What is a Liberty Ship?

otes on this link.

The eighth paragraph of the linked document, titled The Liberty Ship: Unique Cargo Ship of World War II, contains statements that are at least misleading and possibly erroneous, in the opinion of the Webmaster.

This paragraph contains information found in personal notes provided by an individual whose knowledge or expertise with respect to Liberty ship construction or operation is not specified. These notes state that their slow speed made Liberty ships "... sitting ducks for submarines. So all ships were reinforced by concrete from [the] bottom up to three feet above water line..." However, at least the S.S. JOHN W. BROWN does not have such concrete reinforcement in its hull. Additionally the Webmaster has found no evidence elsewhere in other information sources of such reinforcement being standard in Liberty ships. In any case it is questionable whether concrete reinforcement of this nature would provide any significant additional protection from submarine attack as is implied in the linked document.

The same paragraph notes that Liberty ships were "fitted with a degouzing (sic) cable around the inside of [the] ship. An anti-magnetic field created by a generator current sent through this cable caused the ship to repel magnetic mines and torpedoes."

The correct spelling of the term in question is 'degaussing' cable. Degaussing is the process of reducing or eliminating an unwanted magnetic field. To oversimplify, the effect of the current sent through a ship's degaussing cable is to offset the change in the local magnetic field caused by the passage of a steel ship over or near a magnetic mine. The result is not to set up an 'anti-magnetic field' or to 'repel' a magnetic mine but rather to render the ship undetectable by a magnetic mine in the area. Degaussing offered little or no protection from torpedoes, most of which during World War II relied on contact detonators rather than on magnetic detonators.