Customer Reviews

Liberty: The Ships That Won the War

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The very concept of a mass produced ship was unknown before World War II. But with the German subs sinking more ships than could be produced. With these ships being built faster than the Germans could sink them the supplies, men, and weapons got through to England and around the world.

This is really two books in one.

The first half or so of the book is on the plans of the ship and the design and construction of the plants to build the ships. One critical point was that these ships were welded rather than riveted as had been done before. This caused a good bit of conversation. 2710 Liberties were built and they worked literally around the world.

The second part of the book is a collection of stories of some of the ships. About two hundred were sunk due to enemy action. A few hundred more ran aground, collided, caught on fire or whatever. Several of the ships simply broke in two, for no known reason. One ship, sinking just outside of London is still loaded with 3,000 tons of explosives.

Only two Liberties remain afloat. They were not the collectors items that got preserved, just a reliable workhorse. But by post war status they were to small, to slow. and one by one they were scrapped.

This is an excellent, very readable book about a non-glamorous but very important aspect of World War II.

In the UK, most scuba divers know of the Liberty Ship "James Eagan Layne" which sank in Whitesand Bay near Plymouth on 21 March 1945 after having been torpedoed by U-1195. Whilst most people are able to recognise a tanker or vehicle ferry, however, for many the term Liberty Ship means nothing at all. Well not any more. This is a excellent book written by a Master Mariner with considerable experience of ships and the sea who has produced a first class piece of work of equal interest to amateur and professional ship historians alike.

Liberty Ships were made in the USA during World War Two from prefabricated sections and I was fascinated to learn that the record for building one of these ships was just 4 days. The many shipyards involved combined to provide the Allied Forces with the most positive response to the high rate of shipping losses sustained through enemy action.

Measuring 9½" x 6½", "Liberty - The ships that Won the War" comprises over 500 pages of mostly text but with a good selection of 26 historic photographs and a most informative exploded-view of how the prefabricated Liberty Ship was designed and built. Everything and anything you ever wanted to know about this type of ship from conception to watery grave or scrap-yard is here.

It was also most interesting to note that the shipbuilding firm of J. L. Thompson of Sunderland provided 3 prototype vessels from which the Liberty Ship eventually evolved. This is the company which also built the Thistlegorm and it is most interesting to see the resemblance between that particular ship and those early prototypes. Altogether, excellent reference material.

NM

Last year I was treated to a ride aboard the Liberty Ship John W. Brown for my birthday. It was crowded with enthusiasts which gave me the feel of what she was like when she transported GIs.

I went down into her engines which are as hot and as noisy as an old laundramat. I toured her bridge and looked out her three little portholes forward through which the crew operated when not operating from the flying bridge above. Chatted with some of the veterans and the reenactors.(Hope I didn't scare anyone with my inquisitiveness). I tried to study everything I could especially the hairstyles of the reenactresses since no one does their hair that way these days and photographs don't provide three dimensional view.

It was fun for me.

This book though I am sorry to say it lacks line drawings and does not really mention the 'Plastic' armor around the bridge (a british development a mix of concrete and asphalt)is a good source of information on the developement, construction and use of these ships as well as the Liberty Tankers which probably did more to win the war for the allies than any individual weapon. Nicely written. Easy to read. Photographs provided are good quality. Very informative. A good addition to any library for an enthusiast.

I have been sailing on an C2 (Antilian Baron) and T2 tanker.(William T Steele) (The Cabins) On board I have heard about the stories around these ships. With this book I get an complete vieuw about the tremendes job done during ww2.Realy an excelent book

John Vermeulen Netherlands

My father sailed as Chief Radio Officer on Liberty ships in several convoys, including to Murmansk in 1942. He reports that this title is "the best book [he's] ever seen" about the Liberty ships and their missions, with research that "must have taken years" to assemble and virtually no factual errors.

This is far the most interesting and complete book about the mercant marine in the wwII era. It realy describe the hole story about the libery project.
Tommy Andersson Sweden

If you are interested in Liberty ships and the critical role they played in WWII then you owe it to yourself to purchase a copy of this book. The author has accumulated a massive amount of information describing the design, construction, role, problems, and victories of the Liberty ship as a class of vessel as well as descriptions of epic adventures and misfortunes of many individual ships. This is certainly a "must own" book for anyone who has an interest in WWII merchant shipping.

This book details the Liberties from conception until destruction, but not ever Liberty constucted is mentioned. The author, who BTW is a Brit, spends an enourmous amount of time detailing the planning,construction,and commissioning process --using Brit nautical slang which at times is hard to decipher. This takes about half the book. He then provides stories about the trials and tribulations of the Libertys during WW2. This is the best part of the book.