 USSLiberty (ID # 3461) Fitting out at the yard of her builder, the Federal Shipbuilding Co., Kearny, New Jersey, circa September 1918. This freighter was in commission from October 1918 to May 1919. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Liberty |
| Builder | |
| Yard number | 1 |
| Launched | 19 June 1918 |
| Commissioned | 7 October 1918 |
| Decommissioned | 7 May 1919 |
| Fate | Beached, 11 January 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 13,130 tons |
| Length | 411 ft 6 in (125.43 m) |
| Beam | 55 ft (17 m) |
| Draft | 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m) |
| Speed | 11 knots (20 km/h) |
| Complement | 70 |
| Armament | 1 × 6" gun, 1 × 3" gun |
USATLiberty was aUnited States Armycargo ship torpedoed byI-66 in January 1942 and beached on the island ofBali,Indonesia. She had been built as aDesign 1037 ship for theUnited States Shipping Board inWorld War I and had served in theUnited States Navy in that war as animal transportUSSLiberty (ID-3461). She was also notable as the first ship constructed atFederal Shipbuilding,Kearny, New Jersey. In 1963 a volcanic eruption moved the ship off the beach, andLiberty's wreck is now a populardive site.
Liberty was launched on 19 June 1918 by theFederal Shipbuilding Company inKearny, New Jersey, and acquired by theUnited States Navy on 7 October 1918 and commissioned the same day. Assigned to theNaval Overseas Transportation Service,Liberty departed theNew York Navy Yard on 24 October 1918, arriving atBrest, France, with her cargo ofhorses on 8 November. Over the next 6 months,Liberty made two additional cruises from New York to France discharging both animal and general cargo at French ports. Loaded with 436 tons ofU.S. Army cargo and 2,072 tons of steel rails,Liberty arrived atNewport News, Virginia, on 30 April 1919 from her final cruise. She was decommissioned there on 7 May and was returned to theUnited States Shipping Board the same day.
On 20 October 1929,Liberty collided with the FrenchtugDogue atLe Havre,Seine Maritime,France.Dogue sank with the loss of two crew members.[1]
On 23 November 1933,Liberty collided with the Americancargo shipOhioan in theAmbrose Channel.Ohioan was consequently beached near theWest Bank Light.[2]
By 1939,Liberty—although owned by theUnited States Maritime Commission (a successor to the USSB)—was employed by theSouthgate-Nelson Corporation ofNorfolk, Virginia. Southgate-Nelson was the operator of severalpacket lines, including theAmerican Hampton Roads Line, theYankee Line, and theOriole Lines, butsecondary sources do not indicate for which of these servicesLiberty sailed.[3] In November 1940,Liberty was one of ten ships taken up by theUnited States Army for defense service.[4][Note 1]
At the time of the United States' entry into World War II in December 1941, USATLiberty was in the Pacific. In January 1942, she was en route fromAustralia to thePhilippines with a cargo of railway parts and rubber. On 11 January,Liberty was torpedoed byI-66 about 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of theLombok Strait, near position08°54′S115°28′E / 8.900°S 115.467°E /-8.900; 115.467. USdestroyerPaul Jones andDutch destroyerVan Ghent took the damaged ship in tow attempting to reach Celukan bawang harbour atSingaraja, the Dutch port and administrative centre for theLesser Sunda Islands, on the north coast ofBali. However she was taking too much water and so was beached on the eastern shore of Bali atTulamben so that the cargo and fittings could be salvaged.
In 1963 the tremors associated with the eruption ofMount Agung caused the vessel to slip off the beach, and she now lies on a sand slope in 25 to 100 feet (7.6 to 30.5 m) of water, providing one of the most popular dive sites off Bali.
The wreck of USATLiberty is often misidentified as USATLiberty Glo[Note 2] or identified by the misnomer, USSLiberty. The wreck is sometimes incorrectly referred to as aLiberty ship, through confusion of the ship's name with the class of World War II-built standard design cargo ships.
Liberty′s wreck rests about 40 metres (130 ft) from the beach in Tulamben, Bali,Indonesia.[5] The highest point of the wreck is the stern at a depth of about 5 metres (16 ft)[6] and the lowest point sits at about 30 metres (100 ft).[7] Coral formations can be observed on the wreck's guns.[8]
It is also beside a species-rich zone called "Coral Garden" (depth 4-25 m).[9][10]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
Media related toUSAT Liberty (ship, 1918) at Wikimedia CommonsShipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1933 | |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in January 1942 | |
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1963 | |
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