Hull scrub ?

[j.sabourn]

#10 Des the Sunprincess out in Canada and the West Indies was I beleive a Victory Ship . She was classed as a C1A. That is not criminal investigation agency , the middle letter being ONE. She according to the plans I saw was built for 22 knots and could be converted to an armed merchant cruiser in her earlier days . The 11 months I was there she was general cargo , mail and 12 passengers , the passengers were the learning curve . She was still capable of 19 knots before she went for scrap in Taiwan just after I left in 1967. Cheers JS

[Ivan Cloherty]

The 'Victory' ship was an all American design with an hull designed to accommodate a speed of 25 knots so that they could be converted to Frigates should the need arise

You are perhaps thinking of the 'Liberty' ships which were a derivative of the 'Ocean' design by J L Thompsons & Sons of Sunderland, a design started in 1936. The Libertys used the same hull as the Ocean but altered the accommodation housing into one block for ease of construction which design became known as SAM (Ships with Accomodation Midships) and had nothing to do do with 'Uncle Sam' (the President) as is commonly thought. The word SAM differentiated them from the Empire ships, again a direct derivative of the Ocean class but had split accommodation

Just an addendum to above re:- SAM and the definition depends upon which history of the Liberty ship you read, but basically means the same thing

SAM = Superstructure Aft of Midships, where #3 hatch was considered midships on the original design so the vessel would then have 3 holds for'd of the Bridge rather than 2 holds for'd of the Bridge, but still consolidating the accommodation into one block.

Just thought I'd throw that into the mix before someone picks me up on it

[j.sabourn]

Ivan the ship I talk about with cappy with no paint on the deck was a 3 cylinder Doxford . Built and launched in 1944. I always called her an Empire boat because she had what I thought were the same , which was a flush main deck , 2 hatches Ford of the bridge , split accomodation midships with number 3 hatch in between , and 2 hatches aft and the deck crews accomodation round the steering flat below the main deck. Whether she was a genuine Empire boat or not , I never really knew , maybe she was a copy of one and was Doxfords choice at the time. Walter Runciman lived at a Doxford Hall, he was also a shipping minister during the war , so maybe he held a bit more power than usual. JS

[Ivan Cloherty]

Ivan the ship I talk about with and he no paint on the deck was a 3 cylinder Doxford . Built and launched in 1944. I always called her an Empire boat because she had what I thought were the same , which was a flush main deck , 2 hatches Ford of the bridge , split accomodation midships with number 3 hatch in between , and 2 hatches aft and the deck crews accomodation round the steering flat below sea he main deck. Whether she was a genuine Empire boat or not , I never really knew , maybe she was a copy of one and was Doxfords choice a the time. Walter Runciman lived at a Doxford Hall, he was also a shipping minister during the war , so maybe he held a bit more power than usual.

John if she was a flush deck/foc'le probably a 'Fort' boat, Empire boats had a raised foc'le head and that was about the only difference twixt the two. Fort boats were mainly built in Canada though some were built in UK

[James Curry]

Just reading a bit about the construction of the Victory ships. The time from laying the keel to delivery was amazing. According to Wiki she took 75 days SS Middlebury Victory.
She ran aground not far from Marseille in 1947 and was declared a total constructive loss.

I always thought the Victory ships were major players in the Battle of the Atlantic but they were more a tail end Charlie.

The first of the class SS United Victory had some service life , she entered service in 1944 and was not scrapped until 1981.

Think a lot of them found their way into other nations Merchant navies. The Greeks bought a load of them did they not?
If memory serves Brian (Kong) sailed on one for Blue Funnel I am sure he had a fall and broke his leg?

[Keith Tindell]

There cannot have been many ships that Brian did not break something lol, not heard from him for a while, hope he is ok, i know he has been having health problems. If you read this Brian, we miss you.

[j.sabourn]

#16. Ditto Brian after worrying the last week about going to see the urologist who removed the pipework in my case was supposed to see him yesterday . Went to the hospital 3 months later think he wanted to carry on with his Clousteau underwater photography . Went to the hospital and was told he was doing his private work in his own surgery and should go there . Told the hospital to forget it as didn’t feel top of the pops. So had two taxis were for nothing. He got on the phone later and told him I had other problems as well as photographing my darker side inside , and we agreed I wouldn’t be seeing him in the near future and we parted amicably . However I didn’t like his last sentence . Take care of yourself and I wish you all the best. I immediately thought he may know something I don’t know , but think they have to tell one I hope .i have now had enough falls and sick of hospitals . So I will have to be carried in on my next visit if ever. I hope you are not getting depressed too much, is very easy to do , I’ve decided to keep a low profile when in medical Company . Like all on site your company here is still appreciated by us old fellows so we are looking forward to seeing you on site again , it’s what keeps at times all of us going. Take care , keep well , and hope to see you soon on site , with no more falls on the tallyboard . Cheers JS

[Ivan Cloherty]

I always thought the Victory ships were major players in the Battle of the Atlantic but they were more a tail end Charlie.

Think a lot of them found their way into other nations Merchant navies. The Greeks bought a load of them did they not?

Again James in both cases you are thinking of the Liberty Ships of which 2704 were built, The Greeks bought Liberty ships post war, the engines were simple, the consumption was low and the service speed of 9/10 knots suited the trades they were on. The Greeks still have a working Liberty ship as a museum and as a memorial to all the Greeks serving on them in WWII. The last working one I saw was in 1966 in Singapore and she was flying the Mainland Chinese flag, although I did see others in China in the late 1950's

[happy daze john in oz]

John, having had some of the 'photography' you speak of and the tubes in for some three weeks and when removed replaced by a waterfall I have some idea of what you are experiencing.
But have faith, you are from a very tough breed, you will survive.

Non ilimagitimus carborundum