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Naval History and Heritage Command

National Museum of the U.S. Navy

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LC-Lot-3452-2: Merchant Ships: Liberty

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Caption: Merchant Ships: Liberty. Biography of a Liberty Ship. The keel is laid for one of the new EC-2 Emergency cargo ships at an eastern shipyard. These ships, popularly known as “Liberty Ships” are scheduled for production during 1942-43 at the rate of more than three every two days in shipyards of the United States. Present production schedules anticipate completion of the ships in a period of about 105 days. Here the last of the keel plate sections is being laid down on the blocks of the ways and welded into place. A great time saving has been effected in the building of these ships by prefabricating sections of the ship in specially designed plants rather than trying to assemble each plate and part to the ship in the cramped working quarters afforded on the ways. The prefabricated sections are built up from the plates. The ways are reduced to a mere assembly location at which the various sections are welded together to form the completed ship. U.S. Office of Emergency Management Photograph. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. (2015/05/06).

Accession #: LC-Lot-3452-2