by the United States for its simple, mass-produced on an unprecedented scale, the now iconic Liberty ship came to symbolize U. S. wartime industrial output. The class was developed to meet British orders for transports to replace those torpedoed by German U-boats, the vessels were purchased both for the U. S. fleet and lend-lease deliveries of war materiel to Britain and the Soviet Union. Eighteen American shipyards built 2,710 Liberty ships between 1941 and 1945, easily the largest number of ships produced to a single design and their production mirrored on a much larger scale the manufacture of the Hog Islander and similar standardized ship types during World War I. Only three Liberty Ships are preserved, two as operational museum ships. S, the number was doubled in 1939 and again in 1940 to 200 ships a year. Ship types included two tankers and three types of merchant vessel, all to be powered by steam turbines, limited industrial capacity, especially for reduction gears, meant that relatively few of these ships were built. In 1940 the British government ordered 60 Ocean-class freighters from American yards to replace war losses and these were simple but fairly large with a single 2,500 horsepower compound steam engine of obsolete but reliable design. Britain specified coal-fired plants, because it then had extensive coal mines, the order specified an 18-inch increase in draft to boost displacement by 800 long tons to 10,100 long tons. The accommodation, bridge, and main engine were located amidships, the first Ocean-class ship, SS Ocean Vanguard, was launched on 16 August 1941. The design was modified by the United States Maritime Commission, in part to increase conformity to American construction practices, but more importantly to make it even quicker and cheaper to build. The US version was designated EC2-S-C1, EC for Emergency Cargo,2 for a ship between 400 and 450 feet long, S for steam engines, and C1 for design C1. The new design replaced much riveting, which accounted for one-third of the costs, with welding. It was adopted as a Merchant Marine Act design, and production awarded to a conglomerate of West Coast engineering and construction companies headed by Henry J. Kaiser known as the Six Companies. Liberty ships were designed to carry 10,000 long tons of cargo, usually one type per ship, but, during wartime, generally carried loads far exceeding this. On 27 March 1941, the number of ships was increased to 200 by the Defense Aid Supplemental Appropriations Act and increased again in April to 306. By 1941, the turbine was the preferred marine steam engine because of its greater efficiency compared to earlier reciprocating compound steam engines. Eighteen different companies built the engine. It had the advantage of ruggedness and simplicity
37.
Victory ship
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The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines. A total of 531 Victory ships were built, one of the first acts of the United States War Shipping Administration upon its formation in February 1942 was to commission the design of what came to be known as the Victory class. The design was an enhancement of the Liberty ship, which had successfully produced in extraordinary numbers. Victory ships were larger than Liberty ships,14 feet longer at 455 feet,6 feet wider at 62 ft. Displacement was up just under 1,000 tons, to 15,200, with a raised forecastle and a more sophisticated hull shape to help achieve the higher speed, they had a quite different appearance from Liberty ships. To make them vulnerable to U-boat attacks, Victory ships made 15 to 17 knots,4 to 6 knots faster than the Libertys. The extra speed was achieved through more modern, efficient engines, most used steam turbines, which had been in short supply earlier in the war and reserved for warships. All were oil-fired, but for a handful of Canadian vessels completed with both coal bunkers and oil tanks, another improvement was electrically powered auxiliary equipment, rather than steam-driven machinery. To prevent the hull fractures that a few Liberty ships developed and these were manned by United States Navy Armed Guard personnel. The VC2-S-AP5 Haskell-class attack transports were armed with the 5-inch stern gun, one quad 40 mm Bofors cannon, four dual 40 mm Bofors cannon, the Haskells were operated and crewed exclusively by U. S. Navy personnel. The Victory ship was noted for good proportion of cubic between holds for a ship of its day. A Victory ships cargo hold one, two and five hatches are a single rigged with a capacity of 70,400,76,700, and 69,500 bale cubic feet respectively. Victory ships hold three and four hatches are double rigged with a capacity of 136,100 and 100,300 bale cubic feet respectively. Victory ship have built in mast, booms and derrick cranes, the first vessel was SS United Victory launched at Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation on 12 January 1944 and completed on 28 February 1944, making her maiden voyage a month later. American vessels frequently had a name incorporating the word Victory, the British and Canadians used Fort and Park respectively. Although initial deliveries were slow—only 15 had been delivered by May 1944—by the end of the war 531 had been constructed, because the Atlantic battle had been won by the time that the first of the Victory ships appeared none were sunk by U-boats. Three were sunk by Japanese kamikaze attack in April of 1945, many Victory ships were converted to troopship to bring US soldiers home at the end of World War II as part of Operation Magic Carpet. A total of 97 Victory ships were converted to carry up to 1,600 soldiers
38.
United States Merchant Marine Academy
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The United States Merchant Marine Academy is one of the five United States service academies, located in Kings Point, New York. It is charged with training officers for the United States Merchant Marine, branches of the military, between 1874 and 1936, diverse federal legislation supported maritime training through school ships, internships at sea, and other methods. Originally — and in cooperation with the State of New York — the U. S. government planned to establish a large-scale Merchant Marine Academy at Fort Schuyler, New York, nothing came of these plans. Congress passed the landmark Merchant Marine Act in 1936, and two later, the U. S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corps was established, in that year, the USTS Nantucket was transferred from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy to Kings Point and renamed the USTS Emory Rice. The first training was given at temporary facilities until the Academys permanent site in Kings Point, the Kings Point campus was originally Walter Chryslers twelve-acre waterfront estate, named Forker House. Construction of the Academy began immediately, and 15 months later the task was virtually completed, the Academy was dedicated on 30 September 1943, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who noted the Academy serves the Merchant Marine as West Point serves the Army and Annapolis the Navy. World War II required the Academy to forgo its normal operation and its enrollment rose to 2,700 men, and the planned course of instruction was reduced in length from four years to 18 months. In spite of the war, shipboard training continued to be a part of the Academy curriculum. One hundred and forty-two midshipmen gave their lives in service to their country, from 1942–1945, the Academy graduated 6,895 officers. As the war drew to a close, plans were made to convert the Academys wartime curriculum to a four-year, in 1948, such a course was instituted. Authorization for awarding the degree of bachelor of science to graduates was granted by Congress in 1949, the Academy became fully accredited as a degree-granting institution in the same year. It was made a permanent institution by an Act of Congress in 1956, the Academy accelerated graduating classes during the Korean War and the Vietnam War. It was involved in programs as training U. S. officers for the nuclear-powered merchant ship. Midshipmen training at sea also participated in the humanitarian sealift to Somalia during Operation Restore Hope, in 1992, the Academy acquired its largest campus-based training vessel, the T/V Kings Pointer. After 20 years at the Academy, MARAD transferred the ship to the Texas Maritime Academy in Galveston to serve as its new training vessel. In June 2014, the vessel was rechristened the T/V Kings Pointer, the rechristening followed the earlier dedication of the Academy’s newly replaced Mallory Pier. In the 1990s, the Academy’s future came into question when it was included in the National Performance Review, chaired by Vice President Albert Gore, the report recommended halving the federal subsidy and requiring students to pay half of tuition to reduce costs
39.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
40.
Type C6 ship
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The Type C6 ship is a United States Maritime Administration designation for a container ship developed during the transition years from moving goods by breakbulk cargo to containerization. The Type C4 ships Mariner class, arranged with its house/engine-room in the vessel with cargo hatches at 4 forward and 2 aft, was very successful. Eleven Type C4 ships were converted into Type C6 container ships, as of March 2016 three converted C4s are extant as crane ships in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Three vessels of the American President Lines had been built in 1966 as Type C4-S-1qa ships by National Steel and Shipbuilding, San Diego, between 1972 and 1973 these breakbulk cargo vessels were converted into partial containerships. The conversion work was done at Todd Pacific Shipyards, Seattle, overall length was extended by 105 ft. Bow thrusters were also fitted into the ships for improved maneuverability along with an improved stabilization system. Between 1984-1986 all three vessels were acquired by the U. S. Navy and re-fitted as Auxiliary Crane Ships for use by the Military Sealift Command, as of August 31,2016 all three of these converted vessels were listed in Ready Reserve Force, National Defense Reserve Fleet. The American President lines also took delivery on four new ships, designated Type C6-S-85b. Three were delivered in 1973 and the fourth in 1974, between 1979 and 1982 the vessels were traded in to MARAD as partial down payment for new ships. They were first laid up at the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet but were eventually scrapped, the United States Lines choose all 8 of their C4-S-1a cargo vessels for conversion to C6-S-1w container ships. The conversion work was divided among five shipyards, and the vessels re-entered service between late 1970 and early 1971, the vessel overall length was increased by approximately 100 ft. The vessels remained in service until 1983 when they were laid-up at New York City, the Farrell Lines commissioned naval architect George G. Sharp to develop a design for their rapidly growing services. The four new-built vessels were designated as Type C6-S-85a by the Maritime Commission, the vessels were built at the Ingalls Shibuilding with delivery starting in December 1970. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico ports and to Australia and New Zealand, all four vessels were eventually acquired by Horizon Lines and remained in service until 2014. Ex-Astral Endurance was scrapped in 2014 after Horizon reduced the frequency of service between Puerto Rico and the US, ex-Austral Ensign, after having been laid up Bellingham, WA since 2007, was sold for scrap in April 2016. The remaining Farrell Lines ship, ex-Austral Envoy remained in service between Los Angeles and Hawaii as of May 2016 but has since been renamed Matson Navigator
41.
T2 tanker
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The T2 tanker, or T2, was a class of oil tankers constructed and produced in large quantities in the United States during World War II. After the T3 Tankers, they were the largest navy oilers of the period, T2 tankers were used to transport, fuel oil, diesel fuel, gasoline and sometimes black oil-crude oil. Post war many T2s remained in use, like other hastily built World War II ships pressed into peace time service there were safety concerns and this occurred after two T-2s, Pendleton and Fort Mercer, split in two off Cape Cod within hours of each other. Engineering inquiries into the problem suggested the cause was due to poor welding techniques and it was found the steel was not well suited for the new wartime welding construction. The high sulfur content made the steel brittle and prone to metal fatigue at lower temperatures, marCom subsidized the excess cost of naval features beyond normal commercial standards. Standard T2s were 501 ft 6 in in length, with a beam of 68 ft. Rated at 9,900 tons gross, with 15,850 long tons deadweight, steam turbines driving a single propeller at 12,000 horsepower delivered a top speed of 16 knots. Six were built for commerce by Bethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard in Maryland, only to be taken over by the United States Navy following the attack on Pearl Harbor as the Kennebec class oiler. Bigger but faster, they were 526 ft in length, displaced about 22,445 tons. All five were requisitioned by the Navy during the war and converted to fleet oilers as the Mattaponi class. By far the most common variety of the T2-type tanker was the T2-SE-A1 and they were 523 ft long,68 ft abeam, with 10,448 gross register tons and 16,613 DWT. During that period, average time from laying of the keel to fitting out was 70 days. The record, however, was held by Marinship, which had the Huntington Hills ready for sea trials in just 33 days. The T2-SE-A2 variation, built only by Marinship of Sausalito, was identical to the T2-SE-A1 version. The A3 variation was essentially an A2 built as a Navy oiler from the start,25 of this design were ordered by the Maritime Commission, of which five became Navy oilers as the Chiwawa class. In 1966, the US Army reactivated 11 T2 tankers and converted them into floating electrical power generation plants, the ships propulsion systems electrical turbines were used to generate electricity for on-shore use, drawing on fuel from the ships 150,000 barrel holds. This allowed the ships to produce electricity for two years without refueling for the Vietnam War, the USNS French Creek was the first to arrive in June of 1966, then next was the USS Kennebago, both installed in Cam Ranh Bay. Schenectady, broke in two in 1943, the temperature of the harbor water was about 39°F and water conditions were still
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T3 tanker
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The T3 tanker, or T3, are a class of sea worthy large tanker ships used to transport fuel oil, gasoline or diesel before and during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The T3 tanker classification is used today. T3 tankers are about 500 to 650 feet in length and are able to sustain a top speed from 15 to 18 knots, the T3 tanker is larger, and usually faster, than a T2 tanker. The hull designation AOG is used by the US Navy to denote that the ship is a T3 gasoline tanker, the AO designation denotes that the ship is a T3 fleet oiler, also referred to as a replenishment oiler. Most of the T3 ships were built for private companies, some T3 tankers were built for or sold to the US Navy, which were renamed using the names of Native Americans, rivers and lakes. The T3 tanker can carry from about 133,800 to 200,000 BBLs, some T3 tankers were used to transport other goods like black oil-crude oil and chemicals. T3s are also called liquid cargo carriers, the T3 tanker has roughly a full load displacement of about 24,830 tons. T3 tankers are operated by the US Navy, War Shipping Administration, each T3 has emergency life rafts on the boat deck. The ships have cargo booms and piping to load and unload fuel, during wartime, the T3 ships were armed for protection with deck guns. A typical ship may have one single 3/50 dual purpose gun, T3 ships normally carries 81 to 304 crew members. If operating as a United States Merchant Marine ship, the crew would be a mix of civilian Merchant Marines, the World War II T3 class tankers were considered large for the their day, but are small compared to the modern tankers of today. A large modern tanker, like the Ultra Large Crude Carrier, is over 300,000 metric tons, another modern tanker, the Very Large Crude Carrier, is over 200,000 metric tons. The attack on Pearl Harbor brought up an urgent need for aircraft carriers and this led to some T3 tankers being converted to escort carriers. The USS Suwannee is an example of a T3 tanker hull AO-33 that was rebuilt to be an escort carrier, the T3 tankers size and speed made the T3 an useful escort carrier. There were two classes of T3 hull carriers, Sangamon class and Commencement Bay class. T3-S-A1 tanker, Class Chiwawa-class oiler,2 steam turbines to a single-screw,7,700 shp, max speed of 15 knots,501 feet long, width 68 ft, max depth 29.6 ft,9,880 gross tons, carry 133,800 barrels. 25 of this design were ordered by the Maritime Commission, of five became Navy oilers as the Chiwawa class oiler. Built by Bethlehem Steel in Sparrows Point, Maryland, served as Fleet Oilers and some were converted to Escort carriers, CVE
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Derrick
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A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower, and a boom hinged at its base to provide articulation, as in a stiffleg derrick. The most basic type of derrick is controlled by three or four lines connected to the top of the mast, which allow it both to move laterally and cant up and down. To lift a load, a line runs up and over the mast with a hook on its free end. Forms of derricks are commonly found aboard ships and at docking facilities, some large derricks are mounted on dedicated vessels, and known as floating derricks and sheerlegs. The term derrick is also applied to the framework supporting a drilling apparatus in an oil rig, the derrick derives its name from a type of gallows named after Thomas Derrick, an Elizabethan era English executioner. There are crossbars to connect the two poles, forming a letter A shape tower, the tower is ground anchored to provide support. A boom is hinged from the lowest cross bar and extends outward and upward, the top end of the boom is connected to a pulley system which is connected to the top of the tower. Manipulating the pulley system will allow the boom to change the angle against the tower, there is another pulley system to connect to the top of the boom for load lifting. When an A-frame derrick is used in a vessel, it is called floating A-frame derrick, a basket derrick is a derrick without a boom that is supported by a rope-and-pole system that forms a basket. The basket is constructed from a group of poles to form a polygon, there are crossbars between the pole members to strengthen their support. The derrick tower can be a mast or a post with the bottom hinged at the base where all ropes meet. The top of the tower is secured with multiple reeved guys to position the top of the tower to the location by varying the length of the upper guy lines. The load is lifted using a system connected to the top of the tower. A breast derrick is a derrick without a boom with a mast constructed from two upright members, the upright members are more spread at their bottom ends than their top ends. There are crossbars to join the two members from the bottom to the top to form a mast, without the use of boom, the top crossbar is also used to connect to a sheave or a block that is used for lifting the load. The mast is prevented from tipping forward by guys connected to its top, a Chicago boom derrick is a derrick with a boom which is attached to an external structure. The external upright member of the structure serves as the mast, the boom is connected to at least three pulley systems to control the position of the boom
