Liberty Fleet Day (Victory Fleet Day)
Encyclopedia
27 September 1941 was dubbed as “Liberty Fleet Day” due to the 14 “Emergency” vessels that were launched in shipyards across the United States. This fleet included the first Liberty ship
SS Patrick Henry
, one troop transport, a tanker, a US Navy ammunition ship and a Royal Navy
aircraft carrier. In addition, the US Navy launched two destroyers at the Boston Navy Yard
.
delivered a speech at the first “Emergency” launch in Baltimore that morning. At the remaining 13 launches a recording of the President’s speech was played. The White House released the following transcript of President Roosevelt’s speech:
My fellow Americans:
This is a memorable day in the history of American shipbuilding - a memorable day in the emergency defense of the nation. Today, from dawn to dark, fourteen ships are being launched - on the Atlantic, on the Pacific and on the Gulf and among them is the first Liberty ship, the Patrick Henry.
While we are proud of what we are doing, this is certainly no time to be content. We must build more cargo ships and still more cargo ships - and we must speed the program until we achieve a launching each day, then two ships a day, fulfilling the building program undertaken by the Maritime Commission.
Our shipbuilding program - not only that of the Maritime Commission, but of the Navy - is one of our answers to the aggressors who would strike at our liberty.
I am speaking today not only to the shipworkers in the building yards on our Coasts, on our Great Lakes and on our Rivers - not only to the thousands who are present at today's launchings - but also to the men and women throughout the country who live far from salt water or shipbuilding.
I emphasize to all of you the simple, historic fact that throughout the period of our American life, going way back into Colonial days, commerce on the high seas and freedom of the seas has been a major reason for our prosperity and the building up of our country.
To give you one simple example: It is a matter of history that a large part of the capital which in the middle of the past century went into the building of railways and spread like a network into the new undeveloped areas across the Mississippi River, across the Plains and up into the Northwest, was money which had been made by American traders whose ships had sailed the seas to the Baltic, to the Mediterranean, to Africa and South America, and to Singapore and China itself.
Through all the years after the American Revolution your Government reiterated and maintained the right of American ships to voyage hither and yon without hindrance from those who sought to keep them off the seas or drive them off the seas. As a nation we have realized that our export trade and our import trade had a definitely good effect on the life of families, not only on our Coasts but on the farms and in the cities a hundred or a thousand miles from salt water.
Since 1936, when the Congress enacted the present Merchant Marine Law, we have been rehabilitating a Merchant Marine which had fallen to a low level. Today we are continuing that program at accelerated speed.
The shipworkers of America are doing a great job. They have made a commendable record for efficiency and speed. With every new ship, they are striking a telling blow at the menace to our nation and the liberty of the free peoples of the world. They struck fourteen such blows today. They have caught the true spirit with which all this nation must be imbued if Hitler and other aggressors of his ilk are to be prevented from crushing us.
We Americans as a whole cannot listen to those few Americans who preach the gospel of fear - who say in effect that they are still in favor of freedom of the seas but who would have the United States tie up our vessels in our ports. That attitude is neither truthful nor honest.
We propose that these ships sail the seas as they are intended to. We propose, to the best of our ability, to protect them from torpedo, from shell or from bomb.
The Patrick Henry, as one of the Liberty ships launched today renews that great patriot's stirring demand:
"Give me liberty or give me death."
There shall be no death for America, for democracy, for freedom! There must be liberty, world-wide and eternal. That is our prayer—our pledge to all mankind.
, 27 September became known as “Victory Fleet Day.”
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
SS Patrick Henry
SS Patrick Henry
The SS Patrick Henry was the first Liberty ship launched.The ships initially had a poor public image and to try to assuage public opinion, 27 September 1941 was designated Liberty Fleet Day, and the first 14 "Emergency" vessels were launched that day. The first of these was Patrick Henry,...
, one troop transport, a tanker, a US Navy ammunition ship and a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
aircraft carrier. In addition, the US Navy launched two destroyers at the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
.
The Ships
- SS Adabelle Lykes (Pusey and JonesPusey and JonesThe Pusey and Jones Corporation was a major ship and equipment manufacturer from 1846 to 1959. Ship building was the primary focus from 1853 until the end of World War II, when the company converted the shipyard to production of paper manufacturing machinery...
– Willington DE) - SS African Planet (Ingalls ShipbuildingIngalls ShipbuildingIngalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries...
– Pascagoula, MS) - SS Alcoa Polaris (Consolidated Steel CorporationConsolidated Steel CorporationConsolidated Steel Corporation was an American steel and shipbuilding business. Consolidated built ships during World War II in two locations: Wilmington, California and Orange, Texas...
– Los Angeles, CA) - SS James McKay (Bethlehem SteelBethlehem SteelThe Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
Sparrows Point – Baltimore, MD) - SS John C. Fremont (California Shipbuilding CorporationCalifornia Shipbuilding CorporationCalifornia Shipbuilding Corporation built 467 Liberty and Victory ships during World War II, including Haskell-class attack transports. California Shipbuilding Corporation was often referred to as Calship...
– Los Angeles, CA) - SS Fredrick Funston (Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding CorporationSeattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding CorporationThe Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation was a United States corporation which built ships for the US Navy and merchant marine during World War II ....
– Seattle, WA) - SS Louise Lykes (Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock CompanyFederal Shipbuilding and Drydock CompanyThe Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard, active from 1917 to 1949. During World War II, it built ships as part of the U.S. Government's Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Operated by a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, the shipyard was located at...
– Kearny, NJ) - SS Ocean Venture (Todd-California Shipbuilding – Richmond, CA)
- SS Ocean Voice (Todd-California Shipbuilding – Richmond, CA)
- SS Patrick Henry (Bethlehem SteelBethlehem SteelThe Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
Fairfield – Baltimore, MD) - SS Star of Oregon (Oregon Shipbuilding CorporationOregon Shipbuilding CorporationOregon Shipbuilding Corporation was a World War II emergency shipyard located in Portland, Oregon, United States, that built over 1000 Liberty and Victory ships between 1941 and 1945. It was closed after the war ended....
– Portland, OR) - SS Sinclair Superflame (Bethlehem SteelBethlehem SteelThe Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
Fore River – Quincy, MA) - SS Steel Artisan (later known as USS Barnes (CVE-7) and HMS Attacker (D02)) (Western Pipe and Steel CompanyWestern Pipe and Steel CompanyThe Western Pipe and Steel Company was an American manufacturing company that is best remembered today for its construction of ships for the Maritime Commission in World War II. It also built ships for the U.S...
– San Francisco, CA) - SS Surprise (later known as USS Kilauea and USS Mount Baker (AE-4)) (Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Company was a major shipbuilding company in Chester, Pennsylvania, about 15 miles south of Philadelphia on the Delaware River. Its primary product was tankers, but the company built many types of ships over its 70-year history. During World War II, it participated in the...
- Chester, PA) - USS Cowie (DD-632)USS Cowie (DD-632)USS Cowie , a Gleaves-class destroyer, is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Rear Admiral Thomas Jefferson Cowie....
- USS Knight (DD-633)USS Knight (DD-633)USS Knight , a Gleaves-class destroyer, is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Admiral Austin M. Knight.Knight was laid down 18 March 1941, by Boston Navy Yard; launched 27 September 1941 Liberty Fleet Day; sponsored by Miss Elizabeth H. Royal, granddaughter of Admiral Knight,...
Presidential Speech
President Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
delivered a speech at the first “Emergency” launch in Baltimore that morning. At the remaining 13 launches a recording of the President’s speech was played. The White House released the following transcript of President Roosevelt’s speech:
My fellow Americans:
This is a memorable day in the history of American shipbuilding - a memorable day in the emergency defense of the nation. Today, from dawn to dark, fourteen ships are being launched - on the Atlantic, on the Pacific and on the Gulf and among them is the first Liberty ship, the Patrick Henry.
While we are proud of what we are doing, this is certainly no time to be content. We must build more cargo ships and still more cargo ships - and we must speed the program until we achieve a launching each day, then two ships a day, fulfilling the building program undertaken by the Maritime Commission.
Our shipbuilding program - not only that of the Maritime Commission, but of the Navy - is one of our answers to the aggressors who would strike at our liberty.
I am speaking today not only to the shipworkers in the building yards on our Coasts, on our Great Lakes and on our Rivers - not only to the thousands who are present at today's launchings - but also to the men and women throughout the country who live far from salt water or shipbuilding.
I emphasize to all of you the simple, historic fact that throughout the period of our American life, going way back into Colonial days, commerce on the high seas and freedom of the seas has been a major reason for our prosperity and the building up of our country.
To give you one simple example: It is a matter of history that a large part of the capital which in the middle of the past century went into the building of railways and spread like a network into the new undeveloped areas across the Mississippi River, across the Plains and up into the Northwest, was money which had been made by American traders whose ships had sailed the seas to the Baltic, to the Mediterranean, to Africa and South America, and to Singapore and China itself.
Through all the years after the American Revolution your Government reiterated and maintained the right of American ships to voyage hither and yon without hindrance from those who sought to keep them off the seas or drive them off the seas. As a nation we have realized that our export trade and our import trade had a definitely good effect on the life of families, not only on our Coasts but on the farms and in the cities a hundred or a thousand miles from salt water.
Since 1936, when the Congress enacted the present Merchant Marine Law, we have been rehabilitating a Merchant Marine which had fallen to a low level. Today we are continuing that program at accelerated speed.
The shipworkers of America are doing a great job. They have made a commendable record for efficiency and speed. With every new ship, they are striking a telling blow at the menace to our nation and the liberty of the free peoples of the world. They struck fourteen such blows today. They have caught the true spirit with which all this nation must be imbued if Hitler and other aggressors of his ilk are to be prevented from crushing us.
We Americans as a whole cannot listen to those few Americans who preach the gospel of fear - who say in effect that they are still in favor of freedom of the seas but who would have the United States tie up our vessels in our ports. That attitude is neither truthful nor honest.
We propose that these ships sail the seas as they are intended to. We propose, to the best of our ability, to protect them from torpedo, from shell or from bomb.
The Patrick Henry, as one of the Liberty ships launched today renews that great patriot's stirring demand:
"Give me liberty or give me death."
There shall be no death for America, for democracy, for freedom! There must be liberty, world-wide and eternal. That is our prayer—our pledge to all mankind.
Subsequent Years
During the duration of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, 27 September became known as “Victory Fleet Day.”