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Very interesting video. I would add one bit of info. Exhaust steam entering the condenser changes back to water. When condensed the water has much smaller volume than steam resulting in a vacuum in the condenser. The vacuum actually sucks the exhaust from the L P cylinder improving efficiency considerably.
Amazing how the nation came together on 3 coasts to make 2 of these every 3 days. Think about how coordinated we were to get the raw materials mined, made and transported to the shipyards. Then, just making sure each ship was properly manned. I would like to know how many did not make their destination due to weather, enemy action and mechanical reasons. Good video.
My Father sailed on a Liberty Ship as an engine oiler in WW2. We were able to tour the Jeremiah O'Brien with him and my two sons before he passed. He had high regard for those ships. It's great to see the "Deconstructed" version to see how it all worked. Thank you!
That brought a tear to my eye. They knew the danger the faced and willingly sailed anyway. God bless him for being a true hero. My profile picture is my uncle Charles who is buried in France. They were all amazing hero's.
My father in law joined the Navy on 12/8/41 he was 16. By early 1942 he was a torpedo man in the destroyer escort fleet doing convoy duty in the North Atlantic. He said they would take several dozen ships across at a time and always packed extra survival equipment for any ships that got hit. He would go on to serve on three different DE's making 37 trips through the canal seeing Naval combat in both the Atlantic & Pacific theaters, we miss you Brownie. People such as this are what put the word GREAT in the phrase THE GREATEST GENERATION. FLY NAVY!!!
@@EdwardFHyman No not 37 North Atlantic trips, 37 trips through the Panama Canal. But YES SIR he was a real sailor and made many convoy duty trips in the North Atlantic. I feel truly fortunate to have heard some of his stories firsthand. Having been in the North Atlantic/Norwegian Sea area in a LPH I know exactly how bad it is up there. FLY NAVY!!!
My dad was a merchant marine on Greek Liberty ships after the war. He jumped ship and was deported twice as a teenager before entering the country LEGALLY in the 50's
And the key to the liberty ship was that the prefab sections were rolled so that almost all welds were done on the floor. An admiral asked a ship construction master what the holdup was in getting more ships produced "Not enough welders." "How long does it take to train a welder?" "I can teach anybody to weld on the floor in a day. It takes months to learn to weld well on the wall. It takes years to learn to weld on the ceiling."
@@johnmcleodvii I could teach you to weld stick overhead in a week. It's not hard, generally the difficulty for new people is that they are setting the machine too cold and not moving fast enough. Welding in the shop is far faster though. You don't have to keep moving your equipment around, worrying about ventilation, catching stuff on fire, weather etc etc. Smart welders/engineers lay things out to do as much in the shop as possible and try to ensure the field welds are noncritical so if there are flaws it's not a huge problem and accessible so the welder isn't hanging off a ladder upside down or squeezed into a box trying to get at it. One of the reasons oil rig/pipeline welders get paid so much is that they are making critical welds in the field in generally terrible conditions. It's hard, dangerous and miserable. They earn every penny.
My granddad actually worked on Liberty Ships during the war-he used to tell me stories about how fast they were building them and how everyone pulled together. I remember visiting one of the preserved ships with him when I was a kid, and he was so proud pointing out all the parts he remembered. It’s really cool seeing so many people here who have their own connections to these ships. If anyone else has stories or memories, you should definitely share them. It’s amazing to read.
The most interesting thing for me was the steam engine. I knew the principle of how they worked, but seeing one this size, with so much detail was fascinating. I knew nothing about how a Liberty Ship worked prior to this video. Also, this is the first of your videos I've seen. Looking forward to checking out more. I love learning about how things work.
If you live within a day's drive of the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan, make the trip, just make it. I grew up going to the museum a couple times a year, and steam is just in my blood as a result. Being able to stand there and watch a machine running, and reverse-engineer what all the parts must be doing based on how they move and how they're connected, is an ability I thought everyone had, but I've come to understand is rare. They have so many engines, from toys that would fit in the palm of your hand, to a 6000-horsepower monster with cylinders so big you could have a picnic inside, and most of them are hooked up to compressed air and a random selection might be running on any given day.
Thank you for this superb presentation. My Father graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy. His first ship was sunk off Gibraltar during Operation Torch. Then, He was on the SS Ohio and was wounded in the leg by the altimeter of a BF109 that was shot down while strafing the deck during the successful blockade busting run to save Malta. After a successful career in California Construction/ AeroSpace, He was recalled at the beginning of the Vietnam War and served as Executive Officer for an additional 6 yrs. He suffered from intense PTSD / Alcoholism during his adult life having lost his three brothers to war and many close friends. As a child I spent many days with him visiting severely wounded warriors at the Long Beach VA Hospital.
So many suffered from ptsd when it was called combat fatiuge. Ptsd they say can be triggered by anything traumatic not just combat. Firefighters ,police officers and paramedics also often get it. The only cure for it I know of is faith in Jesus Christ. As a firefighter Ive had some bad sights but my faith in Christ always brought me through the trauma.
For those that don’t know, the Convoy that the SS Ohio was in was viciously attacked, but the Ohio, a tanker carrying avgas, and being practically sunk,managed to limp into harbor in Malta and with the fuel, the Brits were able to hold the island and inflict damages on the Axis convoys to the Afrika Korps. The Ohio saved Malta and Malta saved North Africa….and that’s where the USA first landed, with Monty and the UK 8th Army charging in from Egypt.
Fun fact, they actually used the reciprocating engine on the SS Jeremiah O'Brien (one of only two seagoing Liberty Ship in the world) for the engine room shots in “Titanic”. Because Titanic’s triple expansion engines were even larger, they filmed the engine room empty and then used cgi to add scaled human figures to each frame. They even took her out on the San Francisco Bay and ran the engines at full speed then reversed them for that famous shot of Titanic reversing engines as they approach the iceberg.
So..to give you a idea of the insurance history..one of our biggest insurance providers today actually was a liberty ship builder in ww2..it started that way...look it up
Three things that really stood out: (1) Technology engineering from the 1800s is underrated (saying the ship was from an 1879 design). (2)They constructed three ships every couple of days is beyond impressive! And (3) this is an outstanding video.
@@charleshettrick2408 Those triple expansion steam engines were pure 19th century technology... and they were actually invented at the end of the 18th century!
When Thompsons the Sunderland Shipbuilders son took the plans to the United States the ship he came back on was torpedoed and they spent some time in a lifeboat.
@@NoName-md5zb no no, logistics. How do you think that amount of weaponry gets anywhere? Logistics. You have to have a robust network of moving parts to ensure that weapons and personnel are moved to the places they need to be moved to, and to keep them on time. Transports, fuel, oil, food, loading and unloading procedure. If that chain does not function correctly, weapons become useless, because they can't reach the front properly.
@@NoName-md5zb Yes, and making that stuff, is also part of the chain of logistics. In fact, raw materials to make it also need to be transported to factories and refineries after being gathered. The war still goes nowhere without logistics.
I used to volunteer as a deckhand on the Jeremiah O’Brien way back in high school, such a cool place to work. I’ll never forget during my first cruise onboard her, the captain asked if I would like to take the helm for a bit once we passed back under the Golden Gate Bridge and into the bay. It was amazing being able to sail her around the bay for a while, and man turning that stiff wheel on the flying bridge was workout!
I knew a thing or two about liberty ships already, but the springs between the tiller and the rudder quadrant was new to me. Simple solutions are often the best.
When I was 5 years old, my grand dad had a pub in LIVERPOOL called the Atlantic hotel. It had green tiles on the outside walls. I was never allowed down stairs during opening hours, so I spent much of my time looking out of the upstairs front windows. In the docks I could see the many ships , with Canadian and American flags flying from the masts. I could see the crews moving about the ships, which were laid out just like the Liberty ships in this video. While I watched your video, it brought me back to those very happy times. I go to LIVERPOOL every week, and although much has changed, the Atlantic has gone now, I still feel the unbreakable link to my past. My Dad used to point out the bullet marks on Millers bridge from the German aircraft which raked the docks, particularly in 1941. Thank you for making this video.
My late father was a merchant Mariner in WW2 he worked in the engine department on the liberty ship SS James Lick which was built at Kaiser Ship Yard in San Francisco . We lost a lot of Merchant Mariners in WW2 he was also on several other ships also but the Liberty ship James Lick was his first ship after he graduated from the Maritime Academy. A few years later we were lucky enough to be able to take him on a day long cruise from San Francisco to Stockton CA on the Liberty Ship Jeremiah Obrian a short time before his passing. You could just see all the memories he had just rushing back when he got in board the Obrian. I'm glad he got to do that one last time. He had lots of stories to tell after his life at sea and traveling seven times around the world especially during WW2. Thanks for the Video.
This was super cool to watch. I’ve seen many videos about Liberty ships, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen what’s inside one. The animation is crazy detailed, too. Awesome job.
Thanks for the video. I finally find out how Liberty ships functioned. Quite an advanced steam engine. My grandfather sailed on Liberty ships converted to mechants, from 1946 to 1953. He was the chief engineer. I remember he once told me. "The ships were all exactly the same. Whatever ship I was on. I could find my way around in the dark. And everywhere in the world spare parts were readily available."
In the early fifties I grew up in Tacoma, Washington state. Liberty ships were then surplus and many were stored in Commencement Bay. You could look across the bay and see Liberty ships from shore to shore completely filled with ships.
There were several hundred of these ships stored in the Tappen Zee of the Hudson River after the war. We drove near them one night. We were probably less than 100 feet from the line of ships. It was spooky as hell in the dark.
@@Thor_Odinsonwas on alcatraz island 93 -2018 with park service and at the presidio 77-93 I would see navy ships heading out the gate mostly 1988-2004
Forty years ago I walked through the shaft alley of the Jeremiah O'Brien from the engine room to the stern. I hope that area of the ship is still open to the public because walking it leaves a huge impression. Most of all I like the animated presentation because visualizing the ship as a 3D structure explains the ship's construction and function much better than a text narrative. If a picture is worth a thousand words, an animated presentation is worth a thousand pictures.
Outstanding vid. I was in the US Navy in the early 70's, then sailed as a merchant seaman in the 80's. Actually got to do almost a year on a Victory ship (USNS Kingsport, formerly the SS Kingsport Victory). When I joined the Kingsport, there was a Liberty ship tied up across the pier from us, apparently used as a training vessel. Some of the old timers in our crew had sailed on Liberty ships, and we got some good (and scary) stories about the convoys. Fun fact, a Liberty ship, SS Robert E. Perry, still holds the Guiness Book world record for fastest ship over 10,000 tonnes deadweight, Guiness 4 days 15.5 hours. Holy cow!
My Father served on a Liberty Ship with the Atlantic Fleet , during World War Two . Because he never spoke about anything he experienced , anything I have learned about these ships , I have had to find on my own . Thank you for this detailed breakdown of what the Liberty Ships were .
As a British person,I am grateful for the industrial might and capacity of American shipyards during WW2. We could never have built a sufficient number of ships in our yards, which were also working at full capacity to replace those being sunk. I was fortunate enough to visit S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien in San Francisco in 1993 and again in1994 when she visited the UK as part of the 50th anniversary of D-Day, in which she took part.
thankyou very much for the memory we came to new Zealand on a converted Victory ship the Zuiderkruis when I was 3 and a half years old in 1953 and still hold memories of the trip. Built as SS Cranston Victory in 1944 by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp. at Portland, Oregon. She was built for the United States Maritime Commission as part of a programme, beginning in 1943, to build a series of fast cargo ships for the war effort. These ships subsequently became known as Victory Ships. In 1947 she was bought by the Dutch Government as a troopship and renamed Zuiderkruis. In 1951 she was rebuilt as an emigrant ship and placed under the management of Stoomvaart Maats Nederland. She carried emigrants to Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. In 1960 she transferred to Scheepsvaart Maats Trans-Ocean. In 1963 she joined the Dutch Navy as an accommodation and stores ship. She was scrapped in 1969.
My father was a chief engineer on Liberties and other commercial ships during the war and was a WWI navy veteran. He sailed the Pacific. I was on a couple Liberties in the 1960s. I never heard of plastic armor, but the ships I was on had thick cement around the bridge area. While the guns were gone, there was 5" mounting on the bow and 4" on the stern on every ship I was aboard. All commercial ships have loading marks on the side called the Pimsoll mark show the maximum loading depending on the season and ocean. My father said when the holds were loaded the Pimsoll Marks were 6' below the water line. Then they loaded deck cargo. Things too big for the hatches like airplanes. Catwalks were built above the deck cargo from the bridge to the foc'sle and the after deck house, so the crew could move around. Overloaded, the ship would only make 8-9 knots. Convoys were built based on ship speed and destination. Liberties were in slow convoys and Victory ship in fast convoys. Sometimes going to the same place. In late WWII there were a couple thousand commercial ships in the supply train keeping the navy and all the bases supplied plus supporting island invasions. My dad's ships were bombed often early in the war, but never hit. Later it was mostly harassment bombing. Most Liberties were scrapped in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Many in Taiwan.
On December 15, 1950, the Meredith Victory was supporting the evacuation of American troops from the port of Hungnam, Korea. They were there to evacuate the last remaining American supplies, but they could not leave the endless stream of refugees in Korea behind. So they decided to dump the supplies on board the ship and let the refugees board. As a result, the Meredith Victory was able to board 14,000 refugees and later land them on Geoje Island in the south. In addition to the Meredith Victory, it helped evacuate countless others. As a Korean, I would like to express my gratitude once again to Captain Leonard LaRue and his crew.
My father served on Liberty Ships during the war and volunteered on the Liberty Ship project in the '90s helping restore the USS John W Brown. I spent a few nights on the USS John W Brown at it's first berth in Baltimore. I'm currently in possession of the most comprehensive photographic library of every Liberty Ship constructed and launched.
My father served aboard the liberty ship SS Alexander Hamilton as a member of a Naval Armed Guard crew. Do you have any photographs of the Hamilton. I have one photo of the ship just after she was launched before her naval guns were installed.
@@brucebraga6254 I'll have to look. Just before my father died in 2008 I was helping him to catalogue all his pictures he had collected from other historical enthusiasts. His fist pass at digitalizing them was at a very low resolution given his poor equipment and lack of knowledge of digitalization. He even had launch photos of sunken ships.
I sailed on a British registered Liberty ship during my apprenticeship in 1960 . The ships were known as SAM boats when crewed by the British. My vessel was the Samness. The basic design was for 10, 000 tons at 10 knots. A box, with a bluff bow and stern attached. They tended to snap just forward of the central accomodation in heavy seas, so the one I was on had a reinforcing plate riveted on either side. Our gyro compass was located low down in the hull (To reduce wear and tear from motion), and as an apprentice, one of my jobs just before the end of my watch, was to go down to this hot stuffy room and ring up the bridge to ensure that the repeater up there was still in line with the actual heading. These ships were designed with the North Atlantic in mind. They were not designed for going to the tropics in the Far East. I still break out in a sweat at the remembrance, but that was then. Great. The video brings back memories. I later sailed on a Victory ship (Salinas Victory). They were still 10,000 tons, but powered by a diesel engine giving 16 knots.
my granddad was a journeyman boiler maker and because this skill was considered vital to sustain the war effort he was not allowed to join or be drafted into military service so he became a priority member part of the workforce that built these "kaiser coffins" as he called them that was the knickname commonly used given to these ships being mass produced thank you for this very informative video
What astonished me the most was its simplicity, and the fact that yet it was very well thought out. A Columbi egg of the engineering world, brilliant but simple.
The first video i ever saw that gives a detailed view of all the internal spaces of a liberty ship. Only fresh water was used in the boilers, no sea water...Good explanation of how the different ship systems did work. As such, this video gives important information to ship lover's who are interested into learning on how those ships where layed out & how they did work. Including the accommodations... Good Work !
He only mentioned the seawater when discussing the condenser. Which was appropriate, modern steam powered ships use the exact same setup for the condenser As a former US Navy sailor, I have to say he did an excellent job describing all of the shipboard systems in terms that everyone could understand.
Great Video! Thank you for making it. I'm a high school history teacher, and I love learning about World War II, but I had no idea that the Liberty ship was using old steam technology designs from the 19th century. That is amazing!
Many solutions and technologies that were used in the 20th century were discovered in the 19th century and earlier. The same electric welding. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_welding I like the phrase in the film "Eiffel" where the creator of the tower says -: "We change the bolts to rivets so that it will never be dismantled..."
🧐Hier zeigt sich, das Standardisierung und Logistik, ein Produkt erzeugen kann! Der Urvater Ford hat diese Vorgehensweise für alle Zeit maßgeblich geprägt!! Eine toller Bericht und sehr schön aufgebaut, BRAVO !!🥰
It was a new item to learn about for me as well. Asphalt and crushed rock is basically what roads are made of today. It definitely wouldn't stop a round of anything above 12.5 mm, but it might help to stop shrapnel from cutting your down. I wonder who proposed that idea for "plastic armour?" Mark from Melbourne Australia
I'm guessing it was a case of "Just about every other material we would usually use as armor has already been claimed for making battleships, tanks, etc. This is the best we could come up with from the materials still available."
Great presentation! Tremendous visual learning content! Participated in the US Naval Cargo Handling Battalion (CHB) program, followed by a Joint tour (US Army) in intermodal transportation management at US Military Traffic Management Command Eastern Area Headquarters (MTMC-EA) in the 1980s. Transition era between breakbulk cargo and containerized, Roll-On/Roll-Off transportation logistics, barcode scanning, cargo load planning, paper to digital documents. Concise and accurate training tool for combat stevedores, storekeepers, transportation operators and ships' crew. Well done!
I found this an excellent animated break down of all relevant information regarding these ships. Thank you for preserving this historical information. My wife’s grandfather was in the British Navy aboard the ship HMS Rajputana which was torpedoed and sank in the strait of Denmark, he consumed a large quantity of Navy rum he had stashed in his locker before they were ordered to abandon ship. He managed to cling to a Carley float life raft, which was already full to capacity by looping his pant belt though a perimeter rope and reattaching it. As hypothermia set in this kept him from drowning until they were rescued.
Magnificent video for a truly extraordinary and historic ship. You forgot to mention that the different ship yards competed to complete ships faster than the other yards. It ultimately became possible to crank out a ship in not much more than a day. American pride and ingenuity at its best! ❤
A truly ambitious and successful American contribution towards winning WW II. Very detailed animations. One thing not mentioned is the steam not only provided a down-stroke of the pistons, the valve directs steam below the piston creating a powered upstroke. This is also the way steam locomotives work.
The major difference between a steam locomotive and a steam ship is in the use of steam after it has done its work. A steam locomotive uses some of the exhaust steam to improve the combustion air draft through the firebox. The steam is then vented with the smoke out of the top of the smoke stack. Steam is also vented from the drive cylinders directly. This wasting of the steam is in contrast to the steam ship where the steam is condensed down to water before being sent back through the system. Part of the reason for this method is that fresh water is in short supply on board a ship even though they can produce their own fresh water it is never enough to be able to waste it . Mark from Melbourne Australia
@@markfryer9880Interesting…I understand that sea water was used in the condenser, but I can’t imagine boiling sea water to make steam without damaging the boiler and other tubing. Did they carry a supply of fresh water or, as I think you inferred, they were desalinating sea water?
The original design and production of the " Liberty Ship " was carried out by J. L. Thompson of Sunderland England. Right up until the beginning of WW2 in September 1939 Sunderland was the largest ship building town in the whole world, with its production accounting for c 25% of the of the total construction of the merchant marine. When America finally came to our assistance, due mainly to the amazing support of President F. D. Roosevelt and the formation of the United States Marine Commission, the "Liberty Ship " design was upgraded and improved from its original design thus allowing for a more suitable and adaptable cargo ship for the war effort. Very interesting graphics, many thanks for posting.
Much of the redesign was by the Kaiser company for high speed modular welded construction. That's why they could make them so fast. I grew up in north Portland, OR and the remnants of the Kaiser shipyards were still there. Also, I think there was a mothballed fleet of Liberty Ships up near Astoria, though I don't know how long they were there. I remember it from sometime mid to late '60s. I was still a boy then and fascinated by everything WWII, so my dad liked to take me to see things like that. We were too far removed from the actual fighting to really understand just how awful it all was. I think only one Japanese sub bombed the Oregon coast during the whole war. Fire bombs; apparently hoping to start a forest fire or something.
@@briangodfrey7424 The design and initiative was purely British, who also funded it. Look up 'Cash and Carry'. _In September 1940 a British Shipbuilding Mission, headed by Robert Thompson of the Sunderland shipbuilding firm and including Harry Hunter, the technical director of North-Eastern Marine Engineering, went to America. They were charged with ordering sixty tramp steamers of around 10,000 deadweight ‘tons’ each. They visited many shipyards and marine engineering works, as well possible sites for new yards, in both the USA and Canada. The only business that could be done was with a great West Coast civil engineering contractor, Henry Kaiser, who happened to have a small shipbuilding firm in Seattle. By November 1940 the outline of the deal was agreed: $96m (£24m) to include $9m for two new shipyards. The ship to be built was to be Thompson’s ship 607, whose plans he had brought with him, engined with Harry Hunter’s efficient reciprocating triple expansion machinery. However, the Admiralty decided suddenly that the specifications should be those of a later Thompson ship, the 611, later called Empire Liberty, whose drawings were just being finished in Sunderland. This British decision to build the Oceans (and the contemporaneous deal for twenty-six Forts from Canada) ‘was without doubt one of the most momentous supply decisions of the whole war’ according to the official historian of North American supply._ - _Britain's War Machine_ by David Edgerton _In 1940 new orders to be_ *_paid for in dollars_* _were being placed by the British on a huge scale: for_ *_Liberty ships,_* _rifles, tanks, aero-engines_ .
@@stevedownes5439 *100% British design and funded.* The British used idle US industry to boost war production. US had soup lines of skilled men. They also bought and renovated dilapidated factories to make tanks. Pressed Steel in Chicago is one. The Lima tank factory is also one, which makes tanks to this day. The US gvmt said sell to US interests after they entered the war. First batch of Shermans went to the British army. Deal was the British sell but they have free Sherman tanks until end of war. Not like you see on the History Channel is it?
@@johnburns4017 The British ordered 60 vessels from U.S. shipyards. Before they were built or paid for, the U.S. government initiated the first phase of the Liberty Ship program through the U.S. Maritime Commissions Emergency Shipbuilding Program, which was neither funded or designed by the British. The British have much to be proud of in their history, inventing history is not necessary.
Its incredibly impressive and fascinating how much detail your team puts into one video packaged along side interesting facts and fantastic animation. Excellent work as always Deconstructed team!!! I particularly enjoyed the deconstruction and flow of the steam powered closed loop, that was well explained and easy to follow along how the loop worked!
I worked on an intentionally, partially beached Liberty Ship in Kodiak, Alaska. It was converted to a cannery when the original town of Kodiak was destroyed in the Alaska earthquake . The fishing community was deviated but it only took a few months to move and start up the Liberty Ship cannery in the new town's location. Wonderful video. Thanks to all involved in making it and sharing it. P.S. The all metal superstructure of the wooden car ferry boat KALACALA was also bought and beached for a second cannery the following year as the fishing community and town expanded.
Wonderful…as a young lad visiting my grandfather in Wilmington, North Carolina in the 1950s thru 1960s, I remember seeing the 100s of Liberty ships berthed in the river there, each year there would be less until they were no more…it was an amazing sight…..cheers from an old man in Orlando, Paul
Thank you for taking the time to make such a great video!. I spent the equivalent of two days on the Liberty Ship, Jeremiah O'Brien, for two separate events; Fleet Week and a bay cruise. The crew gave us tours through the entire ship including the massive engine room. This video brings back many fond memories for me. Standing at one of the gun emplacements during Fleet Week, watching US fighter jets make very low passes over the ship added to the military feel of the ship.
This is one of the best boat videos I've seen that isn't overkill and hits that perfect level of narrative and exposition. I can't wait till the victory ship video! 🎉❤
Ex marine engineer here. One small but important point missed out is that when steam exhausts from the 3rd stage of the main engine and enters the condenser, the pressure in the condenser is kept at a high vacuum, usually around 27-28" Hg. Doing so increases the pressure drop across the engine and improves the efficiency considerably. The vacuum is created by a link-arm driven from (usually) the LP crosshead, driving a vacuum pump.
I would submit that the vacuum is created by the condensation of steam in the condenser and the vacuum pump’s purpose is to remove air and other non-condensable gases from the closed cycle.
American ingenuity on display. So many lessons learned and still teaching and inspiring to this day. My grandfather served in WWII and videos like this help keep his memories and stories he used to tell me very much alive.
This is a fantastic presentation. Have sailed on the Jeremiah O' Brian several times and I learned a LOT from this video!!! My sister's partner was 1st Mate on her voyage to Normandy on the 50th anniversary of D-Day!!!
I enjoy hearing from all those with connections to tbe Liberty and the subsequent Victor ships. I was an FT in the Navy in the eighties. To crew so many ships, each knowing they could be blown in half, spoke to the dogged bravery of the men involved. I salute you guys!
Congratulations on your excellent and accurate presentation of the EC2-S-C1 Liberty Ship. The CGI shown here is based on SS John W Brown, of Baltimore. I take great pride to have work on her restoration and my time as an active engine crew member. Oiler Art
The fact that the SS Jeremiah O'Brien is still sailing and used to tour visitors, it really gives the vibes of what it's like to work on those ships. And with the Triple-Expansion engine, one can easily say that the experience of seeing it work is like what the Titanic had.
Well done! It really brings the historical ship to life. Been on both remaining Liberty ships. My Dad was in the Navy Armed Guard aboard the Liberty Ship William D Pender.
My family had the opportunity to tour the Jeremiah O'Brien when in San Francisco years ago. We were lucky because it was preparing to sail over to Normandy for an anniversary celebration of D-Day. The difference was they had the engine operating to get it ready for the trip. Which is not normally done fir the tours. Very interesting to stand next to that steam engine and watch the crankshaft and rods moving. Got ti ook down the driveshaft tunnel to see the shaft spinning. Another interesting and dunny moment was listening to three elderly women talking about when they were young, they worked as welders building these ships and poking fun at each other about the fact they were all larger than they were back then and wouldn't be able to fit in the tight spaces to weld like they could when they were younger. Very fun tour.
Great job! My dad served on the Steven A Douglas 1943 - 1944, Naval Armed Guard. We went to Baltimore and rode on the Douglas several years ago before he passed. He showed me all around the ship, and the quarters where he bunked, he ran the 4 inch stern gun. What stories he told me, part of the greatest generation. Thank you so much.
The SS Jeremiah O'Brien Museum is one of my favorite maritime museums on the west coast. Liberty ships are some of the most impressive feats of wartime engineering prowice, given the speed of their manufacturing and efficient design. Awesome video!
I was amazed at the design and function process of the 4 stage steam engine and by the idea that the simpler design was used in favor of a steam turbine. Im more accustomed to aircraft design and just gaining an appreciation for maritime architecture. The favor of the simple steam engine makes sense in contrast to the turbine. It is remarkable how they could make such a complicated system simplify it and enable for mass production at the rate they emerged. Outstanding video!
As vast as US production was during WWII there were still limits in how fast items could be produced and a limit to manpower. Expansion engines were used in merchant and escort vessels to free up turbines for the main fleet vessels.
My Dad was in the Merchant Marines and an oiler on the SS Yukon. I walked aboard one vessel that docked in Seattle but it was hard to get a full picture of the ship; my main impression was how cramped it was. This break away view video was fascinating, thanks for producing it.
I've seen the Jeremiah O'Brien several years ago, and one thing that struck me was that the armour around the superstructure, which I assumed to be concrete, appeared to sag. Learning now that it was in fact made of bitumen, It makes sense that it slowly but surely follows gravity. It was never planned to become as old as it is today. One of the most interestin things I learned on the ship was the improvised washing machine, which consisted of a bucket and a dumbell attached to the lever operating the boiler feed pump by a chain. When the machine was running (and only then, i.e. the whole voyage, and if not, there were more serious things to worry about), the dumbell would stomp in and out of the bucket, which had to be loaded with laundry, soapy water, later fresh water, until it was done.
The thing that I have learned about the Liberty Ships, was the way it had distributed its controls, and the key function of the triple expansion closed loop steam engine. Thank you. Very Instructional and to the point.
I live next to the Kaiser shipyard in Vancouver WA, where the St Lo and Gambier bay were built... St Lo first ship to be sunk by a kamikaze and the Gambier bay was part of Taffy 3... I served on tugboats in the Columbia River when I was younger and would always see the abandoned slip ways...
The engine cutaway was particularly interesting to me. I had the little steam engine that ran on heat tabs when I was a kid. It taught me some physics and problem solving skills I used the rest of my life.
Congratulations on producing this superb video. I especially loved the section on the steam engine. As an aside, it must have been hell in the engine room when the steam lines ruptured after a torpedo strike. Brave men, indeed.
Both of my grandfathers worked for the Navy during WWII, they worked in ship building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, NY. They may have built a few Liberty Ships during the war. Very interesting presentation. I am 24 years US Navy.
wait so liberty ships were basically the ikea furniture of wwii?? like cheap, simple, and everyone had to make their own... kinda wild they even floated tbh
Everything was like this in WW2. Dozens of companies made the same rifle. Multiple companies making the same aircraft. This is what it took to defeat REAL fascism. Pick up a history book or documentary sometime. You will be proud of what America has accomplished
Individuals ship yards would compete to see who could build the fastest. I think it was something like two weeks down to three or four days to make one from the ground up. It was mental how fast they could make them.
This is a great video. Being a mechanic by trade I found the steam engine especially interesting. My grandfather built these ships in Long Beach and my father commanded one during the war.
bounced fishing lures of the Victory in LA/LB harbor next to the Iowa while fishing as an adult this century. Had two teachers in the 70's and 80's sunk more than once as merchies' One with a hook from the japs as I recall, the other from Aruba and Dutch, Nur Deutsch, both in all the oceans or seas. Both got a taste of a Jerry Subs, and torpedo's as I recall. Have her hard cover book in my shop's restroom library.
I was a member of CHB 2 during the Vietnam war and worked on several Libs. Helped salvage the SS Norwich Victory that ran aground on Tritan Island in the South China Sea . The winches were steam powered and if you didn't pay close attention they could literally run away with the cables moving the cargos. Once you got used to running them you could go 5x5 and really move some cargo. Not what you could call accommodating, but great for what they were intended for.
YOU SIR, DID A WONDERFUL WORK! Without being complex or complicated, you have got the best result I have ever seen! One more subscriber, here, for your list! Greetings from Brasil.
As a retired marine engineer i found this to be a very well written and made video so thank you for sharing,but you didn’t mention that the steam engine is double acting meaning that the steam expands on both sides of each piston.⚓️🇬🇧😀.
Those ships are seriously impressive and tragically overlooked. i had the pleasure of touring the Cap San Diego in Hamburg. Admittedly that one is younger and has a diesel engine but I was able to go into the shaft alley. I also didn't realize how much crew a liberty had, how nice the officer quarters were and that it operated a steam engine!
This made very clear to me the difference between land steam engines used in locomotives which require copious amounts of water on their journeys and ship engines which recycle their fresh water in a closed loops system through a condensor. Fresh water being an extremely precious commodity at sea. The oil burners are very like the old central heating boilers used in domestic systems prior to condensor boilers. The fact that the powers that be chose a reciprocating engine rather than try to go for a turbine setup was good thinking in as much as a large number of ships were needed in a short time.
As a scuba diver who has regularly dived a couple of libertyships, this gives an excellent breakdown and layout to help understand what I have seen underwater. Being of an engineering background, i did like the explanation of how the engine cycle works
I'm loving all the detail in the animations !! You really get a feel for how it's actually made and how it moved Surely a well deconstructed topic ! here's a suggestion for a future topic: the reactor from General Fusion (they're Canadian!).. it's a bit hard, but lots of repeated parts that all smash a cylinder of liquid metal around freakn plasma.. You could make it look epic!
I was surprised just how well-armed these ships were. They pack a tight little punch. This was also a great learning video for those of us landlubbers who don't know anything about ships.
I've read about and seen these Liberty ships in various forms of media over the years. But this is the first time I've seen it explained in this kind of detail. This is excellent work by this channel! The component I'm most fascinated with is that these ships are steam powered. "Old-fashioned", but they were essential to helping the Allied countries win WW II.
I served 2 years on the USS Bayfield APA 33. She was a command ship belonging to the Coast Guard On D-Day. When the war in Japan started she was refitted and turned over to the US Navy as command ship for the Japanese war. We carried US Marines to Vietnam from California and Later carried Korean ROK soldiers to Vietnam. Great video I appericate your precise definitions of each deck.
My dad was also an engine oiler on Liberty ships in both the Atlantic & Pacific theaters of war. He was 18 years old when he started these journeys. The engine room tour in the video was my favorite part of course.
My Grandfather, who’s last name I carry ..yet never met, died beneath deck as three, 3-man welding crews were asphyxiated when someone closed the upper deck hatches.. So my father lost his father in the middle of WW2 at age 14, building Liberty Ships at the Port of Portland, Oregon. Thank you for this detailed tour, I can only imagine where and how my Grandfather died.. doing his part.
American ingenuity played a significant role in the war's outcome. While you can't discount bravery, brains over brawn many times have won the day. Larry from Texas
Great History on the Liberty Ship and how she was built and powered and it's vital importance supplying men and and women in world war 2 on both sides of the globe.The Liberty ship put so many people back to work in so many ship yards east and west and built in record time with its advance in engineering and modernize build structure and 2 Liberty ships still in use today.Great history Thanks again for the upload
I never knew liberty ships had their own cranes. That is brilliant. Unloading cargo ships was an enormous challenge in all theaters of the war. There was large scale fighting in places that did not have harbors or had inadequate harbor facilities.
Even the warships of that era had their own cranes. It certainly made it a lot easier to load and unload. Now you need specialized cranes to load/unload a ship. Containers make it easier to put onto trucks or trains to get moving quicker but you lose flexibility of where you can unload.
I came to America as a baby on a liberty ship that docked in New York City on Friday the thirteenth. My superstitious mother refused to debark until the fourteenth lol. Liberty ships have interested me since I crawled around on one.
Amazing video! I’ve heard of Liberty ships before but never saw one dissected. It seems way more complicated to build than I thought was possible given the historic production rate! Amazing what industry could do back then.
@@richardbrant5728 Yes, brittle fracture caused by a combination of poor steel, inexperienced welders, stress concentrations from square corners, overloading and the low temperatures found in the Atlantic in winter. One Liberty, S.S. Schenectady exelled itself by snapping in two the day after it was launched.
@richardbrant5728 It wasn't even several years. The problem itself was a combination of issues that fell into line on a number of unfortunate Liberty Ships. Problem #1. Welding of ships was, at that time, a relatively new undertaking when compared with the older practice of riveting ships together. New lessons were about to be learned the hard way. Problem #2. The crews building the ships were, for the most part, relatively new to ship building, and to vital skills like welding. They had been hurriedly trained and then expected to gain more experience from building each ship. Problem #3. The steel sheets made for the hulls of the Liberty Ships was quality steel, but produced and fabricated in a hurry. There was always a rush on to build each ship faster than the previous one. Problem #4. The recipe for making the steel sheets had a serious problem in that in very cold water and rough weather conditions the sheets would loose some of their ductility and become embrittled. Then under the stresses of wartime overloading, severe cold weather and rough seas, cracks could develop from fatigued metal and rapidly spread, leading to in some cases complete failure of the hull, and the ship would sink. Just where and how fast this would occur, and the type of cargo being carried, could determine how fast your ship would go down. If your ship was carrying iron ore you could expect it sink within a minute. Problem #5. Related to the issues metal fatigue and stress fracture propagation was the issue sharp corners through penetrations. You will have noted the hatches over the five holds. These are critical penetrations through the main deck and most crucial of all was Hold #3 just in front of the bridge house. This is one of the most highly stressed locations on the ship as it rides up and down waves of a winter time North Atlantic storm. In the trough of the waves, the ship is being compressed at the deck line, and then within a minutes it is being stretched at the same location as the ship crests the wave. This cycle could go on for days as the crew fights the weather and the build up of frozen ice on the superstructure and the rigging. If that ice is not kept under control, then the ship could easily become top heavy and turn turtle and capsize before sinking straight to the bottom. In the dark night and the smashing of the waves, a crack spreading from the corner of the hatch cover towards the sides of the ship could be easily missed, and your ship could break in two and head to the bottom. Ships would disappear from convoys in the night even though there had been no U-Boat attacks. One Liberty Ships was being loaded in harbour when the failure occurred and was able to help pinpoint the cause of the failure. Part of the solution was extra belts of steel around the hull at the main deck line. Also curved corner fillets were fitted to the corners of each deck hatch hole. Mark from Melbourne Australia
Amazing. I would like to see any of those remaining Liberty ships. Your presentation was awesome. That close loop steam engine system was definitely ingenious. Thanks.
The number of ships the US produced in just 4 years is staggering. 4 battleships, 47 cruisers, 175 destroyers, 563 destroyer escorts, 24 fleet carriers, 9 light carriers, 122 escort carriers, 3500 cargo ships, and 700 tankers. In total, over 1200 combatants and approximately 4500 cargo/tanker ships. Additionally, the US produced over 40000 landing ships, 88000 tanks, 45000 bombers, almost 100000 fighters, 24000 transport aircraft, 193000 artillery pieces, and over 12 million small arms. Add to that all the ammunition, bombs, artillery shells, clothing, food, trucks, jeeps, and fuel. Simply mind boggling.
Got to visit S.S. Jeremiah O' Brien in San Francisco a few years ago. It was a most memorable trip indeed. God Bless all that served upon thos range of vessels in such conditions.
I can only imagine the tension that existed on those slow ships as the German submarine wolf packs closed on the convoys early in the war. Limited surface warship protection and no air cover most of the way made for a bitter exposure. Better anti-submarine equipment and tactics, plus the introduction of escort carriers providing air coverage later in the war helped. But, I still laud the extreme courage of those mariners making victory possible and lament the huge loses the allies experienced. Industrialists Henry J. Kaiser and John McCone made the large number of ships built possible. Amazing all around.
🛠 We packed all the detail from the video into one epic Liberty Ship poster - grab a copy here to support the channel! 👉 crowdmade.com/collections/deconstructed
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Excellent video! Well done. My favorite Liberty Ship detail was the design and operation of the Piston Steam Engine.
I never knew that steam was used for everything on a Liberty Ship, Thanks!!!
Yeah, the detail you guys went into on the steam engine was amazing. Never thought it could be so interesting.
Very interesting video. I would add one bit of info. Exhaust steam entering the condenser changes back to water. When condensed the water has much smaller volume than steam resulting in a vacuum in the condenser. The vacuum actually sucks the exhaust from the L P cylinder improving efficiency considerably.
Amazing how the nation came together on 3 coasts to make 2 of these every 3 days. Think about how coordinated we were to get the raw materials mined, made and transported to the shipyards. Then, just making sure each ship was properly manned. I would like to know how many did not make their destination due to weather, enemy action and mechanical reasons. Good video.
My Father sailed on a Liberty Ship as an engine oiler in WW2. We were able to tour the Jeremiah O'Brien with him and my two sons before he passed. He had high regard for those ships. It's great to see the "Deconstructed" version to see how it all worked. Thank you!
Me too. I wish my dad was still around to see videos like this. He would have loved them
Your Father must be over 100 years today.
@tonyp2865 no, he died about 10 years ago
@@imacdonald99 So did mine, maybe 20 years ago, but he would have been 100 today.
That brought a tear to my eye. They knew the danger the faced and willingly sailed anyway. God bless him for being a true hero. My profile picture is my uncle Charles who is buried in France. They were all amazing hero's.
My father in law joined the Navy on 12/8/41 he was 16. By early 1942 he was a torpedo man in the destroyer escort fleet doing convoy duty in the North Atlantic. He said they would take several dozen ships across at a time and always packed extra survival equipment for any ships that got hit. He would go on to serve on three different DE's making 37 trips through the canal seeing Naval combat in both the Atlantic & Pacific theaters, we miss you Brownie. People such as this are what put the word GREAT in the phrase THE GREATEST GENERATION. FLY NAVY!!!
37 North Atlantic crossings in a DE? Your father-in-law was a real sailor.
@@EdwardFHyman No not 37 North Atlantic trips, 37 trips through the Panama Canal. But YES SIR he was a real sailor and made many convoy duty trips in the North Atlantic. I feel truly fortunate to have heard some of his stories firsthand. Having been in the North Atlantic/Norwegian Sea area in a LPH I know exactly how bad it is up there. FLY NAVY!!!
My dad was a merchant marine on Greek Liberty ships after the war. He jumped ship and was deported twice as a teenager before entering the country LEGALLY in the 50's
DE = Destroyer Escort?
That was propaganda the greatest generation
My grandmother was a ship welder in WWII in Mississippi. Thanks for sharing.
real life Rosie the Riveter, Wanda the Welder ;)
And the key to the liberty ship was that the prefab sections were rolled so that almost all welds were done on the floor.
An admiral asked a ship construction master what the holdup was in getting more ships produced
"Not enough welders."
"How long does it take to train a welder?"
"I can teach anybody to weld on the floor in a day. It takes months to learn to weld well on the wall. It takes years to learn to weld on the ceiling."
Yes is true, thanks
@@johnmcleodvii I could teach you to weld stick overhead in a week. It's not hard, generally the difficulty for new people is that they are setting the machine too cold and not moving fast enough. Welding in the shop is far faster though. You don't have to keep moving your equipment around, worrying about ventilation, catching stuff on fire, weather etc etc.
Smart welders/engineers lay things out to do as much in the shop as possible and try to ensure the field welds are noncritical so if there are flaws it's not a huge problem and accessible so the welder isn't hanging off a ladder upside down or squeezed into a box trying to get at it.
One of the reasons oil rig/pipeline welders get paid so much is that they are making critical welds in the field in generally terrible conditions. It's hard, dangerous and miserable. They earn every penny.
My grandfather as well in LA area. Description of many sleeping in pipes near the yard to send more money home.
My granddad actually worked on Liberty Ships during the war-he used to tell me stories about how fast they were building them and how everyone pulled together. I remember visiting one of the preserved ships with him when I was a kid, and he was so proud pointing out all the parts he remembered.
It’s really cool seeing so many people here who have their own connections to these ships. If anyone else has stories or memories, you should definitely share them. It’s amazing to read.
Thank you!
The most interesting thing for me was the steam engine. I knew the principle of how they worked, but seeing one this size, with so much detail was fascinating. I knew nothing about how a Liberty Ship worked prior to this video. Also, this is the first of your videos I've seen. Looking forward to checking out more. I love learning about how things work.
Yeah, same here. I've never seen a triple expansion system shown so well
The engine depicted is a simplistic form without the reversing gear. Similar engines were used on USS Texas and Titanic.
If you live within a day's drive of the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan, make the trip, just make it. I grew up going to the museum a couple times a year, and steam is just in my blood as a result. Being able to stand there and watch a machine running, and reverse-engineer what all the parts must be doing based on how they move and how they're connected, is an ability I thought everyone had, but I've come to understand is rare. They have so many engines, from toys that would fit in the palm of your hand, to a 6000-horsepower monster with cylinders so big you could have a picnic inside, and most of them are hooked up to compressed air and a random selection might be running on any given day.
Truly, the multi-stage thing really blew my mind. So brilliant.
Thank you for this superb presentation.
My Father graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy. His first ship was sunk off Gibraltar during Operation Torch.
Then, He was on the SS Ohio and was wounded in the leg by the altimeter of a BF109 that was shot down while strafing the deck during the successful blockade busting run to save Malta. After a successful career in California Construction/ AeroSpace, He was recalled at the beginning of the Vietnam War and served as Executive Officer for an additional 6 yrs.
He suffered from intense PTSD / Alcoholism during his adult life having lost his three brothers to war and many close friends. As a child I spent many days with him visiting severely wounded warriors at the Long Beach VA Hospital.
Oh, man. The saga of the SS Ohio is epic! I can understand why he had PTSD from that alone.
So many suffered from ptsd when it was called combat fatiuge. Ptsd they say can be triggered by anything traumatic not just combat. Firefighters ,police officers and paramedics also often get it. The only cure for it I know of is faith in Jesus Christ. As a firefighter Ive had some bad sights but my faith in Christ always brought me through the trauma.
Bless your father for what he did. I know it's hard coming home from war. 2 tours to iraq, USMC retired.
For those that don’t know, the Convoy that the SS Ohio was in was viciously attacked, but the Ohio, a tanker carrying avgas, and being practically sunk,managed to limp into harbor in Malta and with the fuel, the Brits were able to hold the island and inflict damages on the Axis convoys to the Afrika Korps.
The Ohio saved Malta and Malta saved North Africa….and that’s where the USA first landed, with Monty and the UK 8th Army charging in from Egypt.
Fun fact, they actually used the reciprocating engine on the SS Jeremiah O'Brien (one of only two seagoing Liberty Ship in the world) for the engine room shots in “Titanic”.
Because Titanic’s triple expansion engines were even larger, they filmed the engine room empty and then used cgi to add scaled human figures to each frame.
They even took her out on the San Francisco Bay and ran the engines at full speed then reversed them for that famous shot of Titanic reversing engines as they approach the iceberg.
always wondered where they got those shots from. Cool detail.
Well, I just learned something new. I had no idea about the connection between the Liberty Ships and the Titanic..
Mark from Melbourne Australia
Probably James Cameron's idea, to film a real life 1:1 engine
That’s amazing! 🙂
So..to give you a idea of the insurance history..one of our biggest insurance providers today actually was a liberty ship builder in ww2..it started that way...look it up
Three things that really stood out: (1) Technology engineering from the 1800s is underrated (saying the ship was from an 1879 design). (2)They constructed three ships every couple of days is beyond impressive! And (3) this is an outstanding video.
They didn't just build them. They filled every one multiple times.
Look up the tonnage of material sent to Russia alone during WW2, it is incredible.
1940s not 1800s
The speed of building them was facilitated by rolling the prefab sections so that all welds were done on the floor.
@@charleshettrick2408 Those triple expansion steam engines were pure 19th century technology... and they were actually invented at the end of the 18th century!
When Thompsons the Sunderland Shipbuilders son took the plans to the United States the ship he came back on was torpedoed and they spent some time in a lifeboat.
Soldiers win battles, but logistics wins wars. I've always been fascinated by this side of the war, the practical side. This was a great video.
Not logistics but amount of weaponry
@@NoName-md5zb no no, logistics. How do you think that amount of weaponry gets anywhere? Logistics. You have to have a robust network of moving parts to ensure that weapons and personnel are moved to the places they need to be moved to, and to keep them on time. Transports, fuel, oil, food, loading and unloading procedure. If that chain does not function correctly, weapons become useless, because they can't reach the front properly.
@@NoName-md5zbWeapons are useless with out ammo, thats where logistics comes in ,food ,ammo ,transportatuon.
@@luistigerfox to transport something, that something has to be made in first place or those ships would be empty
@@NoName-md5zb Yes, and making that stuff, is also part of the chain of logistics. In fact, raw materials to make it also need to be transported to factories and refineries after being gathered.
The war still goes nowhere without logistics.
I used to volunteer as a deckhand on the Jeremiah O’Brien way back in high school, such a cool place to work. I’ll never forget during my first cruise onboard her, the captain asked if I would like to take the helm for a bit once we passed back under the Golden Gate Bridge and into the bay. It was amazing being able to sail her around the bay for a while, and man turning that stiff wheel on the flying bridge was workout!
I knew a thing or two about liberty ships already, but the springs between the tiller and the rudder quadrant was new to me. Simple solutions are often the best.
Glad to hear you learned something new!
Did you know about the Richard Montgomery? A ticking time bomb in the Thames estuary.
As the engineers say, Keep It Simple Stupid.
@@Deconstructed_Animations Will you do a video on the Victory ship next?
When I was 5 years old, my grand dad had a pub in LIVERPOOL called the Atlantic hotel. It had green tiles on the outside walls. I was never allowed down stairs during opening hours, so I spent much of my time looking out of the upstairs front windows. In the docks I could see the many ships , with Canadian and American flags flying from the masts. I could see the crews moving about the ships, which were laid out just like the Liberty ships in this video. While I watched your video, it brought me back to those very happy times. I go to LIVERPOOL every week, and although much has changed, the Atlantic has gone now, I still feel the unbreakable link to my past. My Dad used to point out the bullet marks on Millers bridge from the German aircraft which raked the docks, particularly in 1941.
Thank you for making this video.
My late father was a merchant Mariner in WW2 he worked in the engine department on the liberty ship SS James Lick which was built at Kaiser Ship Yard in San Francisco . We lost a lot of Merchant Mariners in WW2 he was also on several other ships also but the Liberty ship James Lick was his first ship after he graduated from the Maritime Academy. A few years later we were lucky enough to be able to take him on a day long cruise from San Francisco to Stockton CA on the Liberty Ship Jeremiah Obrian a short time before his passing. You could just see all the memories he had just rushing back when he got in board the Obrian. I'm glad he got to do that one last time. He had lots of stories to tell after his life at sea and traveling seven times around the world especially during WW2. Thanks for the Video.
This was super cool to watch. I’ve seen many videos about Liberty ships, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen what’s inside one. The animation is crazy detailed, too. Awesome job.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for the video. I finally find out how Liberty ships functioned. Quite an advanced steam engine. My grandfather sailed on Liberty ships converted to mechants, from 1946 to 1953. He was the chief engineer. I remember he once told me. "The ships were all exactly the same. Whatever ship I was on. I could find my way around in the dark. And everywhere in the world spare parts were readily available."
In the early fifties I grew up in Tacoma, Washington state. Liberty ships were then surplus and many were stored in Commencement Bay. You could look across the bay and see Liberty ships from shore to shore completely filled with ships.
Same.....but for me it was the 60's and the mothball fleet stored in SF Bay until they finally scraped them in the 80's I think
There were several hundred of these ships stored in the Tappen Zee of the Hudson River after the war. We drove near them one night. We were probably less than 100 feet from the line of ships. It was spooky as hell in the dark.
@@Thor_Odinsonwas on alcatraz island 93 -2018 with park service and at the presidio 77-93 I would see navy ships heading out the gate mostly 1988-2004
大変理解しやすく素晴らしい動画だ。
古い設計であっても、完成された高い技術が大量建造を可能にしたことが良く解る。
特にエンジンの説明は詳細で理解しやすく最高のものだ。
最も先進的だったのは、溶接を用いて部品を個別に組み立てることでした。
つまり、今では誰もが様々な場所や国でこれを行っています。
ボーイングの主翼は日本製、座席はドイツ製だと読みました。
ロシア人はすべての部品が自国のチタンで作られていると自慢していますが、これは真実ではありません。
Forty years ago I walked through the shaft alley of the Jeremiah O'Brien from the engine room to the stern. I hope that area of the ship is still open to the public because walking it leaves a huge impression.
Most of all I like the animated presentation because visualizing the ship as a 3D structure explains the ship's construction and function much better than a text narrative. If a picture is worth a thousand words, an animated presentation is worth a thousand pictures.
… is still is with the Submarine USS Pampanito in San Francisco, Ca. 🇺🇸🗽
Outstanding vid. I was in the US Navy in the early 70's, then sailed as a merchant seaman in the 80's. Actually got to do almost a year on a Victory ship (USNS Kingsport, formerly the SS Kingsport Victory). When I joined the Kingsport, there was a Liberty ship tied up across the pier from us, apparently used as a training vessel. Some of the old timers in our crew had sailed on Liberty ships, and we got some good (and scary) stories about the convoys. Fun fact, a Liberty ship, SS Robert E. Perry, still holds the Guiness Book world record for fastest ship over 10,000 tonnes deadweight, Guiness 4 days 15.5 hours. Holy cow!
My Father served on a Liberty Ship with the Atlantic Fleet , during World War Two . Because he never spoke about anything he experienced , anything I have learned about these ships , I have had to find on my own .
Thank you for this detailed breakdown of what the Liberty Ships were .
As a British person,I am grateful for the industrial might and capacity of American shipyards during WW2. We could never have built a sufficient number of ships in our yards, which were also working at full capacity to replace those being sunk. I was fortunate enough to visit S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien in San Francisco in 1993 and again in1994 when she visited the UK as part of the 50th anniversary of D-Day, in which she took part.
thankyou very much for the memory we came to new Zealand on a converted Victory ship the Zuiderkruis when I was 3 and a half years old in 1953 and still hold memories of the trip. Built as SS Cranston Victory in 1944 by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp. at Portland, Oregon. She was built for the United States Maritime Commission as part of a programme, beginning in 1943, to build a series of fast cargo ships for the war effort. These ships subsequently became known as Victory Ships. In 1947 she was bought by the Dutch Government as a troopship and renamed Zuiderkruis. In 1951 she was rebuilt as an emigrant ship and placed under the management of Stoomvaart Maats Nederland. She carried emigrants to Canada, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. In 1960 she transferred to Scheepsvaart Maats Trans-Ocean. In 1963 she joined the Dutch Navy as an accommodation and stores ship. She was scrapped in 1969.
Liberty ships & those who built and manned the ships - unsung hero of WW2. So glad for this wonderful Vlog.
My father was a chief engineer on Liberties and other commercial ships during the war and was a WWI navy veteran. He sailed the Pacific. I was on a couple Liberties in the 1960s. I never heard of plastic armor, but the ships I was on had thick cement around the bridge area. While the guns were gone, there was 5" mounting on the bow and 4" on the stern on every ship I was aboard. All commercial ships have loading marks on the side called the Pimsoll mark show the maximum loading depending on the season and ocean. My father said when the holds were loaded the Pimsoll Marks were 6' below the water line. Then they loaded deck cargo. Things too big for the hatches like airplanes. Catwalks were built above the deck cargo from the bridge to the foc'sle and the after deck house, so the crew could move around. Overloaded, the ship would only make 8-9 knots. Convoys were built based on ship speed and destination. Liberties were in slow convoys and Victory ship in fast convoys. Sometimes going to the same place. In late WWII there were a couple thousand commercial ships in the supply train keeping the navy and all the bases supplied plus supporting island invasions. My dad's ships were bombed often early in the war, but never hit. Later it was mostly harassment bombing.
Most Liberties were scrapped in the late 1960s to early 1970s. Many in Taiwan.
On December 15, 1950, the Meredith Victory was supporting the evacuation of American troops from the port of Hungnam, Korea. They were there to evacuate the last remaining American supplies, but they could not leave the endless stream of refugees in Korea behind. So they decided to dump the supplies on board the ship and let the refugees board. As a result, the Meredith Victory was able to board 14,000 refugees and later land them on Geoje Island in the south. In addition to the Meredith Victory, it helped evacuate countless others. As a Korean, I would like to express my gratitude once again to Captain Leonard LaRue and his crew.
WE LOVE kOREANS
My father served on Liberty Ships during the war and volunteered on the Liberty Ship project in the '90s helping restore the USS John W Brown. I spent a few nights on the USS John W Brown at it's first berth in Baltimore. I'm currently in possession of the most comprehensive photographic library of every Liberty Ship constructed and launched.
My father served aboard the liberty ship SS Alexander Hamilton as a member of a Naval Armed Guard crew. Do you have any photographs of the Hamilton. I have one photo of the ship just after she was launched before her naval guns were installed.
@@brucebraga6254 I'll have to look. Just before my father died in 2008 I was helping him to catalogue all his pictures he had collected from other historical enthusiasts. His fist pass at digitalizing them was at a very low resolution given his poor equipment and lack of knowledge of digitalization. He even had launch photos of sunken ships.
I sailed on a British registered Liberty ship during my apprenticeship in 1960 . The ships were known as SAM boats when crewed by the British. My vessel was the Samness. The basic design was for 10, 000 tons at 10 knots. A box, with a bluff bow and stern attached. They tended to snap just forward of the central accomodation in heavy seas, so the one I was on had a reinforcing plate riveted on either side. Our gyro compass was located low down in the hull (To reduce wear and tear from motion), and as an apprentice, one of my jobs just before the end of my watch, was to go down to this hot stuffy room and ring up the bridge to ensure that the repeater up there was still in line with the actual heading. These ships were designed with the North Atlantic in mind. They were not designed for going to the tropics in the Far East. I still break out in a sweat at the remembrance, but that was then. Great. The video brings back memories. I later sailed on a Victory ship (Salinas Victory). They were still 10,000 tons, but powered by a diesel engine giving 16 knots.
my granddad was a journeyman boiler maker and because this skill was considered vital to sustain the war effort he was not allowed to join or be drafted into military service so he became a priority member part of the workforce that built these "kaiser coffins" as he called them that was the knickname commonly used given to these ships being mass produced thank you for this very informative video
What astonished me the most was its simplicity, and the fact that yet it was very well thought out. A Columbi egg of the engineering world, brilliant but simple.
The first video i ever saw that gives a detailed view of all the internal spaces of a liberty ship. Only fresh water was used in the boilers, no sea water...Good explanation of how the different ship systems did work.
As such, this video gives important information to ship lover's who are interested into learning on how those ships where layed out & how they did work. Including the accommodations... Good Work !
He only mentioned the seawater when discussing the condenser. Which was appropriate, modern steam powered ships use the exact same setup for the condenser
As a former US Navy sailor, I have to say he did an excellent job describing all of the shipboard systems in terms that everyone could understand.
Great Video! Thank you for making it. I'm a high school history teacher, and I love learning about World War II, but I had no idea that the Liberty ship was using old steam technology designs from the 19th century. That is amazing!
I'm GOING to COMMENT NEXT!
Many solutions and technologies that were used in the 20th century were discovered in the 19th century and earlier.
The same electric welding. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_welding
I like the phrase in the film "Eiffel" where the creator of the tower says -: "We change the bolts to rivets so that it will never be dismantled..."
🧐Hier zeigt sich, das Standardisierung und Logistik, ein Produkt erzeugen kann! Der Urvater Ford hat diese Vorgehensweise für alle Zeit maßgeblich geprägt!!
Eine toller Bericht und sehr schön aufgebaut, BRAVO !!🥰
Love the video
My grandfather was on 2 liberty ships during the war, some of his stories would make your blood run cold
My father was a master on these ships throughout the war. He also served as a mate during World War I. Thanks!
The composite armor is the most interesting item I learned from this video.
Never heard of that being the fact.
It was a new item to learn about for me as well. Asphalt and crushed rock is basically what roads are made of today. It definitely wouldn't stop a round of anything above 12.5 mm, but it might help to stop shrapnel from cutting your down.
I wonder who proposed that idea for "plastic armour?"
Mark from Melbourne Australia
I'm guessing it was a case of "Just about every other material we would usually use as armor has already been claimed for making battleships, tanks, etc. This is the best we could come up with from the materials still available."
Its very interesting to see. I have been on a number of rides on the John Brown - looks like concrete around there
Great presentation! Tremendous visual learning content! Participated in the US Naval Cargo Handling Battalion (CHB) program, followed by a Joint tour (US Army) in intermodal transportation management at US Military Traffic Management Command Eastern Area Headquarters (MTMC-EA) in the 1980s. Transition era between breakbulk cargo and containerized, Roll-On/Roll-Off transportation logistics, barcode scanning, cargo load planning, paper to digital documents. Concise and accurate training tool for combat stevedores, storekeepers, transportation operators and ships' crew. Well done!
I found this an excellent animated break down of all relevant information regarding these ships.
Thank you for preserving this historical information.
My wife’s grandfather was in the British Navy aboard the ship HMS Rajputana which was torpedoed and sank in the strait of Denmark, he consumed a large quantity of Navy rum he had stashed in his locker before they were ordered to abandon ship. He managed to cling to a Carley float life raft, which was already full to capacity by looping his pant belt though a perimeter rope and reattaching it. As hypothermia set in this kept him from drowning until they were rescued.
Magnificent video for a truly extraordinary and historic ship. You forgot to mention that the different ship yards competed to complete ships faster than the other yards. It ultimately became possible to crank out a ship in not much more than a day. American pride and ingenuity at its best! ❤
Thanks for watching and for the added detail!
A truly ambitious and successful American contribution towards winning WW II. Very detailed animations. One thing not mentioned is the steam not only provided a down-stroke of the pistons, the valve directs steam below the piston creating a powered upstroke. This is also the way steam locomotives work.
Thanks for pointing that out!
The major difference between a steam locomotive and a steam ship is in the use of steam after it has done its work. A steam locomotive uses some of the exhaust steam to improve the combustion air draft through the firebox. The steam is then vented with the smoke out of the top of the smoke stack. Steam is also vented from the drive cylinders directly. This wasting of the steam is in contrast to the steam ship where the steam is condensed down to water before being sent back through the system. Part of the reason for this method is that fresh water is in short supply on board a ship even though they can produce their own fresh water it is never enough to be able to waste it .
Mark from Melbourne Australia
@@markfryer9880Interesting…I understand that sea water was used in the condenser, but I can’t imagine boiling sea water to make steam without damaging the boiler and other tubing. Did they carry a supply of fresh water or, as I think you inferred, they were desalinating sea water?
Several of the early units broke in half so a large plate was welded to either side as reinforcement.
The original design and production of the " Liberty Ship " was carried out by J. L. Thompson of Sunderland England. Right up until the beginning of WW2 in September 1939 Sunderland was the largest ship building town in the whole world, with its production accounting for c 25% of the of the total construction of the merchant marine. When America finally came to our assistance, due mainly to the amazing support of President F. D. Roosevelt and the formation of the United States Marine Commission, the "Liberty Ship " design was upgraded and improved from its original design thus allowing for a more suitable and adaptable cargo ship for the war effort.
Very interesting graphics, many thanks for posting.
Much of the redesign was by the Kaiser company for high speed modular welded construction. That's why they could make them so fast. I grew up in north Portland, OR and the remnants of the Kaiser shipyards were still there. Also, I think there was a mothballed fleet of Liberty Ships up near Astoria, though I don't know how long they were there. I remember it from sometime mid to late '60s. I was still a boy then and fascinated by everything WWII, so my dad liked to take me to see things like that. We were too far removed from the actual fighting to really understand just how awful it all was. I think only one Japanese sub bombed the Oregon coast during the whole war. Fire bombs; apparently hoping to start a forest fire or something.
@@briangodfrey7424
The design and initiative was purely British, who also funded it. Look up 'Cash and Carry'.
_In September 1940 a British Shipbuilding Mission, headed by Robert Thompson of the Sunderland shipbuilding firm and including Harry Hunter, the technical director of North-Eastern Marine Engineering, went to America. They were charged with ordering sixty tramp steamers of around 10,000 deadweight ‘tons’ each. They visited many shipyards and marine engineering works, as well possible sites for new yards, in both the USA and Canada. The only business that could be done was with a great West Coast civil engineering contractor, Henry Kaiser, who happened to have a small shipbuilding firm in Seattle. By November 1940 the outline of the deal was agreed: $96m (£24m) to include $9m for two new shipyards. The ship to be built was to be Thompson’s ship 607, whose plans he had brought with him, engined with Harry Hunter’s efficient reciprocating triple expansion machinery. However, the Admiralty decided suddenly that the specifications should be those of a later Thompson ship, the 611, later called Empire Liberty, whose drawings were just being finished in Sunderland. This British decision to build the Oceans (and the contemporaneous deal for twenty-six Forts from Canada) ‘was without doubt one of the most momentous supply decisions of the whole war’ according to the official historian of North American supply._
- _Britain's War Machine_ by David Edgerton
_In 1940 new orders to be_ *_paid for in dollars_* _were being placed by the British on a huge scale: for_ *_Liberty ships,_* _rifles, tanks, aero-engines_
.
@@johnburns4017 what initiative are you referring to? You can’t be suggesting that the British funded the construction of Liberty ships.
@@stevedownes5439
*100% British design and funded.* The British used idle US industry to boost war production. US had soup lines of skilled men.
They also bought and renovated dilapidated factories to make tanks. Pressed Steel in Chicago is one. The Lima tank factory is also one, which makes tanks to this day. The US gvmt said sell to US interests after they entered the war. First batch of Shermans went to the British army. Deal was the British sell but they have free Sherman tanks until end of war.
Not like you see on the History Channel is it?
@@johnburns4017 The British ordered 60 vessels from U.S. shipyards. Before they were built or paid for, the U.S. government initiated the first phase of the Liberty Ship program through the U.S. Maritime Commissions Emergency Shipbuilding Program, which was neither funded or designed by the British.
The British have much to be proud of in their history, inventing history is not necessary.
Its incredibly impressive and fascinating how much detail your team puts into one video packaged along side interesting facts and fantastic animation. Excellent work as always Deconstructed team!!!
I particularly enjoyed the deconstruction and flow of the steam powered closed loop, that was well explained and easy to follow along how the loop worked!
Thanks!! Glad you enjoyed it!
I worked on an intentionally, partially beached Liberty Ship in Kodiak, Alaska. It was converted to a cannery when the original town of Kodiak was destroyed in the Alaska earthquake . The fishing community was deviated but it only took a few months to move and start up the Liberty Ship cannery in the new town's location. Wonderful video. Thanks to all involved in making it and sharing it. P.S. The all metal superstructure of the wooden car ferry boat KALACALA was also bought and beached for a second cannery the following year as the fishing community and town expanded.
Wonderful…as a young lad visiting my grandfather in Wilmington, North Carolina in the 1950s thru 1960s, I remember seeing the 100s of Liberty ships berthed in the river there, each year there would be less until they were no more…it was an amazing sight…..cheers from an old man in Orlando, Paul
Thank you for taking the time to make such a great video!. I spent the equivalent of two days on the Liberty Ship, Jeremiah O'Brien, for two separate events; Fleet Week and a bay cruise. The crew gave us tours through the entire ship including the massive engine room. This video brings back many fond memories for me. Standing at one of the gun emplacements during Fleet Week, watching US fighter jets make very low passes over the ship added to the military feel of the ship.
This is one of the best boat videos I've seen that isn't overkill and hits that perfect level of narrative and exposition. I can't wait till the victory ship video! 🎉❤
Thanks for the feedback! Glad you liked it!
Ex marine engineer here. One small but important point missed out is that when steam exhausts from the 3rd stage of the main engine and enters the condenser, the pressure in the condenser is kept at a high vacuum, usually around 27-28" Hg. Doing so increases the pressure drop across the engine and improves the efficiency considerably.
The vacuum is created by a link-arm driven from (usually) the LP crosshead, driving a vacuum pump.
I would submit that the vacuum is created by the condensation of steam in the condenser and the vacuum pump’s purpose is to remove air and other non-condensable gases from the closed cycle.
@@GM-gg9db Whilst I certainly agree, my post was aimed at "keeping it simple".
Thanks for your comment though.
American ingenuity on display. So many lessons learned and still teaching and inspiring to this day. My grandfather served in WWII and videos like this help keep his memories and stories he used to tell me very much alive.
Actually,they were based on a British design.
@@boataxe4605
And a British initiative who funded it.
This is a fantastic presentation. Have sailed on the Jeremiah O' Brian several times and I learned a LOT from this video!!! My sister's partner was 1st Mate on her voyage to Normandy on the 50th anniversary of D-Day!!!
I enjoy hearing from all those with connections to tbe Liberty and the subsequent Victor ships. I was an FT in the Navy in the eighties. To crew so many ships, each knowing they could be blown in half, spoke to the dogged bravery of the men involved. I salute you guys!
Congratulations on your excellent and accurate presentation of the EC2-S-C1 Liberty Ship. The CGI shown here is based on SS John W Brown, of Baltimore. I take great pride to have work on her restoration and my time as an active engine crew member. Oiler Art
The fact that the SS Jeremiah O'Brien is still sailing and used to tour visitors, it really gives the vibes of what it's like to work on those ships. And with the Triple-Expansion engine, one can easily say that the experience of seeing it work is like what the Titanic had.
Well done! It really brings the historical ship to life. Been on both remaining Liberty ships. My Dad was in the Navy Armed Guard aboard the Liberty Ship William D Pender.
My family had the opportunity to tour the Jeremiah O'Brien when in San Francisco years ago. We were lucky because it was preparing to sail over to Normandy for an anniversary celebration of D-Day. The difference was they had the engine operating to get it ready for the trip. Which is not normally done fir the tours. Very interesting to stand next to that steam engine and watch the crankshaft and rods moving. Got ti ook down the driveshaft tunnel to see the shaft spinning. Another interesting and dunny moment was listening to three elderly women talking about when they were young, they worked as welders building these ships and poking fun at each other about the fact they were all larger than they were back then and wouldn't be able to fit in the tight spaces to weld like they could when they were younger. Very fun tour.
Great job! My dad served on the Steven A Douglas 1943 - 1944, Naval Armed Guard. We went to Baltimore and rode on the Douglas several years ago before he passed. He showed me all around the ship, and the quarters where he bunked, he ran the 4 inch stern gun. What stories he told me, part of the greatest generation. Thank you so much.
理想的な軍事チャンネルだな❤非常に分かりやすくビジュアルも文句がない！完璧だ😊
ジオグラ始めドキュメンタリー系のチャンネルはもう軍事関係やっとらんからな…😅
The SS Jeremiah O'Brien Museum is one of my favorite maritime museums on the west coast. Liberty ships are some of the most impressive feats of wartime engineering prowice, given the speed of their manufacturing and efficient design. Awesome video!
I was amazed at the design and function process of the 4 stage steam engine and by the idea that the simpler design was used in favor of a steam turbine. Im more accustomed to aircraft design and just gaining an appreciation for maritime architecture. The favor of the simple steam engine makes sense in contrast to the turbine. It is remarkable how they could make such a complicated system simplify it and enable for mass production at the rate they emerged. Outstanding video!
As vast as US production was during WWII there were still limits in how fast items could be produced and a limit to manpower. Expansion engines were used in merchant and escort vessels to free up turbines for the main fleet vessels.
My Dad was in the Merchant Marines and an oiler on the SS Yukon. I walked aboard one vessel that docked in Seattle but it was hard to get a full picture of the ship; my main impression was how cramped it was. This break away view video was fascinating, thanks for producing it.
I've seen the Jeremiah O'Brien several years ago, and one thing that struck me was that the armour around the superstructure, which I assumed to be concrete, appeared to sag. Learning now that it was in fact made of bitumen, It makes sense that it slowly but surely follows gravity. It was never planned to become as old as it is today.
One of the most interestin things I learned on the ship was the improvised washing machine, which consisted of a bucket and a dumbell attached to the lever operating the boiler feed pump by a chain. When the machine was running (and only then, i.e. the whole voyage, and if not, there were more serious things to worry about), the dumbell would stomp in and out of the bucket, which had to be loaded with laundry, soapy water, later fresh water, until it was done.
The thing that I have learned about the Liberty Ships, was the way it had distributed its controls, and the key function of the triple expansion closed loop steam engine. Thank you. Very Instructional and to the point.
I live next to the Kaiser shipyard in Vancouver WA, where the St Lo and Gambier bay were built... St Lo first ship to be sunk by a kamikaze and the Gambier bay was part of Taffy 3... I served on tugboats in the Columbia River when I was younger and would always see the abandoned slip ways...
The engine cutaway was particularly interesting to me. I had the little steam engine that ran on heat tabs when I was a kid. It taught me some physics and problem solving skills I used the rest of my life.
Congratulations on producing this superb video. I especially loved the section on the steam engine. As an aside, it must have been hell in the engine room when the steam lines ruptured after a torpedo strike. Brave men, indeed.
We appreciate you watching and the kind words!
Both of my grandfathers worked for the Navy during WWII, they worked in ship building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, NY. They may have built a few Liberty Ships during the war. Very interesting presentation. I am 24 years US Navy.
wait so liberty ships were basically the ikea furniture of wwii?? like cheap, simple, and everyone had to make their own... kinda wild they even floated tbh
Ikea, with freedom on the line
Everything was like this in WW2. Dozens of companies made the same rifle. Multiple companies making the same aircraft. This is what it took to defeat REAL fascism.
Pick up a history book or documentary sometime. You will be proud of what America has accomplished
Individuals ship yards would compete to see who could build the fastest. I think it was something like two weeks down to three or four days to make one from the ground up. It was mental how fast they could make them.
Almost everything alies was this way. That's how you win big wars.
Probably they were of better quality though
This is a great video. Being a mechanic by trade I found the steam engine especially interesting. My grandfather built these ships in Long Beach and my father commanded one during the war.
I had no idea we built so many of them. Absolutely insane production numbers
bounced fishing lures of the Victory in LA/LB harbor next to the Iowa while fishing as an adult this century.
Had two teachers in the 70's and 80's sunk more than once as merchies' One with a hook from the japs as I recall, the other from Aruba and Dutch, Nur Deutsch, both in all the oceans or seas. Both got a taste of a Jerry Subs, and torpedo's as I recall.
Have her hard cover book in my shop's restroom library.
I was a member of CHB 2 during the Vietnam war and worked on several Libs. Helped salvage the SS Norwich Victory that ran aground on Tritan Island in the South China Sea . The winches were steam powered and if you didn't pay close attention they could literally run away with the cables moving the cargos. Once you got used to running them you could go 5x5 and really move some cargo. Not what you could call accommodating, but great for what they were intended for.
YOU SIR, DID A WONDERFUL WORK!
Without being complex or complicated, you have got the best result I have ever seen!
One more subscriber, here, for your list!
Greetings from Brasil.
I recommend visiting the Liberty Ship Jeremiah O’Brian in San Francisco. It is an amazing ship and the Engine Room is huge!
As a retired marine engineer i found this to be a very well written and made video so thank you for sharing,but you didn’t mention that the steam engine is double acting meaning that the steam expands on both sides of each piston.⚓️🇬🇧😀.
Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for the added detail!
Those ships are seriously impressive and tragically overlooked. i had the pleasure of touring the Cap San Diego in Hamburg. Admittedly that one is younger and has a diesel engine but I was able to go into the shaft alley. I also didn't realize how much crew a liberty had, how nice the officer quarters were and that it operated a steam engine!
That was the best description of a steam engine that I've seen on TH-cam. Thanks!
Glad you liked it!
This made very clear to me the difference between land steam engines used in locomotives which require copious amounts of water on their journeys and ship engines which recycle their fresh water in a closed loops system through a condensor. Fresh water being an extremely precious commodity at sea. The oil burners are very like the old central heating boilers used in domestic systems prior to condensor boilers.
The fact that the powers that be chose a reciprocating engine rather than try to go for a turbine setup was good thinking in as much as a large number of ships were needed in a short time.
As a scuba diver who has regularly dived a couple of libertyships, this gives an excellent breakdown and layout to help understand what I have seen underwater. Being of an engineering background, i did like the explanation of how the engine cycle works
Thanks for watching, I'm happy you enjoyed it!
I'm loving all the detail in the animations !! You really get a feel for how it's actually made and how it moved
Surely a well deconstructed topic !
here's a suggestion for a future topic: the reactor from General Fusion (they're Canadian!)..
it's a bit hard, but lots of repeated parts that all smash a cylinder of liquid metal around freakn plasma.. You could make it look epic!
Glad you liked the video, and thanks for the suggestion!
I was surprised just how well-armed these ships were. They pack a tight little punch. This was also a great learning video for those of us landlubbers who don't know anything about ships.
Excellent video! It features clear, articulate narration, logical information flow and easily understandable graphics.
Thanks for the feedback!
I've read about and seen these Liberty ships in various forms of media over the years. But this is the first time I've seen it explained in this kind of detail. This is excellent work by this channel! The component I'm most fascinated with is that these ships are steam powered. "Old-fashioned", but they were essential to helping the Allied countries win WW II.
Very clear video. Thoroughly done with relevant content. I didn’t feel like I was waiting for useful information
Appreciate the feedback!
I served 2 years on the USS Bayfield APA 33. She was a command ship belonging to the Coast Guard On D-Day. When the war in Japan started she was refitted and turned over to the US Navy as command ship for the Japanese war. We carried US Marines to Vietnam from California and Later carried Korean ROK soldiers to Vietnam. Great video I appericate your precise definitions of each deck.
I learned that there were two (2) types of ships, Liberty and Victory ships. Great video and 3D animation, I enjoyed the video very much.
Glad you enjoyed it!
My dad was also an engine oiler on Liberty ships in both the Atlantic & Pacific theaters of war.
He was 18 years old when he started these journeys.
The engine room tour in the video was my favorite part of course.
My Grandfather, who’s last name I carry ..yet never met, died beneath deck as three, 3-man welding crews were asphyxiated when someone closed the upper deck hatches.. So my father lost his father in the middle of WW2 at age 14, building Liberty Ships at the Port of Portland, Oregon. Thank you for this detailed tour, I can only imagine where and how my Grandfather died.. doing his part.
American ingenuity played a significant role in the war's outcome. While you can't discount bravery, brains over brawn many times have won the day.
Larry from Texas
Thinking of all the Merchant Marine men who risked their lives on every passing.
Great History on the Liberty Ship and how she was built and powered and it's vital importance supplying men and and women in world war 2 on both sides of the globe.The Liberty ship put so many people back to work in so many ship yards east and west and built in record time with its advance in engineering and modernize build structure and 2 Liberty ships still in use today.Great history Thanks again for the upload
Dang that is a lot of CAD work, looks like fun.
All the original plans were hand drawn by draftsmen.
I never knew liberty ships had their own cranes. That is brilliant. Unloading cargo ships was an enormous challenge in all theaters of the war. There was large scale fighting in places that did not have harbors or had inadequate harbor facilities.
Even the warships of that era had their own cranes. It certainly made it a lot easier to load and unload. Now you need specialized cranes to load/unload a ship. Containers make it easier to put onto trucks or trains to get moving quicker but you lose flexibility of where you can unload.
I came to America as a baby on a liberty ship that docked in New York City on Friday the thirteenth. My superstitious mother refused to debark until the fourteenth lol. Liberty ships have interested me since I crawled around on one.
Very much enjoyed your complete description of the liberty ships. And I totally enjoyed walking through one on display.
The Greatest Generation, for many reasons. Thank you to the workers and all Industry partners.
Amazing video! I’ve heard of Liberty ships before but never saw one dissected. It seems way more complicated to build than I thought was possible given the historic production rate! Amazing what industry could do back then.
I enjoyed this video. I was fortunate to visit the Jeremiah O’Brien in 2017. The scale of so many built in a short time is amazing. Great video!
Thanks for sharing, glad you liked it!
Didn't they find out there was a structural design flaw after several years?
@@richardbrant5728 Yes, brittle fracture caused by a combination of poor steel, inexperienced welders, stress concentrations from square corners, overloading and the low temperatures found in the Atlantic in winter. One Liberty, S.S. Schenectady exelled itself by snapping in two the day after it was launched.
@richardbrant5728 It wasn't even several years. The problem itself was a combination of issues that fell into line on a number of unfortunate Liberty Ships. Problem #1. Welding of ships was, at that time, a relatively new undertaking when compared with the older practice of riveting ships together. New lessons were about to be learned the hard way.
Problem #2. The crews building the ships were, for the most part, relatively new to ship building, and to vital skills like welding. They had been hurriedly trained and then expected to gain more experience from building each ship.
Problem #3. The steel sheets made for the hulls of the Liberty Ships was quality steel, but produced and fabricated in a hurry. There was always a rush on to build each ship faster than the previous one.
Problem #4.
The recipe for making the steel sheets had a serious problem in that in very cold water and rough weather conditions the sheets would loose some of their ductility and become embrittled. Then under the stresses of wartime overloading, severe cold weather and rough seas, cracks could develop from fatigued metal and rapidly spread, leading to in some cases complete failure of the hull, and the ship would sink. Just where and how fast this would occur, and the type of cargo being carried, could determine how fast your ship would go down. If your ship was carrying iron ore you could expect it sink within a minute.
Problem #5. Related to the issues metal fatigue and stress fracture propagation was the issue sharp corners through penetrations. You will have noted the hatches over the five holds. These are critical penetrations through the main deck and most crucial of all was Hold #3 just in front of the bridge house. This is one of the most highly stressed locations on the ship as it rides up and down waves of a winter time North Atlantic storm. In the trough of the waves, the ship is being compressed at the deck line, and then within a minutes it is being stretched at the same location as the ship crests the wave. This cycle could go on for days as the crew fights the weather and the build up of frozen ice on the superstructure and the rigging. If that ice is not kept under control, then the ship could easily become top heavy and turn turtle and capsize before sinking straight to the bottom. In the dark night and the smashing of the waves, a crack spreading from the corner of the hatch cover towards the sides of the ship could be easily missed, and your ship could break in two and head to the bottom. Ships would disappear from convoys in the night even though there had been no U-Boat attacks.
One Liberty Ships was being loaded in harbour when the failure occurred and was able to help pinpoint the cause of the failure.
Part of the solution was extra belts of steel around the hull at the main deck line. Also curved corner fillets were fitted to the corners of each deck hatch hole.
Mark from Melbourne Australia
Amazing. I would like to see any of those remaining Liberty ships. Your presentation was awesome. That close loop steam engine system was definitely ingenious. Thanks.
The number of ships the US produced in just 4 years is staggering. 4 battleships, 47 cruisers, 175 destroyers, 563 destroyer escorts, 24 fleet carriers, 9 light carriers, 122 escort carriers, 3500 cargo ships, and 700 tankers. In total, over 1200 combatants and approximately 4500 cargo/tanker ships.
Additionally, the US produced over 40000 landing ships, 88000 tanks, 45000 bombers, almost 100000 fighters, 24000 transport aircraft, 193000 artillery pieces, and over 12 million small arms. Add to that all the ammunition, bombs, artillery shells, clothing, food, trucks, jeeps, and fuel.
Simply mind boggling.
Got to visit S.S. Jeremiah O' Brien in San Francisco a few years ago. It was a most memorable trip indeed. God Bless all that served upon thos range of vessels in such conditions.
I like the explanation of the triple expansion steam engine of that era.
What a remarkable documentary ! Congrats to the authors ... (and to the original designers of this vital endeavors)
I can only imagine the tension that existed on those slow ships as the German submarine wolf packs closed on the convoys early in the war. Limited surface warship protection and no air cover most of the way made for a bitter exposure. Better anti-submarine equipment and tactics, plus the introduction of escort carriers providing air coverage later in the war helped. But, I still laud the extreme courage of those mariners making victory possible and lament the huge loses the allies experienced. Industrialists Henry J. Kaiser and John McCone made the large number of ships built possible. Amazing all around.