The Wyandotte herald. (Wyandotte, Mich.) 1879-1943, 1942-09-04
!Shipbuilding
Plan Hits ace
Cargo Vessels, Stripped of
Frills, Now Ready in
3 to 5 Months.

} WAShlNGTON. - The biggest,
most complex single job in solid
metal since man began to work with
metal thousands of years ago is the
building of a large ship, according
TO the Office of Emergency Man
agement. 1t takes approximately
three years to build a battleship.
Into the building of liberty ship
an emergency cargo vessel that
has been stripped of frills and stand
ardized for rapid production-go
some 500,0 man-hours and from
three to FIVE months.
The final assembly station in the
building of ship is the shipway.
1t is here that all the parts are
built into whole. But to talk of
assembling a ship is like talking of
assembling a skyscraper.
Assembly is the big part of the
Job, but not the whole job.
Tons of Plate Needed.
Generators and turbines must be
built. Giant shafts must be turned.
Propellers must be forged and ma
chined. Tons of plate must be cut,
scarfed and planed. All of this
work is done in machine shops,
some in the shipyard itself, some
outside. But wherever it is done,
it is a job for machine tools.
Making gigantic parts fit to a
thousandth part of an inch is just
about the hardest job in building
a ship. Some of the gears that 60
into an engine have to be cut in
aforementioned rooms, since the
pieces of metal from which they are
made are so large that change of
few degrees in temperature will
cause them to contract or expand
enough to throw measurements off
balance.
Nearly all the facilities now max
ing propellant equipment for ships
are either new or converted from
some landlubber industry.
The size of the shipbuilding pro-
gram alone would mean a tremen-
dous expansion of going industry.
But the United States did not have a
fully going shipbuilding industry to
begin with. 1t was only on its way
at the time the need for merchant
shipping began to be felt in the
summer of 1910. Shipbuilding in
American yards practically stopped
after the World War / program end
ed early in 1922.
Last year, 100000 dead-weight
tons of shipping were delivered and
plans were made for approximately
100000 tons for delivery in 1912.
This schedules per cent larger
than the last wars peakAwas re-
placed by one for 100000 tons set
by the President as the new OBJ
jective.
Almost to Be Doubled.
Merchant ships of 1000 tons or
more. flying the. American flag in
1941 totaled a little more than TO-
600, 900 tons. The President, in or
dering 5000, 900 tons, asked ship
yards to build in one year nearly
as much tonnage as the merchant
feet had in il last fall. This mer-
GIldnt-otnpPh6 PAOSA Gill "oS III az
dition to a naval ship program even
greater.
In July, 1910, there were about
so ways available for merchant
ships. The present plans call for
nearly 800 ways, some being added
TO old yards and some being built
in 20-odd new yards.
Concentration in the merchant
shipping program is on the 416-foot
liberties, and each one delivered
adds 10000 dead-weight tons to
Americas merchant marine.
Extensive use is made of welding
to save time and steel, and assem-
bly, work is possible by a modifca-
ton of fabrication methods. Delay
in procurement is reduced by CEN
Trailing purchases of materials and
equipment. A liberty ship carries
complement of "A officers and men
and costs upwards of $l,6OO,OO0.