SS John W. Brown is a Liberty ship, one of two still operational and one of three preserved as museum ships. As a Liberty ship, she operated as a merchant ship of the United States Merchant Marine during World War II and later was a vocational high school training ship in New York City for many years. Now preserved, she is a museum ship and cruise ship berthed at Pier 13 in Baltimore Harbor in Maryland.
John W. Brown was named after the Canadian-born American labor union leader John W. Brown (1867–1941).
The other surviving operational Liberty ship is in San Francisco, California. A third Liberty ship, SS Hellas Liberty (ex-) is preserved as a static museum ship in Piraeus, Greece.
Construction
The United States Maritime Commission ordered John W. Brown as an ECS-S-C1 Maritime Commission Emergency Cargo Ship, the type of ship that would become popularly known as the "Liberty ship", hull number 312 on 1 May 1941. She was laid down at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard in Baltimore, Maryland, on 28 July 1942 and – sponsored by Annie Green, the wife of the president of the Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers – was launched on 7 September 1942, the third of three Liberty ships launched at the yard that day. She completed fitting out on 19 September 1942, making her total construction time only 54 days. She required about 500,000 man-hours and cost $1,750,000 to build and was the 62nd of the 384 Liberty ships constructed at the Bethlehem-Fairfield yard.
The Worthington Pump & Machine Corporation of Harrison, New Jersey, built John W. Browns vertical triple expansion steam engine, which cost $100,000.
Service history
World War II
Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard delivered John W. Brown to her owner, the Maritime Commission, on the day of her completion. With States Marine Corporation as her general agent, John W. Brown was operated initially by the War Shipping Administration and later by the United States Army's Army Transport Service.
thumb|left|John W. Brown at New York Harbor in October 1942.
After ten more days of post-delivery work in Baltimore to prepare her to get underway, John W. Brown departed on 29 September 1942 to steam down the Chesapeake Bay to Norfolk, Virginia, where she underwent degaussing and deperming to make her less likely to trigger magnetic sea mines. Departing Norfolk, she proceeded back north through the Chesapeake Bay, anchored off Annapolis, Maryland, overnight on 3–4 October 1942, and then passed through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and Delaware River to Delaware Bay, where she joined a convoy of four merchant ships. Escorted by three escort vessels and a United States Navy blimp, the convoy proceeded up the coast of New Jersey to New York City, where on 6 October 1942 John W. Brown began loading her first cargo – 8,381 long tons (9,387 short tons; 8,515 metric tons) of cargo destined for the Soviet Union, consisting of two Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters, 10 M4 Sherman tanks, 200 motorcycles, 100 jeeps, over 700 long tons (784 short tons, 711 metric tons) of ammunition, and over 250 long tons (280 short tons, 254 metric tons) of canned pork lunch meat – at Pier 17 in Brooklyn. While in New York, she also had the Oerlikon 20 mm cannon mounted on her bow replaced by a /50-caliber gun, and she interrupted her loading of cargo on 9 October 1942 for work on the degaussing and compass adjusting ranges.
Maiden voyage, October 1942–March 1943
With loading complete on 14 October 1942, John W. Brown departed New York on 15 October on her maiden voyage, bound for the Persian Gulf, where she would unload her cargo for delivery overland to the Soviet Union. Her 14,400-nautical mile (16,560-statute mile; 26,667-km) route was designed to allow her to avoid the areas where Axis forces posed the greatest threats to shipping. She made the first leg of the voyage in convoy, steaming down the United States East Coast to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where she joined another convoy for the trip across the Caribbean Sea to the Panama Canal. After passing through the canal and reaching the Pacific Ocean, she steamed alone down the west coast of South America, requiring two weeks to reach Cape Horn. She then made a 17-day independent crossing of the South Atlantic Ocean to Cape Town, South Africa, where she stopped for two days to refuel and reprovision. Getting back underway, she steamed alone north through the western Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa, and anchored in the Persian Gulf on 25 December 1942, two and a half months after leaving New York.
Ports in the Persian Gulf were overwhelmed by the amount of cargo arriving from Allied countries, and so John W. Brown was forced to lie at anchor for a month until she could begin to unload at Abadan, Iran, where she dropped off the two P-40s and some of the tanks in late January 1943. It took another month and a half until she could enter port at Khorramshahr, Iran, and unload the rest of her cargo in March 1943.
thumb|left|John W. Brown at New York Harbor in May 1943 at the end of her maiden voyage.
On 16 March 1943, John W. Brown got underway to return to the United States. She steamed south from the Persian Gulf along the east coast of Africa to Cape Town, again calling there for two days before making a two-week crossing of the South Atlantic to Bahia, Brazil, where she arrived on 23 April 1943. There she joined a convoy to steam north to Paramaribo in Surinam, proceeded upriver to Paranam to load bauxite, then steamed to Port of Spain, Trinidad, to load more bauxite. Fully loaded, she joined a convoy to steam to Guantanamo Bay and then another convoy for the final leg of her voyage to New York City, where she arrived on 27 May 1943 to complete a maiden voyage of about eight months. After returning to the United States, she became the first of 220 Liberty ships to undergo conversion into a "Limited Capacity Troopship" capable of transporting up to 450,
Second voyage June–August 1943
thumb|left|Aerial photograph of John W. Brown outbound from the United States carrying a large deck cargo after her conversion to a "Limited Capacity Troopship".
After completion of her conversion at Hoboken, John W. Brown returned to New York to load for her second voyage, her first as a troopship. Her 5,023 long tons (5,626 short tons; 5,103 metric tons) of cargo consisted mostly of food, and her passenger list included 306 men – seven United States Army officers, 145 U.S. Army military policemen, three enlisted medical assistants, three Royal Navy officers, and 148 Royal Navy sailors; the Royal Navy personnel were all survivors of a torpedoed ship. She departed New York on 24 June 1943, steamed in convoy to Hampton Roads, Virginia, to meet another part of the convoy, and then set out in convoy for a transatlantic crossing. The convoy transited the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean Sea on 18 July 1943, and John W. Brown arrived at Algiers in French Algeria on 20 July 1943. There she unloaded her cargo and disembarked all of her passengers except for 38 U.S. Army personnel who remained aboard to guard 500 German prisoners-of-war – veterans of the Afrika Korps – that she took aboard to transport to the United States. She departed Algiers on 5 August 1943 and returned in convoy to Hampton Roads, where the convoy arrived safely on 26 August 1943 after a passage in which there were many submarine alerts but no enemy attacks. The German prisoners had all disembarked by the following day.
Third voyage, September 1943–March 1944
For her third voyage, John W. Brown loaded a cargo of 7,845.5 measurement tons (314,180 cubic feet; 8,889 cubic meters) of TNT, gasoline, and general cargo and took aboard 339 U.S. Army personnel – 36 officers and 303 enlisted men – as passengers. Departing Hampton Roads in convoy on 15 September 1943, she arrived at Oran in French Algeria on 4 October 1943 after an uneventful trip. Her passengers disembarked there on 6 October, and she completed unloading her cargo on 15 October. She embarked 15 officers and 346 men of the U.S. Armys 1st Armored Division and loaded 274 of the divisions vehicles, including 61 tanks.
Unloaded by 9 December, John W. Brown again left Naples empty on 10 December 1943 in a convoy which stopped for three days at Augusta and then proceeded to Bizerte, Tunisia, where it arrived on 16 December 1943. There she embarked six Free French officers and 305 Free French enlisted men, and loaded 958 tons of trucks, trailers, weapon carriers, ambulances, and cars. She then proceeded in convoy to Pozzuoli Bay, Italy, arriving there on 26 December 1943. On 27 December, the Liberty ship rode over John W. Browns anchor cable and collided with her starboard side, causing significant damage. Despite the damage, she continued her voyage, unloading her cargo at Naples and departing empty on 4 January 1944, joining a convoy to Oran which arrived on 10 January. On 13 January, she moved to Mostaganem, French Algeria, where she loaded 5,000 tons of gasoline; she then transported the gasoline to Oran. Unloading it, she took aboard 263 passengers, 186 vehicles, and 799 tons of engineering equipment and supplies; she departed Oran on 29 January, stopped at Augusta, and arrived at Naples on 5 February to discharge her passengers and cargo.
John W. Brown embarked 106 U.S. Army and 13 U.S. Navy personnel and steamed out of Naples on 10 January 1944 in a convoy which stopped at Augusta – where she took a Royal Navy lieutenant aboard – and proceeded to Bizerte, arriving on 14 February 1944. There she dropped off her passengers and loaded a cargo of scrap metal and the personal effects of deceased soldiers.
Fourth voyage, April–September 1944
Her repairs and alterations complete, John W. Brown steamed to Brooklyn, where on 3 April 1944 she began to load a cargo of high explosives. She departed New York on 10 April to begin her fourth voyage in a convoy to Hampton Roads, where additional ships joined her convoy for a transatlantic passage. The convoy departed Hampton Roads on 13 April 1944 and, despite several alerts, crossed peacefully, transited the Strait of Gibraltar on 29 April 1944, and divided during a 5 May stop at Augusta, where John W. Brown and her section of the convoy left the other ships to steam to Naples, arriving there on 8 May. Discharging her cargo there, John W. Brown embarked five U.S. Army officers and 170 U.S. Army enlisted men and loaded a cargo of 3,322 tons of high explosives and gasoline. She left Naples on 18 April, arriving off the Anzio beachhead the following day, and was present there when the Allies finally broke out of the beachhead on 23 April after a lengthy campaign.
Unloading completed, John W. Brown left the beachhead on 21 August and returned in convoy to Naples, where she arrived on 23 August. She embarked 500 German prisoners-of-war and 33 U.S. Army personnel to guard them on 3 September 1944, departed Naples in convoy the next day, stopped at Augusta, and then left in convoy for the United States. Her convoy had a quiet passage except for heavy weather which worsened as she approached the U.S. East Coast. She arrived at Hampton Roads on 28 September, disembarked the prisoners-of-war at Newport News, Virginia, on 29 September, and then steamed north up the Chesapeake Bay to Baltimore, where she arrived on 30 September 1944 to conclude her fourth voyage.
Sixth voyage, January–March 1945
On 9 January 1945, John W. Brown, steaming independently, departed New York on her sixth voyage, carrying U.S. Army general cargo and, after a brief stop at Hampton Roads, arrived at Charleston, South Carolina, on 12 January. She loaded more cargo, left Charleston on 17 January, and proceeded independently back to Hampton Roads, arriving there on 19 January. She embarked 54 U.S. Army passengers at Newport News and departed on 23 January in convoy for Naples, at first facing heavy weather but otherwise making an uneventful transatlantic crossing. After passing through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea, she left the convoy on 7 February to steam independently to Naples; her engineers shut down her port boiler when it began to malfunction on 9 February, forcing her to continue at reduced speed, but she arrived safely at Naples on 11 February 1945. She disembarked her passengers and repaired her boiler, then left for Leghorn, where she arrived on 19 February.
John W. Brown was taken under repair by Atlantic Basin Iron Works in Brooklyn from 7 to 11 April to have her balky boiler fixed and have a gyrocompass installed.
Ninth voyage, September–November 1945
John W. Brown began her ninth voyage on 15 September 1945, departing New York. Arriving in Baltimore the next day, she departed on 25 September 1945 with a cargo of grain. She arrived at Marseille, France, on 15 October, where she unloaded the grain and embarked 645 U.S. Army personnel, 83 more than her official capacity. She then returned to New York, arriving on 14 November 1945. She soon had radar installed at the Bethlehem Brooklyn 56th Street shipyard in Brooklyn.
Training ship
thumb|right|John W. Brown moored at Pier 42 in Manhattan as a training ship, May 1973.
New York Citys Metropolitan Vocational High School had been without a ship for the training of boys interested in seafaring careers since its school ship, the New York City ferryboat Brooklyn, had been returned to the city at the end of World War II. In August 1946, the Maritime Commission and the City of New York signed a letter of agreement under which the Maritime Commission would loan John W. Brown – whose tweendeck modifications to carry troops gave her a large amount of internal space suitable for classroom use – to the city for educational purposes at no charge, with the city responsible for all expenses related to maintaining the ship and operating her as a static training ship. After John W. Brown completed her final voyage in November 1946, she was towed to her new berth at Manhattans Pier 4 on the East River on 13 December 1946 to enter service as SS John W. Brown High School, the only floating nautical high school in the United States. The ship served in that capacity as a static training facility from 1946 to 1982, graduating thousands of students prepared to begin careers at sea in the merchant marine, the United States Navy, and the United States Coast Guard. By 1950, she had moved to a new berth at Manhattans Pier 43 on the East River at the foot of East 25th Street.
Training aboard John W. Brown began in December 1946, many of the early students being men who had dropped out of classes at the Metropolitan Vocational High School during World War II to serve as merchant mariners or in the U.S. Navy or U.S. Coast Guard. Students studied standard academic subjects and took boat building, marine radio, marine electrician, and maritime business classes in the high schools main building ashore; aboard John W. Brown they learned their seafaring trade, either as deck hands, engine room personnel, or stewards, and they also performed all maintenance and repairs the ship required. Students at first spent a week at a time in the building and a week at a time on the ship; later, the schedule changed so that they spent half of each school day in the building and the other half aboard the ship. The Maritime Educational Advisory Commission also met regularly aboard the ship and worked closely with the schools staff. Four weeks later, on 21 September 1991, two days after the 49th anniversary of her completion, John W. Brown carried about 600 members and guests on her "matron voyage", her inaugural cruise.
In 1994, John W. Brown received U.S. Coast Guard certification for coastwise ocean voyages. In April 1994, she made her first offshore voyage since 1946, steaming to New York Harbor, and in August 1994 she made her first foreign voyage as a museum ship, steaming to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, then stopping at Boston, Massachusetts, and Greenport, New York, on her way back to Baltimore.
John W. Brown was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 17 November 1997. As of the end of the 2013 cruising season, she had completed her 97th Living History Cruise and had visited 29 ports along the United States East Coast and the Atlantic coast of Canada and in the Great Lakes. She is the largest cruise ship operating under the American flag on the United States East Coast.
Masters and Navy Armed Guard officers, 1942–1946
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! Voyage !! Master!! Merchant crew the:
- 80px Merchant Marine Combat Bar
- 80px Merchant Marine Atlantic War Zone Medal
- 80px Merchant Marine Mediterranean-Middle East War Zone Medal
- 80px Merchant Marine Pacific War Zone Medal
- 80px Merchant Marine World War II Victory Medal
As a museum ship, John W. Brown has received the World Ship Trusts Maritime Heritage Award.