DigitalNC: North Carolina's Digital Heritage

Wilmington Launching Marks Another Forward Step In U.S. Defense The Zebulon B. Vance, one of 37 Liberty ships to be constructed in the yards of the North Carolina Shipbuilding Corporation, will be the first of the Liberty ship launchings in the Wilmington yard. Named after one of North Carolina’s most famous statesmen, the ship will be christened by Mrs. J. Melville Broughton, wife of the Governor of North Carolina. The North Carolina Shipbuilding Corporation’s yard was one of seven new shipyards created under authorization by Congress on February 6, 1941. Ground for the new yard was broken February 3. The six-way shipyard, when completed, will cost approximately $5,000,000. The keep for the Zebulon B. Vance was laid May 22 and the ship will slide down the ways just six and one-half months later. The Nathanael Greene, whose keel was laid at the same time, is scheduled to be launched within a few weeks. As fast as ways are cleared by launchings new keels are laid immediately. As it takes the water Saturday, the Zebulon B. Vance adds to the fast growing fleet of Liberty ships that the country has decreed are needed for its defense. It follows the launchings of Saturday, September 27, officially designated as Liberty Fleet day, which saw the launching of 14 merchant ships from shipyards on all coasts of the United States, the greatest launching program this country has known since World war times and participated in by a greater number of yards than any similar occasion in the history of the country. Of the 14 merchant vessels launched September 27, three are of the emergency cargo type known as Liberty ships. They are the Patrick Henry, launched at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc. in Baltimore; the Star of oregon, at the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp. yard at Portland, Oregon; the John C. Fremont, at the California Shipbuilding Corp. yard at Los Angeles. There are two of the Victory ships being built for the British government–the Ocean Venture and the Ocean Voice, both from the Todd-California Shipbuilding Corp. yard at Richmond, Cal. One previous British ship has been launched at this yard, the Ocean Vanguard. It is significant that all of the names have the initial “V” for Victory. The other nine ships and the yards from which they have been launched are: Louise Lykes, Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company, Kearny, N.J. Adebelle Lykes, Pusey & Jones Co., Wilmington, Del. Surprise, Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Chester, Pa. James McKay, Bethlehem Steel Co., Sparrows Point yard, Baltimore. Alcoa Polaris, Consolidated Steel Corp. Ltd., Los Angeles. African Planet, Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp., Pascagoula, Miss. Steel Artisan, Western Pipe & Steel Co., San Francisco. (all of the foregoing are merchant cargo ships.) Sinclair Superflame, a tanker, Bethlehem Steel Co., Fore River yard, at Quincy, Mass. Frederick Funston, an Army transport, Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Co., at Seattle. These launchings are the result of the accelerated emergency program of the United States Maritime Commission which started originally late in 1937 with a plan to build 500 ships in 10 years. These merchant ships were to replace old and obsolete vessels which were in service in the American Merchant Marine. This program had been carried along on schedule until September, 1939, when war broke out in Europe. Immediately the United States Maritime Commission prepared to expedite the 500-ship program and began a survey of shipbuilding facilities in the United States so that expansion could be made as rapidly as possible. It appeared inevitable that more ships would have to be built because of the sinkings of both belligerent and neutral merchant ships and the evident plan of the United States to render every possible assistance to Great Britain and the other democracies. In January of 1941, the President of the United States ordered the Maritime Commission to build 200 emergency cargo ships. The commission negotiated immediately with existing shipbuilding companies to build seven new yards with 51 ways. Virtually all of those yards have been completed and approximately 40 keels have been laid. Contracts were let for the 200 ships by March 18. On April 4 the President ordered a further expansion of the emergency program under the terms of the Lease-Lend law calling for 222 additional merchant ships. Of these 112 are of the Liberty ship type and the remainder are of standard Maritime Commission designs, either cargo ships or tankers. Two new yards were ordered in addition to the seven originally set up under the first emergency program and expansion was made of the seven original emergency yards. This emergency shipbuilding program resulted in a resumption of extensive ship construction operations on all coasts of the United States. Where there originally had been 10 yards with 44 ways, more than half of which were devoted to Navy construction, the expanded program resulted in a total of words the shipbuilding capacity of the nation has been virtually quadrupled since 1937. All of the 222 ships included in the President’s authorization of April 4 had been ordered before the end of May. On July 11 the Presiden sent to the Congress the supplemental appropriation bill which included appropriations and authorizations for the construction of 566 additional ships. These include all types, both emergency cargo and Maritime Commission standard designs. These ships are now being ordered. Since the declaration of an emergency by the President, additional contracts have been placed to speed up the regular long-range program of the Maritime Commission, with the result that 283 of those 500 ships are now under order. Thus the original 500-ship program of the Maritime Commission has now become one (made up of four) which contemplates the delivery into service by the end of 1943 of more than 1200 ships, aggregating about 13,000,000 dead-weight tons.