066B - Ship Shape: Freighters & Tankers

THE LIBERTY SHIPS: Freighters and Tankers

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FREIGHTER SPECIFICATIONS

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LENGTH: 440 Feet, 0 Inches

BEAM: 57 Feet, 0 Inches

CAPACITY: 10,865 Tons

CREW: 4 Officers, 26 Enlisted Men

MAXIMUM SPEED: 11 Knots

ARMAMENT:

1x 5-inch stern-mounted Cannon

7x 20mm Oerlikon Machine Guns

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FUEL TANKER SPECIFICATIONS

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LENGTH:  476 Feet, 0 Inches

BEAM:  56 Feet,  0 Inches

CAPACITY: 14,500 Tons

CREW:  20 Officers, 400 Enlisted Men

MAXIMUM SPEED: 12 Knots

ARMAMENT:

8x 40mm Machine Guns

8x 20mm Oerlikon Machine Guns

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Freighters (also known as Cargo Ships) and Fuel Oil Tankers, known as “Liberty Ships”, were the lifeline of the troops in the ever-changing landscape of the Pacific War. Over in the Atlantic, the Nazi Underwater Boats (or U-Boats) travelled in packs and torpedoed much of the supply fleet. They made it hard to deliver the much-needed supplies from the Americas to the British, Swedish, and Norwegian Fleets.
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Still, the Liberty Ships were easy to manufacture and it was proof-positive of America’s industrial capabilities and the British resolve, which were essential elements to surviving the dire conditions of the war in early 1942.

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