Liberty ships were types of ships cargo ships created in World War II. Each weighed 14,474 tons and was able to carry 10,856 tons of cargo. Because of its massive weight, a Liberty ship could reach the top speed of 21.3 kilometers per hour or 13.2 miles per hour. In total there were 2,710 Liberty ships made. Some of these were bought by the British to take place of their own cargo ships that were destroyed by German U-Boats. Even though Liberty ships weren't made to fight there were some cases where they did. In September of 1942, the SS Stephen Hopkins got attacked by a German boat. Refusing to surrender the SS Stephen Hopkins returned fire at the German attack boat and ended up destroying it while also leaving the SS Stephen Hopkins wrecked. Of the 2,710 Liberty ships made more than 2,400 of them survived the war. Since there were so many of them they started to be sold. Many entrepreneurs and companies bought them to use them as normal cargo ships.
Liberty Ship being Constructed
Liberty Ship
1 comment:
How durable were the Liberty ships as compared to the German U-Boats?
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