SS John W. Brown
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This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. (April 2009) |
 John W. Brown on the Great Lakes in 2000 |
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| Career (United States) |  |
|---|---|
| Namesake: | John W. Brown |
| Ordered: | 1 May 1941 |
| Builder: | Bethlehem-Fairfield Ship Yards Inc. Baltimore, Maryland |
| Laid down: | 28 July 1942 |
| Launched: | 7 September 1942 |
| Acquired: | 19 September 1942 |
| Status: | Operational museum ship States Marine Corporation |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: | EC2-S-C1 (Liberty ship) |
| Tonnage: | 10,920 short tons (9,910 t) DWT |
| Displacement: | 14,245 short tons (12,923 t) (Loaded) 3,380 short tons (3,070 t) (Light) |
| Length: | 441 ft 7 in (134.6 m) |
| Beam: | 57 ft (17.4 m) |
| Draft: | 26 ft 9 in (8.2 m) |
| Propulsion: | Triple-expansion reciprocating steam engines 2,500 horsepower (1,900 kW) |
| Speed: | 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) |
| Range: | 23,000 miles (20,000 nmi; 37,000 km) |
| Capacity: | 562,608 cubic feet (15,931.3 m3) (grain) |
| Complement: | 8 USMM officers 38 USMM seamen 1 USNAG officer 40 USNAG seamen |
| Armament: | 8 × Oerlikon 20 mm (0.79 in) cannon in single mounts 1 × 3-inch (76 mm) bow gun 2 × 3 in (76 mm) bow gun 1 × 5 in (130 mm) stern gun John W. Brown was fitted with extra guns when outfitted as a troop carrier. |
| Notes: | As of September 2007, the bow 3 inch gun and several 20mm cannon were rigged with compressed gas firing simulators (oxygen and a fuel gas of some sort) for historical re-enactments of air defense. |
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SS John W. Brown (Liberty Ship)
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| Location: | Pier 1, Clinton St., Baltimore, Maryland |
| Coordinates: | 39°16′4″N 76°34′12″W / 39.26778°N 76.57000°WCoordinates: 39°16′4″N 76°34′12″W / 39.26778°N 76.57000°W |
| Built: | 1942 |
| Architect: | Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard Balt,MD |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 97001295[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | 17 November 1997 |
SS John W. Brown is a Liberty ship, one of two still operational (the other is SS Jeremiah O'Brien in San Francisco).[2] She is a museum ship located at Clinton Street Pier 1 in Baltimore Harbor. John W. Brown was named after labor union leader John W. Brown.
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History [edit]
World War II [edit]
John W. Brown made 13 wartime voyages to the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean, including duty during the Anzio landings. She was also part of the liberation force of Southern France during Operation Dragoon in August 1944. John W. Brown's US Navy Armed Guard gunners may have shot down one enemy plane during the liberation of Southern France in August 1944, though this was never confirmed as a kill.[3]
After the war, John W. Brown carried government cargoes to help rebuild war-torn Europe and returned American troops to the United States.
Training ship [edit]
After 1946, she was loaned by the government to the City of New York, where she became a floating nautical high school, the only one in the United States. The ship served in that capacity from 1946 to 1982, graduating thousands of students prepared to begin careers in the Merchant Marine, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard.[3]
When her school-ship days had ended, the first Project Liberty Ship was formed in New York City to preserve the ship. They were not successful in finding her a berth in New York and she was towed to the James River Reserve Fleet in July 1983 with her future in serious doubt.
Restoration and Heritage [edit]
In 1988, Project Liberty Ship Baltimore was able to rescue and restore her, and found her a home in Baltimore, Maryland near where she was built. In September 1988, John W. Brown was dedicated as a memorial museum at ceremonies at Dundalk Marine Terminal.
After three years of restoration effort, on 24 August 1991, she steamed under her own power for the first time in 45 years, and completed sea trials in the Chesapeake Bay. One month later, on 21 September 1991, John W. Brown carried about 600 members and guests on her Matron Voyage, her inaugural cruise.
John W. Brown was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.[1]
In 1994, John W. Brown received Coast Guard Certification for coastwise ocean voyages. For the first time since 1946, in April she made her first offshore voyage to New York Harbor and in August, made her first foreign voyage to Halifax, Nova Scotia, then to Boston, Massachusetts and Greenport, New York. In 2000 she visited the Great Lakes for dry docking and hull work in Toledo.
In addition to her floating museum role, John W. Brown still puts out to sea for "Living History Day Cruises".
References [edit]
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15.
- ^ Sawyer (1985) pp. 1-19, 40-41, 223
- ^ a b Sawyer (1985) pp. 40-41
- Sawyer, L. A.; Mitchell, W. H. (1985). The Liberty Ships (second ed.). London: LLoyd's of London Press Ltd.
External links [edit]
- "Project Liberty Ship".
- "SS John W. Brown Alumni Association".
- "Historic Naval Ships Association: SS John W. Brown".
See also [edit]
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