Who Likes Ships? We Have Aircraft and Trains.
- Thread starter mrhemi
- Start date
- Local time
- 8:53 AM
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2012
- Messages
- 18,625
- Reaction score
- 37,208
- Location
- Surrey, B.C. Canada
The Chinese carrier Liaoning.
HMS Vanguard
pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee.
- Local time
- 8:53 AM
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2012
- Messages
- 18,625
- Reaction score
- 37,208
- Location
- Surrey, B.C. Canada
Liberty Ships. Famous for being produced quickly, and introducing welded construction instead of using rivets, these freighters were built in quantity not only for domestic wartime use in the Merchant Marine but also to replenish lost British shipping during WWII. Due to men being called into service, a large percentage of the construction crews were women.
Using the simplest of propulsion, an obsolete steam piston engine design was chosen because it was not only cheap and easy to manufacture, it was also extremely reliable. 2500 horsepower gave a speed of about 12 mph.
Probably the most mass produced ship design, these 10,000 ton freighters were built at eighteen different ship yards at the same time, with 2,710 having been completed between 1941-1945. In 1943 production peaked with three per day being launched, costing about $2 million per vessel. There was no way for the Axis powers to compete with this manufacturing level.
After the end of the war, hundreds of the 2,400 surviving vessels were sold off to shipping companies, many of whom got their start with these freighters.
Using the simplest of propulsion, an obsolete steam piston engine design was chosen because it was not only cheap and easy to manufacture, it was also extremely reliable. 2500 horsepower gave a speed of about 12 mph.
Probably the most mass produced ship design, these 10,000 ton freighters were built at eighteen different ship yards at the same time, with 2,710 having been completed between 1941-1945. In 1943 production peaked with three per day being launched, costing about $2 million per vessel. There was no way for the Axis powers to compete with this manufacturing level.
After the end of the war, hundreds of the 2,400 surviving vessels were sold off to shipping companies, many of whom got their start with these freighters.
Last edited:
- Local time
- 8:53 AM
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2012
- Messages
- 18,625
- Reaction score
- 37,208
- Location
- Surrey, B.C. Canada
Detective D
Well-Known Member
Now look where we are. The US couldn't supply enough steel to do this, besides the shipyards. Everything has been shut down.
I always wondered how they kept those deck mounted guns on submarines from rusting up solid in a submerged, salt water environment - especially when they had to be able to be brought into action immediately. I doubt stainless steel metallurgy was progressed enough to use in most of the pieces. Cosmoline or something similar could only do so much and would have to be cleaned out of the barrel and the breech/firing mechanism before use. Always a mystery to me.
- Local time
- 8:53 AM
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2012
- Messages
- 18,625
- Reaction score
- 37,208
- Location
- Surrey, B.C. Canada
Although the deck guns were heavily greased and had water-tight plugs on the end for submerged running, the simple answer is that before nuclear power, submarines stayed on the surface most of the time anyway and were submerged only to hide or sneak up on an enemy ship. The battery power didn't last that long and the subs were much slower when submerged.
Surface ships had the same problems in keeping salt spray corrosion minimized, leading to the development of resistant alloys.
mrhemi
Well-Known Member
The "Wilfred Sykes" sailing into the mist on the St. Clair river a couple of weeks ago. One of the last (I believe there are two others) steam powered lakers still plying the Great Lakes. The Ski Nautique and the slalom skier were a bonus.
70bigblockdodge
Well-Known Member
Not a ship. Floating hotel/resort.
Adam's class were always a good looking destroyer. Low slung, 2 funnels, glad they were around when I was in, in the '80s they got stuck on plane guard, we were a little to slow to keep up with carrier when launching F-14s
Basket case
Well-Known Member
- Local time
- 8:53 AM
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2012
- Messages
- 18,625
- Reaction score
- 37,208
- Location
- Surrey, B.C. Canada
I'm curious about the metric specs. 14 tons of coal should equal 12.7 metric tonnes, but they show it as 14.2.
