The "Liberty Ship" SS Jeremiah O'Brien
A visit to the Liberty Ship SS Jeremiah O'Brien museum in San Francisco, California
By Martin J Quinn
Operational History
"Without the supply column of Liberty Ships that endlessly plowed the seas between America and England, the war would have been lost."
Winston Churchill
With war raging in Europe
and war clouds gathering quickly in the Pacific in 1941,
the United States found itself short on both warships and merchant ships.
While the hulls of new carriers, battleships, cruiser and destroyers were
taking shape in shipyards around the country, there was still the question of
merchant hulls. Where was the
United States going to get the needed tonnage needed to supply the war effort,
and also – with the existing yards crammed with new Naval construction - where
were they going to get built?
The United States Maritime
Commission settled on British tramp steamer design that dated back to the
1870’s. The basic design
was altered to meet US needs, with resulted in the EC2-S-C1 class of ships.
The ships were 441 feet long, 56 feet wide and about
7,000 tons empty. They would
be able to carry almost 10,000 tons of cargo, pushed along by a three cylinder
engine that could produce 11 knots.
Using innovative ideas and
methods, yards were set up by Henry Kaiser and others around the country to turn
out the ships. Parts were
pre-fabricated and sent to the yards, were the sections were joined together.
The first ships were named after patriots and signers of the Declaration
of Independence, with the first ship commissioned named SS Patrick Henry.
President Franklin Roosevelt – who had called the ships “Ugly
Ducklings” when he first saw the design - told the country that these ships
would bring liberty to Europe…thus the name “Liberty Ship” was born.
By wars end, 2,751 of these ships had been built, with over 200 being
lost to enemy action.
Launched on June 19, 1943
at South Portland, Maine, the Jeremiah O’Brien saw action in both the Atlantic
and Pacific, most notably at part of the Normandy invasion in June, 1944.
After the war ended, the O’Brien spent 34 years as part of the reserve
fleet in Suisun Bay, CA.
When
Rear Admiral Thomas J. Patterson – who served on Liberty Ships during World
War 2 – went looking for a suitable Liberty to preserve as a living memorial
to the crews who sailed and fought them during World War 2, he was most
impressed with the Jeremiah O’Brien.
Impressed due to the excellent condition she was in, and because she was
named after a Revolutionary War hero.
In fact, the O’Brien was in such good shape that her new crew
was able to get up steam and sail the ships from Suisun Bay to the San Francisco
Dry Dock company for her restoration.
After
much hard work, the SS Jeremiah O’Brien sailed on May 21, 1980 for a re-commissioning
ceremony. The event was marked by a
Presidential proclamation declaring the day “National Liberty Ship Day”.
In 1994, the O’Brien voyaged from San Francisco back to the
waters off Normandy, France, to take part in the 50th anniversary of
the D-Day invasion.
Today
she spends most of her time moored along the San Francisco waterfront. She
is open daily from 9 to 5, except for a few Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve,
Christmas Day and New Years. About
a dozen times a year, she gets up steam for “steaming weekends” or cruises.
The Museum
The Jeremiah O'Brien is located on Pier 45 on the San Francisco waterfront, between Pier 39 and the world famous Fisherman's Wharf. She is moored further back on the Pier than the Pampanito. Once I had toured the Pampanito, I made my way up the pier to the O'Brien.
Like the Pampanito, there is a small booth where you buy your ticket and get your brochure. The tour - also like Pampanito - is self guided.
Most of the ship is open. I wandered all about the main deck, up the superstructure to the flying bridge and down into one hold (where you'll find a large gift shop). I was even able to climb the ladders into the forward gun tub. One of the most interesting parts of the ship is the journey down into the engine room, where a volunteer was stationed to answer questions. The engine room of the O'Brien was used to take photographs which were used to represent the reciprocal engines of the liner Titanic in the movie of the same name.
The Jeremiah O'Brien is a unique and interesting piece of our history. If you are in San Francisco and plan on visiting Fisherman's Wharf, I recommend you stop by and check her out. It's well worth it and a refreshing change from the souvenir stands.
Interior Views
Exterior Views
LINKS
SS Jeremiah O’Brien official homepage
Jeremiah O’Brien visits the city where she was built
