SS John W. Brown
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| Missing image SS_John_W_Brown.jpg John W. Brown on the Great Lakes in 2000 | |
| Career | 
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| Class: | EC2-S-C1 (Liberty ship) |
| Yard: | Bethlehem-Fairfield Ship Yard's Inc. Baltimore, Maryland |
| Numbers: | MC Hull: 0312 Yard No: 2062 |
| Contract Date: | May 1, 1941 |
| Laid down: | July 28, 1942 |
| Launched: | September 7, 1942 |
| Delivered: | September 19, 1942 |
| Operator: | States Marine Corp. |
| Fate: | Museum ship |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 14,245 tons (3,380 light ship) |
| Length: | 441 ft 6 in (134.6 m) |
| Beam: | 57 ft (17.4 m) |
| Draft: | 26 ft 10 in (8 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2,500 hp (1.8 MW) 3cyl Triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine |
| Speed: | 11 knots (20 km/h) |
| Range: | 23,000 miles (37,000 km) |
| Capacity: | 562,608 cubic ft (grain) (15,931 m³) |
| Complement: | 8 USMM officers 38 USMM seamen 1 USNAG officer 40 USNAG seamen |
| Armament: | Four 20 mm Oerlikon machine guns One 3.5 in bow gun Two 3.5 in and one 5.38 in stern guns |
The SS John W. Brown is a Liberty ship, one of two remaining still floating today. The ship is today a museum ship located at the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore Harbor. The ship was named after labor union leader John W. Brown.
The John W. Brown made 13 wartime voyages to the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean, including duty during the Anzio landings. She was also part of the invasion force of Southern France during Operation Dragoon in August, 1944. The US Navy Armed Guard gunners of the John W. Brown shot down at least one enemy plane at the invasion of Southern France in August, 1944.
After the war, the John W. Brown carried government cargoes to help rebuild war-torn Europe and returned American troops to the United States.
After 1946, she was loaned by the government to the City of New York, where she became a floating nautical high school, the only one in the United States. The ship served in that capacity from 1946 to 1982, graduating thousands of students prepared to begin careers in the Merchant Marine, the US Navy and the US Coast Guard.
When her schoolship days had ended, The first Project Liberty Ship was formed in New York City to preserve the ship. They were not successful in finding her a berth in New York and she was towed to the James River Reserve Fleet in July 1983 with her future in serious doubt.
In 1988 Project Liberty Ship Baltimore was able to rescue her and restore her, and found her a home in Baltimore, Maryland near where she was built. In September 1988, the John W. Brown was rededicated as a memorial museum at ceremonies at Dundalk Marine Terminal.
After three years of restoration effort, on August 24, 1991, she steamed under her own power for the first time in 45 years, completed sea trials in the Cheasapeake Bay. One month later, on September 21, 1991, the John W. Brown carried about 600 members and guests on her Matron Voyage, the first inaugural cruise.
In 1994, the John W. Brown received Coast Guard Certification for coastwise ocean voyages, and in April made her first offshore voyage since 1946 - to New York Harbor. In August 1994 she made her first foreign voyage since 1946 - to Halifax, Nova Scotia, then to Boston, Massachusetts and Greenport, New York. In 2000 she visited the Great Lakes for drydocking and hull work in Toledo.
In addition to her floating museum role, John W. Brown still puts out to sea for "Living History Day Cruises".
External links
- Project Liberty Ship homepage (http://www.liberty-ship.com/)
- SS John W. Brown Alumni Association homepage (http://www.jwbalumni.com/)