From SN Guides
Image 1: 
Introduction
(The photo at the top of this page was taken on 4 June 1994 at Southampton)
Liberty ships were cargo ships built during WW2 to replace those lost to enemy action - particularly U-boats. Overall there were 2,751 built of which two survive in working order. Jeremiah O'Brien is one of them and is normally docked at Pier 45 at Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California.
There was a standard design for Liberty ships - 441ft long and 56 ft wide with a three-cylinder, reciprocating steam engine, fed by two oil-burning boilers produced 2,500 hp and a speed of 11 knots. They had 5 holds capable of carrying 9,000 tons. Cargoes could be anything but would typically consist of airplanes, tanks and ammunition. Liberty ships were constructed using prefabrication methods. The first ones took about 230 days to build, but over time the average build time decreased to 42 days start-to-finish.
External resource #1 is a website dedicated to the National Liberty Ship Memorial and should be consulted for details of the location of Jeremiah O'Brien, access, trips and other information.
Many of the Liberty ships were named after famous Americans; others were named at the choice of fund-raisers. Jeremiah O'Brien was a famous ship's Captain who fought against Britain during the American War of Independence which makes the choice of name somewhat ironic.
Basic Data
- Type: Cargo ship
- Registered owners,managers and operators:
- Builders: New England Shipbuilding Corp
- Yard: Portland West
- Country: USA
- Yard number:230
- Registry: N/K
- Official number: 2243622
- Signal letters: N/K
- Call sign: N/K
- Classification society: EC2-S-C1
- Gross tonnage: 7,176
- Net tonnage: N/K
- Deadweight: N/K
- Length: 134.6 m
- Breadth: 17.3 m
- Depth: N/K
- Draught: 8.5 m
- Engines: Triple expansion steam engine
- Engine builders: N/K
- Works: N/K
- Country: USA
- Power: 2,500 hp
- Propulsion: Single screw
- Speed: 11 knots
- Boilers: 2 oil-burning boilers
- Cargo capacity:5 holds capable of carrying 9,000 tons
- Crew: N/K
- Employment: General purpose cargo vessel
- Armament: 8 x 20mm anti-aircraft gun, 1 x 3in (76mm) gun, 1 x 5in (127mm) gun
Career Highlights
- 6 May 1943: Keel laid down
- 19 Jun 1943: Launched
- 30 Jun 1943: Completed
- 1946: Mothballed for 33 years in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in Suisun Bay.
- 1979: Ownership transferred to the National Liberty Ship Memorial
- 21 May 1980: Left Suisaun Bay under own power
- 1994: Visited Europe for the 50th Anniversary of the D-Day landings
Participation in WW2
Participation in WW2 Convoys
The data in the following table has been extracted from External Resource #2 which indicates that Jeremiah O'Brien took part in 48 convoys during WW2.
A key to the routes for these convoys can be found on this page: World War 2 Convoy Names
|
List of Convoys
|
| Convoy No.
| Route
| Convoy No.
| Route
|
| BX.64
| Jul 1943: Boston - Halifax
| HX.249
| Jul 1943: NYC - Liverpool
|
| EN.270
| Aug 1943: Methil - Loch Ewe
| FN.1101
| Aug 1943: Southend - Methil
|
| FS.1188
| Aug 1943: Methil - Southend
| ON.198
| Aug 1943: Liverpool - NYC
|
| ON.199
| Aug 1943: Liverpool - NYC
| WN.464
| Aug 1943: Loch Ewe - Methil
|
| HX.258
| Sep 1943: NYC - Liverpool
| ON.207
| Oct 1943: Liverpool - NYC
|
| HX.268
| Nov 1943: NYC - Liverpool
| EN.325
| Dec 1943: Methil - Loch Ewe
|
| FN.1216
| Dec 1943: Southend - Methil
| ON.218
| Dec 1943: Liverpool - NYC
|
| FS.1298
| Dec 1943: Methil - Southend
| WN.516
| Dec 1943: Loch Ewe - Methil
|
| FH.100A
| Feb 1944: St John NB - Halifax
| HX.278
| Feb 1944: NYC - Liverpool
|
| WN.547
| Feb 1944: Loch Ewe - Methil
| ON.227
| Mar 1944: Liverpool - NYC
|
| EN.355
| Mar 1944: Methil - Loch Ewe
| HX.287
| Apr 1944: NYC - Liverpool
|
| ECM.2W
| Jun 1944: Portsmouth - Seine bay
| ECM.9
| Jun 1944: Falmouth - Seine bay
|
| EMM.2
| Jul 1944: Belfast - Seine bay
| FPM.15
| Jul 1944: Seine bay - Portland
|
| FCM.10
| Jun 1944: Seine bay - Plymouth
| FCM.11
| Jun 1944: Seine bay - Plymouth
|
| FPM.2
| Jul 1944: Seine bay - Portland
| FPM.8
| Jul 1944: Seine bay - Yarmouth roads
|
| EPM.11
| Jul 1944: Portland - Seine bay
| EPM.5
| Jul 1944: Yarmouth iow - Seine bay
|
| EPM.50
| Aug 1944: Portland - Seine bay
| EPM.23
| Aug 1944: Portland - Seine bay
|
| EPM.34
| Aug 1944: Portland - Seine bay
| EPM.42
| Aug 1944: Portland - Seine bay
|
| FWM.15
| Aug 1944: Seine bay - Southampton
| FPM.27
| Aug 1944: Seine bay - Portland
|
| FPM.41
| Aug 1944: Seine bay - Portland
| FBC.81
| Sep 1944: Seine Bay - Bristol Channel
|
| FBC.92
| Sep 1944: Seine Bay - Bristol Channel
| ON.256
| Sep 1944: Liverpool - NYC
|
| FWM.19
| Sep 1944: Seine bay - Southampton
| EPM.59
| Sep 1944: Portland - Seine bay
|
| EPM.65
| Sep 1944: Portland - Seine bay
| IG.18
| Apr 1945: Leyte - Hollandia
|
| GI.14
| Mar 1945: Hollandia - Leyte
| GI.27
| May 1945: Hollandia - Lingayen
|
The Normandy Landings (D-Day)
In June 1944, Jeremiah O'Brien made 11 round trips between Southampton, England, and the Utah and Omaha beachheads at Normandy
Return to Europe
On 18 April 1994, Jeremiah O'Brien started a five-month, 18,000-mile journey back to Normandy to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the D-Day landings. She was the only ship from the D-Day Armada to return and was the guest of honor at the historic events. Full details of the journey are in External resource #1.
She visited Southampton, Chatham, London, Cherbourg, Rouen and Le Havre before re-crossing the Atlantic to her birthplace of Portland Maine. She called at Baltimore and Jacksonville then passed through the Panama Canal and completed her voyage at San Francisco on 23 September.
The majority of the crew were WW2 veterans with a number of cadets.
| Image 2 was taken on her approach to Chatham.
|
Image 2: 
| Images 2 to 5 were taken in Chatham Dockyard
|
Image 3: 
Image 4: 
Image 5: 
Image 6: 
| Image 7 shows a view of the quick-launch lifeboat used on many merchant ships during WW2.
|
Image 7: 
| Image 8 shows the well-preserved wheelhouse.
|
Image 8: 
| Image 9 was taken on 17 Jun 1994 and shows Jeremiah O'Brien alongside HMS Belfast on the Thames in London.
|
Image 9: 
| Image 10 was taken on 22 Jun 1994 and shows Jeremiah O'Brien passing Gravesend on her way to Cherbourg.
|
Image 10: 
Other photos and information
| Image 11 was taken on 3 October 2005 during a self-conducted tour and shows the Engine Room main control area. The wheel in the centre is the reversing engine, the control lever at the right hand side.The guage board is for the main steam and cylinder pressures. The horizontal wheel to the right of the reversing engine is the main engine stop valve.
|
Image 11: 
| Image 12 was taken on 18 June 2007 and shows Jeremiah O'Brien in drydock.
|
Image 11: 
| Image 13 was taken on 1 May 1991 at pier 30/32 in San Francisco showing Jeremiah O'Brien soon to depart for an annual cruise around the bay.
|
Image 13: 
External resources
- National Liberty Ship Memorial website: Jeremiah O'Brien
- Arnold Hague Convoy Database: http://www.convoyweb.org.uk/
- Miramar Ships Index: http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz
Images
- From the collection of Stuart Smith
- From the collection of Stan Mayes
- From the collection of Stan Mayes
- From the collection of Stan Mayes
- From the collection of Stan Mayes
- From the collection of Stan Mayes
- From the collection of Stan Mayes
- From the collection of Stan Mayes
- From the collection of Stan Mayes
- From the collection of Stan Mayes
- Posted on Ships Nostalgia by member EMMESSTEE
- Posted on Ships Nostalgia by member Sailortats
- Posted on Ships Nostalgia by member Needsadditionalinformation
Contributors
1. Initial entry researched and designed by Benjidog using material on SN and elsewhere
