National Maritime Day - 22 May 1942 - Ship Launches

[Guest]

Ha, yeah I realized my mistake with the Fraser and Olds. I mix them up all the time since they are sister ships. Sorry for the fury it caused!

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Fraser is an L6-S-B1 built by Great Lakes Engineering Works and the Olds is an L6-S-A1 built by American Ship Building. Both are of the 'Martimer' class but they have some visual and internal differences. On the visual side, the A1's have a rounded front cabin, shorter and wider stack, mast in front of the stack and cruiser sterns. The B1's have a flat faced front cabin, taller and narrower stack, mast in front of the stack and counter sterns. Are they sister ships ? I guess that's a matter of opinion. :-)

The Fraser and Olds are two of the five "supers" or AAs built in 1942 specifically for U.S. Steel, dimensions of 639' 6" long, 67' wide and 35' deep, with 4,400 horsepower steam turbines. The maritimers were built 1943 - 1944 dimensions of 620' long, 60' wide and 35' deep, the six A-1s with Lentz-Poppet 4 piston steam engines, the ten B-1s with standard triple expansion (piston) steam engines.[/quote

Thanks for correcting my goof up. Total brain lapse on my part.

[A guest]

Ha, yeah I realized my mistake with the Fraser and Olds. I mix them up all the time since they are sister ships. Sorry for the fury it caused!

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Fraser is an L6-S-B1 built by Great Lakes Engineering Works and the Olds is an L6-S-A1 built by American Ship Building. Both are of the 'Martimer' class but they have some visual and internal differences. On the visual side, the A1's have a rounded front cabin, shorter and wider stack, mast in front of the stack and cruiser sterns. The B1's have a flat faced front cabin, taller and narrower stack, mast in front of the stack and counter sterns. Are they sister ships ? I guess that's a matter of opinion. :-)

The Fraser and Olds are two of the five "supers" or AAs built in 1942 specifically for U.S. Steel, dimensions of 639' 6" long, 67' wide and 35' deep, with 4,400 horsepower steam turbines. The maritimers were built 1943 - 1944 dimensions of 620' long, 60' wide and 35' deep, the six A-1s with Lentz-Poppet 4 piston steam engines, the ten B-1s with standard triple expansion (piston) steam engines.

[Guest]

Ha, yeah I realized my mistake with the Fraser and Olds. I mix them up all the time since they are sister ships. Sorry for the fury it caused!

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Fraser is an L6-S-B1 built by Great Lakes Engineering Works and the Olds is an L6-S-A1 built by American Ship Building. Both are of the 'Martimer' class but they have some visual and internal differences. On the visual side, the A1's have a rounded front cabin, shorter and wider stack, mast in front of the stack and cruiser sterns. The B1's have a flat faced front cabin, taller and narrower stack, mast in front of the stack and counter sterns. Are they sister ships ? I guess that's a matter of opinion. :-)

Meant to say the B1's have the mast behind the stack. And they're both Maritimer, not Martimer class.

[Guest]

Ha, yeah I realized my mistake with the Fraser and Olds. I mix them up all the time since they are sister ships. Sorry for the fury it caused!

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the Fraser is an L6-S-B1 built by Great Lakes Engineering Works and the Olds is an L6-S-A1 built by American Ship Building. Both are of the 'Martimer' class but they have some visual and internal differences. On the visual side, the A1's have a rounded front cabin, shorter and wider stack, mast in front of the stack and cruiser sterns. The B1's have a flat faced front cabin, taller and narrower stack, mast in front of the stack and counter sterns. Are they sister ships ? I guess that's a matter of opinion. :-)

[Bookworm]

Ha, yeah I realized my mistake with the Fraser and Olds. I mix them up all the time since they are sister ships. Sorry for the fury it caused!

Ah, but you got us checking things out and learning in the process. Enjoy your day!

[Guest]

Ha, yeah I realized my mistake with the Fraser and Olds. I mix them up all the time since they are sister ships. Sorry for the fury it caused!

[Guest]

The Irving S. Olds is still sailing as the Alpena and is the oldest freighter operating on the lakes today. There’s a good write up if it’s history on this site.

Not according to the Boatnerd Fleet Photo Gallery biography:
Constructed as a Great Lakes bulk freighter, this vessel (Alpena) was built by Great Lakes Engineering Works, Rouge River, MI. She was launched Feb. 28, 1942 as the steamer Leon Fraser for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Cleveland, OH. The Leon Fraser was the first of five "supers" (also known as "Fraser-class" or "AA-class") launched in 1942 for this fleet. She entered service on June 21 of that year..
Irving S. Olds is a museum ship in Duluth.

The museum ship in Duluth is the William A. Irvin, not the Olds.

[Hermie Phillips]

Not according to the Boatnerd Fleet Photo Gallery biography:
Constructed as a Great Lakes bulk freighter, this vessel (Alpena) was built by Great Lakes Engineering Works, Rouge River, MI. She was launched Feb. 28, 1942 as the steamer Leon Fraser for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Cleveland, OH. The Leon Fraser was the first of five "supers" (also known as "Fraser-class" or "AA-class") launched in 1942 for this fleet. She entered service on June 21 of that year..
Irving S. Olds is a museum ship in Duluth.[/quote]

William A Irvin is the museum in Duluth

[Hermie Phillips]

The Irving S. Olds is still sailing as the Alpena and is the oldest freighter operating on the lakes today. There’s a good write up if it’s history on this site.

I'm sure there are a ton of Boatnerds replying right now. the Leon Fraser is the Alpena. Irving S, Olds was scrapped in 1988. in Taiwan I believe. Just wanted to keep the record strait.

[Bookworm]

The Irving S. Olds is still sailing as the Alpena and is the oldest freighter operating on the lakes today. There’s a good write up if it’s history on this site.

Not according to the Boatnerd Fleet Photo Gallery biography:
Constructed as a Great Lakes bulk freighter, this vessel (Alpena) was built by Great Lakes Engineering Works, Rouge River, MI. She was launched Feb. 28, 1942 as the steamer Leon Fraser for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co., Cleveland, OH. The Leon Fraser was the first of five "supers" (also known as "Fraser-class" or "AA-class") launched in 1942 for this fleet. She entered service on June 21 of that year...
Irving S. Olds is a museum ship in Duluth.

[A guest]

Thank you for posting this story. As I look at the list and recall the huge effort our country put forth in those dark hours...early 1942 WERE truely dark hours...I have to wonder if we could repeat it now should it become necessary. Millions sacrificed, many gave all. We remember, and give thanks.

Very doubtful our country of these days would repeat the huge effort and sacrifices.

[Guest]

The Irving S. Olds is still sailing as the Alpena and is the oldest freighter operating on the lakes today. There’s a good write up if it’s history on this site.

[Guest]

Thank you for posting this story. As I look at the list and recall the huge effort our country put forth in those dark hours...early 1942 WERE truely dark hours...I have to wonder if we could repeat it now should it become necessary. Millions sacrificed, many gave all. We remember, and give thanks.

[Canal Jeff]

Something a little different - On 22 May 1942 the 10th annual National Maritime Day was celebrated across the country amidst the clouds of World War II.. Allied shipping losses were occurring on a daily basis as the U-boat campaign became ever more efficient.. It was estimated that for every 2 ships launched by US shipyards 1 ship was lost to German subs.. The story of that time in history could be a topic which would stretch out for many pages.. This post is to list the 21 major merchant ships that were launched by numerous U.S. shipyards on 22 May 1942 - Unbelievably, 76 years ago today.. (Summarized from an article that appeared in Life Magazine on 8 June 1942)

WASHINGTON IRVING - Liberty Ship - launched at Portland, Oregon
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER - Liberty Ship - Launched at Portland, Oregon
THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH - Liberty Ship - Launched at Portland, Oregon
BARNES - Escort Carrier (CVE-20) - Launched at Seattle, Washington
ALTAMAHA - Escort Carrier (CVE-18) - Launched at Seattle, Washington
WILLIAM JOHNSON - Liberty Ship - Launched at Baltimore, Maryland
RICHARD BASSETT - Liberty Ship - Launched at Baltimore, Maryland
CALVERT - Dry cargo ship - Launched at Sparrows Point, Maryland
WILLIAM MOULTRIE - Liberty Ship - Launched at Wilmington, North Carolina
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN - Liberty Ship - Launched at Houston, Texas
DORCHESTER HEIGHTS - T2-SE-A1 Tanker - Launched at Chester, Pennsylvania
IRVIN MacDOWELL - Liberty Ship - Launched at Richmond, California
MICHAEL J. STONE - Liberty Ship - Launched at Houston, Texas
OCEAN VICEROY - British Liberty ship - Launched at Richmond, California
IRVING S. OLDS - Ore Carrier - Launched at Lorain, Ohio
A.H. FERBERT - Ore Carrier - Launched at River Rouge, Michigan
LEWIS MORRIS - Liberty Ship - Launched at Richmond, California
ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS - Liberty Ship - Launched at Mobile, Alabama
OCEAN FAME - British Merchant Ship - Launched at South Portland, Maine
OCEAN COURAGE - British Merchant Ship - Launched at South Portland, Maine
MORMACPENN - C3-class freighter - Launched at Pascagoula, Mississippi

I did a quick internet search on all these vessels and there is a great deal of information out there on every one of these vessels.. Hopefully this string will expand to include the histories of all the above listed vessels..