S.S. JEREMIAH O'BRIEN (Mark)

We had a quick trip to San Francisco, and while Cheri went to the quilting convention, I walked down to the piers . . .

to see one of only four - out of the 2,710 that were built - remaining "Liberty Ships."  The S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien was built in only 56 days, and was launched in June of 1943.

The ship made four round trips, carrying cargo between the US and Britain.  She then was part of the Normandy Invasion and made 19 trips between Britain and Europe, carrying supplies.  Following this, she was transferred to the Pacific theater of operations where she served for 16 more months, until the end of WWII.

The Liberty Ships were built to carry stuff.  The ships were manned by Merchant Marines; the guns were manned by Navy sailors.  The ships were very lightly armed; they generally depended on the Navy destroyers escorting them across the ocean.

It is amazing to me how quickly these ships were built.  Even though they are simple compared to other ships, the complexity of the engines, and all the systems that they needed to function, is astounding.

The engine room is four decks in depth.  These are just a few of the fueling pipes and valves:

Standing on the second deck, looking down on more of the engine room, and the complexity of the piping:

In part of one of the cargo hold areas they have some of the typical supplies that might have been carried.

On the last trip the ship made they were carrying nothing but explosives.  When the war ended the crew was instructed to dump all the explosives over the side.  The entire crew was very happy to get rid of this most dangerous cargo!

The view heading up one of the stairways leading to the deck:

The mess area for the crew is actually fairly comfortable.  One advantage to the danger you faced was the chow was much better than most of the other services.

A picture of the quite tight - but functional - galley:

The ship is still taken out several times a year.  It actually sailed to Normandy for the 50th anniversary of the D-Day Landing.

One of the typical crew quarters, not as cramped as on some of the other naval vessels:

Unlike the gas pedal on your car, to change speed from the bridge you used this:

(Question:  on an EV do you still call it a "gas" pedal?)

Tomorrow morning is daylight savings, clock change day.

A refection of the deck, in a porthole:

If you are in the City and interested in history, definitely take the time to tour the S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien.