SS Francis Preston Blair - Misplaced Pages

World War II Liberty ship of the United States

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

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 m) (grain) 499,573 cubic feet (14,146 m) (bale)
Complement	38–62 USMM 21–40 USNAG
Armament	Varied by ship Bow-mounted 3-inch (76 mm)/50-caliber gun Stern-mounted 4-inch (102 mm)/50-caliber gun 2–8 × single 20-millimeter (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons and/or, 2–8 × 37-millimeter (1.46 in) M1 AA guns

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.

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.

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

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