? Essential reading for historians and enthusiasts of WW2. ? First complete history of a hitherto overlooked subject. ? Previously successful, and reprinted, in hardback. The ?Liberty' ships were the most numerous type of merchant ships built during WW2. Designed for speed and ease of production, the ability of the American shipyards to turn these vessels out at unprecedented speeds (one, the Robert E Peary, was completed in a record-breaking 5 days), enabled the Allies to replace the ships sunk by the U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic and keep the vital transatlantic supply routes open. In this book, Peter Elphick tells the complete story of this legendary ship type, from the British inception of the design, though production, war service and the careers of Liberty ships after the war, largely in the words of the men and women who built them and sailed in them. From the amazing industrial effort that built more ships faster than ever before, to the acts of heroism and endurance of the men who sailed them in every theatre of the war, and finally to the efforts to preserve the last surviving examples of these great ships, this is a fascinating account of one of the greatest achievements in maritime history. Peter Elphick is a retired Master Mariner who spent many years in the South China Seas. His previous books include Out of Norfolk, Seamen and Travellers, Odd Man Out: The Story of the Singapore Traitor (with Michael Smith), Far Eastern File: The Intelligence War in the Far East 1930-1945, and Life Line: The Merchant Navy at War 1939-1945.
