Liberty's Provenance: The Evolution of the Liberty Ship from its Sunderland Origins

The Allies' victory in the Battle of the Atlantic was largely due to the 2,710 Liberty ships designed and built in the United States. However, the groundwork for the ship's shape and hydrodynamics was laid in the North Sands shipyard of Joseph Thompson & Sons Ltd in Sunderland. This new book explores the critical designs that flowed from Thompson's shipyard, leading to the sixty Ocean Class vessels built by Henry J Kaiser and the adaptation of the Liberty ship by American naval architects Gibbs & Cox. The book demonstrates the direct link between Thompson's work and the Liberty ship, and the versatility of the Liberty ship, which was developed for specialist use, such as hospital ships and mule transports.

Format: Hardback
Length: 112 pages
Publication date: 07 May 2019
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

The Allies' crucial struggle to preserve communication and essential commerce routes for weapons, people, and essential sustenance during the Battle of the Atlantic was made possible by the 2,710 Liberty ships that were created and constructed specifically for those one-way journeys to Europe. The Liberty ships' design is rightly American because it was built in the United States. However, less well known is that the North Sands shipyard of Joseph Thompson & Sons Ltd on the banks of the River Wear in Sunderland laid the foundation for the shape of the hull and its fundamental hydrodynamics. This new book traces the path of the crucial designs that originated in Thompson's shipyard, beginning with SS Embassage in 1935, SS Dorington Court in 1939, through the SS Empire Wind/Wave series for the Ministry of War Transport in 1940 to SS Empire Liberty in 1941. These led to the sixty Ocean Class vessels built by Henry J. Kaiser, and from these, the Liberty ship was adapted by American naval architects Gibbs & Cox, who to this day claim they designed the Liberty ship. With the use of beautifully drawn ship profiles, beginning with World War I designs, then the critical designs from Thompson's shipyard, and particularly a drawing comparing the Liberty ship to its British progenitor, the author demonstrates just how much of the former was borrowed from the latter. While some credit has been given to Thompson's designs, this new book offers the first real proof as to the direct link between his work, the Empire Liberty/Ocean Class, and the Liberty ship that followed. In addition, the book demonstrates the versatility of the Liberty ship and explores those that were developed for specialist use, such as hospital ships and mule trains.

Weight: 724g
Dimension: 210 x 264 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781526750631