Model of the SS Empire Liberty

Contributed by Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens

Model of the SS Empire Liberty

This is a shipbuilder's full model of the S.S. Empire Liberty, 1941. The Empire Liberty was built by J. L. Thompson and Sons in the North Sands Yard, Sunderland in 1941. She was the first British emergency war-built ship and she was built to plans based on Thompson's Dorington Court of 1939. The American Liberty ships were built from the same plans. This very successful design enabled quick construction of ships that were able to replace the many lost to German U-boats during World War Two keeping Britain supplied throughout and enabling the Allies' victory in 1945.

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  • 1. At 17:09 on 19 April 2012, Greg Williams wrote:

    The Empire Liberty was the inspiration for the American EC2-S-C1 Liberty ship but they were not built from the same plans. The Empire Liberty was an all-riveted, coal-fired ship built piecemeal from the keel up. The New York naval architectural firm of Gibbs & Cox provided plans for a prefabricated, all-welded, oil-fired ship with two deckhouses instead of four. The simplified hull design remained essentially the same as did the size and tonnage of the vessel.

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