SS Francis Preston Blair

SS *Francis Preston Blair*
History
Name	Francis Preston Blair
Owner	War Shipping Administration.
Operator	Sudden & Christenson Company
Launched	3 January 1943
Fate	Wrecked 15 July 1945
General characteristics
Class and type	Liberty ship; type EC2-S-C1, standard;
Tonnage	10,865 LT DWT; 7,176 GRT;
Displacement	3,380 long tons (3,434 t) (light); 14,245 long tons (14,474 t) (max);
Length	441 feet 6 inches (135 m) oa; 416 feet (127 m) pp; 427 feet (130 m) lwl;
Beam	57 feet (17 m)
Draft	27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m)
Installed power	2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C) boilers, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa); 2,500 hp (1,900 kW);
Propulsion	1 × triple-expansion steam engine, (manufactured by General Machinery Corp., Hamilton, Ohio); 1 × screw propeller;
Speed	11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity	562,608 cubic feet (15,931 m3) (grain); 499,573 cubic feet (14,146 m3) (bale);
Complement	38–62 USMM; 21–40 USNAG;
Armament	Varied by ship; Bow-mounted 3 inches (76 mm)/50 caliber gun; Stern-mounted 4 inches (102 mm)/50 caliber gun; 2–8 × single 20 millimeters (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons and/or,; 2–8 × 37 millimeters (1.46 in) M1 AA guns;

21°48′S 153°42′E / 21.8°S 153.7°E / -21.8; 153.7

SS Francis Preston Blair was an American Liberty ship, 7,196 tons stranded on Saumarez Reef in the Coral Sea during a cyclone in 1945. The ship has since deteriorated into a rusty heap. The wreck was used by Royal Australian Air Force F-111 aircraft for target practice during the 1980s.

The bronze propeller was salvaged by unknown persons between 1964 and 1970. Wreck was visited by Wild Kingdom who made a TV episode hosted by Marlin Perkins for USA and world distribution in 1971.

Francis Preston Blair was operated during World War II by Sudden & Christenson Company under charter ships from the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration. She was unloading troops and supplies at off Queensland, Australia before the grounding.^[2]

References

^ Davies 2004, p. 23.
^ mariners-l.co.uk, ships F

Sources

Davies, James (May 2004). ""Liberty" Cargo Ship – Feature Article" (PDF). ww2ships.com. Retrieved 3 February 2022.

External links

"No.1 SAUMAREZ REEFS - (21°38'S., 153°46'E.) LIBERTY SHIP". 9 June 2012.

Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=SS_Francis_Preston_Blair
Text je dostupný za podmienok Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License 3.0 Unported; prípadne za ďalších podmienok. Podrobnejšie informácie nájdete na stránke Podmienky použitia.

[FOOTNOTEDavies200423-1] Davies 2004, p. 23.

[2] riners-l.co.uk, ships F

[1]

[2]

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in July 1945
Shipwrecks	2 Jul: Empire Fal 3 Jul: Hoei Maru 4 Jul: Bahia 8 Jul: HNLMS O 19 10 Jul: Sakura Maru 11 Jul: Sakura 14 Jul: Hakuhō Maru, Tachibana 15 Jul: Francis Preston Blair, I-351, HMS Ludlow, HMS Maori, Walter L M Russ 16 Jul: USS Gamble, I-13, Nankai 17 Jul: HMS Athlete, John H. Hammond 18 Jul: Decommissioned Destroyer No. 18, I-372, Kasuga, Yakaze 20 Jul: Kiyokawa Maru 23 Jul: Cha-117 24 Jul: Aoba, Amagi, Hyūga, Iwate, Settsu, HMS Squirrel, Tone, USS Underhill 25 Jul: Kotobuki Maru, PB-2 26 Jul: HMS Vestal 28 Jul: USS Callaghan, Haruna, Ise, Izumo, Ōyodo 30 Jul: Hatsushimo, USS Indianapolis, Okinawa Unknown date: HMCS St. Francis
Other incidents	18 Jul: USS Gabilan, USS Hank, USS Wallace L. Lind 24 Jul: USS Colahan, USS Toro 25 Jul: SS Howard M. Hanna Jr. 26 Jul: USS Marlin
1944 1945 1946 June 1945 August 1945

See also

References

Sources

External links