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thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt
2021 Posts
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 Posted -
03/06/2007
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09:31
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As an intro, to this section, I will use what is possibly the best known of them all, the "RMS Queen Mary". There is a small family conection here as my Great Uncle Angelo was involved with her conversion after her arrival at Long Beach CA. Around the base of at least one of her funnels were lockers, some of which had not been opened for many years. In one of these were found 40,000 "Tin Hats" left over from her days as a very succesful troopship.
The Queen Mary. Her keel was laid down on the 31. 01. 1931. at John Browns yard on the Clyde, work was suspended due to economic troubles and it was not until 1934 that work was resumed, she was finally handed over to "Cunard" on 11. 05. 1936. She began her war work in 1940 and during this time she travelled over 600,000 miles and carried nearly 800,000 people, amongst whom were German POWs, GI, War Brides and a great many Australian and American Troops. There is a lot more to this episode of course, but one notable and tragic event was her collision with her escort, HMS Curacoa with a loss of 329 of that ships company. She was sold to the Town of Long Beach in 1967 for the sum of £1,230,000, about the current cost of an appartment in Knightsbridge. She remains at Long Beach and is a Museum, Hotel and Conference Centre.
Also in this section I will post details of vessels that are not preserved but still exist. How well I remember the sad sight of "The Queen Elizabeth" as we steamed past her wreck on our entry to Hong Kong in 1974
thomo
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thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt
2021 Posts
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Posted - 23/11/2009 : 17:44
The Old and the New at Long Beach.
I have put this in just for interest and here are a few comparisons.
Queen Mary 1,019' long. 118.5' wide. 81,237 ton. cost not .known
Queen Mary 2 1,132' long. 135' wide. 148,528 ton. cost £460,000,000
thomo  |
Tizer
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Posted - 23/11/2009 : 20:17
A superb photo Thomo. I read this weekend that the biggest cruise ship so far has just been delivered to Fort Lauderdale, Florida (made in Finland) - 225,000 tons! Talking of big ships I also read somewhere that the US Navy, like the Royal Navy, cancelled it's new class of battleships during WWII because they realised the carriers would be more important. That's not new to me, but what I didn't realise is that if the USN had built the new class, the ships would have been too big for the Panama Canal - and therefore they had included extra money in the budget to widen the Canal.
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thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt
2021 Posts
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Posted - 24/11/2009 : 11:29
They must have been big then I'll try and find out Tizer.
Liberty and victory ships.
The Liberty ships were built in WW2 in America specifically to replace ships lost to U Boat attacks they were also a British conception but were built across 18 US Shipyards for their own use and for lease lend to allies. These yards built 2,751 Libertys between 1941 and 1945 ships of which 2,400 survived the war The largest number of ships ever built to a single design. Typical Spec was: 441'6" long, 56'10.75" wide with an average displacement of 14,245 tons and a carrying capacity of 10,856 metric tons. 2 oil fired boilers gave steam to a triple expansion engines driving a single shaft. speed was 11.5 knots best.
Two have been preserved, The SS John W. Brown and SS Jeremiah O' Brien The hulls of two more SS Richard Henry Dana and SS Jane Addams form the base of a floating dock at Portland Oregon. The SS Arthur M Huddel is a floating museum in Greece and the SS Albert M Boe was converted to a fishing cannery as Star of Kodiak and still operates as Trident Seafoods but is landlocked.
Victory ships.
Much the same as above but bigger stronger and faster. Typical build is 455' long, 62' wide of 7,200 tons. Improved engines included triple expansion Lenz Reciprocating steam engines, steam turbine and diesel engines. Speed 15 -17 knots. Those built in Canada also had coal bunkers so they could run on oil or coal. 615 were ordered from 6 yards but only 534 were completed. Of these 3 are preserved, SS American Victory, SS Lane Victory and SS Red Oak Victory. Four others will have gone by 2010.
thomo |
thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt
2021 Posts
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Posted - 24/11/2009 : 15:35
SS John W Brown, Baltimore.
Built at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Yard in Baltimore and laid down 28. 07. 1942 she was launched on 07. 09. 1942 less than two months. She is named for Labor Union Leader J.W.Brown. 441.5' long she is 57' in the beam and of 10,920 tons, powered by 3 cylinder triple expansion recip, engines she can make 11 knots. Armed with 8 x 20mm Oerlikon Machine Cannons 2 x 3" and 2 x 5" guns. She still steams and is preserved at Clinton St pier 1 in Baltimore.
thomo |
thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt
2021 Posts
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Posted - 24/11/2009 : 15:50
SS Jeremiah O' Brien, San Fransisco.
Built by the New England Shipbuilding Corp, and named after Captain J O' Brien the privateer 1744 - 1818. Launched 1943. 441.5' long, 57' wide and displacing 14.245 tons. Powered by 3 cylinder triple expansion reciprocating engines and capable of 11 knots. Armament, 8 x 20mm A_A guns, 1 x 3" and 1 x 5" guns. This ships machinery doubled for that of RMS Titanic in the making of that film. She is now preserved at Pier 45 Fishermans Wharf San Fransisco.
thomo |
thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt
2021 Posts
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Posted - 24/11/2009 : 16:14
SS American Victory, Florida.
Built 1945. Length 455' Beam 62' and 10,750 long tons. She is powered by Allis-Chalmers cross compound steam turbine and double reduction gears and develops 6,000 hp at 100 RPM giving her a speed of 11 knots full, Armament is a 5" stern gun and 3" bow AA, plus 8 Oerlikon 20mm Cannon. Now preserved at Tampa in Florida.
thomo |
thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt
2021 Posts
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Posted - 24/11/2009 : 16:26
SS Lane Victory, Los Angeles.
Built by California Shipbuilding and launch in 1945. 455' long and 62' wide she is powered also by Allis-Chalmers machinery, Named after Lane College, a high school for Black youths founded by Methodist Bishop Isaac Lane in 1882. She carries the same weaponry as SS American Victory and is preserved at San Fransisco.
thomo |
thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt
2021 Posts
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Posted - 24/11/2009 : 16:33
SS Red Oak Victory, California.
Built at the Permanente Metal Corp, yard, Richmond and named after a town in Iowa that had suffered a disproportionate number of casualties in the war.built in 1944 and launched on November the fourth, Armed as above ships. Now at Richmond museum of history.
thomo |
Tizer
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Posted - 14/03/2010 : 11:07
There are some marvellous photos of the big propellers of the Queen Mary being cast in 1934 on this web forum page of Practical Machinist.
Click on the smaller images to get enlarged versions.
EDIT: After writing the above I saw another interesting page on the same forum, this timebeginning with a photo of a wheel being made for a paddle steamer - click here.
I think the forum is American. It has a sub-forum on Antique Machinery and History:
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/antique-machinery-history/
Edited by - Tizer on 14/03/2010 11:23:55
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thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt
2021 Posts
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Posted - 14/03/2010 : 11:14
Isnt it strange, I had an e/mail from a Barlicker Friend living in France on Friday asking what had happened to this topic and its siblings, another yesterday telling me he is coming to seeme in May, fifty years have elapsed since I saw him last.
thomo |
Tizer
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Posted - 14/03/2010 : 11:25
Have another look at the post above Thomo, I've just edited it with some more links. I'm glad your friend has contacted you again - even if it's after 50 years!
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thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt
2021 Posts
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Posted - 14/03/2010 : 11:45
Cheers Tizer, I can see all sorts of interesting things on there, good bad weather stuff.
thomo |
belle
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Posted - 15/03/2010 : 13:16
Thomo, I am enjoying this topic as it coincides with me tidying up pics from my dads life. He was on a French troop ship during the war, the Eriden, I think that's how it's spelt. i have pics from inside but not many re outside. I did see a frenchman was offering to buy pics of it, do you think that was genuine? Don't think I would sell them but I was surprised they would be worth anything.
On a differnet note, could I have your permission ( I assume it's your photo) to use the lovely pic of the Queen Mary ( or was it Elizabeth?) on the rocks to work from for a painting.. it's such an evocative scene I feel drawn to paint it.
Life is what you make it |
thomo
Barlick Born Old Salt
2021 Posts
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Posted - 15/03/2010 : 14:41
Hi Belle, feel free to use any of these pics, but if you mean the ship on the rocks on page 1 that is the SS America breaking up near Fuertoventura. The old Queen Mary appears on page 2 I think and again above with the New Queen Mary in the background at Long Beach California. You are right, it is evocative, always sad to see a proud old ship in such distress, her remains have now completely vanished. Another great old ship of the same era now awaiting her fate is the French liner SS France at two feet longer than the Queen Elizabeth she was the longest and is now on the beach at Alang in India. Good luck with the paintingand please post your efforts on here. Thomo.
thomo |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 15/03/2010 : 17:00
I love those old Wonder books. You find pics in them that have otherwise sunk without trace. Nice casting and I'll bet that radial miller didn't half vibrate when it was cutting, look at the overhang!
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
TGTP, Ships, Merchant, Steam
