Liberty ship. The Liberty ship is America's mass-production emergency cargo vessel for war service.

Liberty ship. The Liberty ship is America's mass-production emergency cargo vessel for war service. Hull sections and equipment are made in inland plants, and transported to the shipyards. Modern welding has made possible such rapid assembly that Liberty ships have been built in less than a week. They are sturdy. Many, struck by torpedoes or bombs have ridden the waves back to port under what seemed impossible conditions. The vessel shown here is a standard Liberty ship of 7,500 gross tons and a cargo capacity of 9,146 tons. It is propelled by a single screw, with a steam reciprocating engine. The normal crew, including officers is 44.