page_title: SS George Washington Carver
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: SS George Washington Carver / History / Construction
caption_attribution_description: Launching the liberty ship SS George Washington Carver. Alternate Caption: Lena Horne, African American actress, singer, and sponsor of the SS George Washington Carver, swinging a champagne bottle to christen the Liberty ship SS George Washington Carver as another African American woman looks on, Richmond Shipyard No. 1, Richmond, California, May 7, 1943. Original Caption: The SS George Washington Carver, second liberty ship to be named for an outstanding Negro American, was launched at the Richmond (Cal.) Shipyard No. 1 of the Kaiser Company on May 7, 1943; With the traditional words "I christen thee George Washington Carver," Lena Horne, sponsor of the ship begins the swing with the champagne bottle.
context_page_description: SS George Washington Carver was a Liberty ship built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. The ship was named in honor of George Washington Carver, and was the second Liberty ship named for an African American.
  The ship was initially assigned by the War Shipping Administration to the American South African Line, Inc. for merchant service. In November 1943 the ship was allocated to the United States Army by the WSA and was converted to hospital ship USAHS Dogwood. The ship made multiple trips to ports in England from its homeport of Charleston, South Carolina, before sailing for duty in the Philippines in 1945.
  In January 1946, the ship was converted to carry a combination of troops and military dependents as USAT George Washington Carver. The ship was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in 1947 and was sold for scrapping in 1964.
context_section_description: SS George Washington Carver (MC Hull No. 542) was laid down on 12 April 1943 on shipway 7 at Yard No. 1 by Permanente Metals Corp. of Richmond, California, as a standard Liberty ship. The ship was launched on 7 May 1943 and sponsored by Lena Horne, and delivered 24 May 1943, taking 42 days from start to delivery.
  During the ship’s construction, photographer E. F. Joseph, on behalf of the Office of War Information, took a series of photographs showing predominately African American men and women working on George Washington Carver.
caption: Lena Horne, sponsor of George Washington Carver, prepares to swing the champagne bottle at the launching of the Liberty ship, 7 May 1943. The woman at Horne’s left may be Beatrice Turner, the matron-of-honor of the launching, and the first African American female welder hired by the Richmond Shipyards[5]
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