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World War II Liberty ship of the United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
History | |
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Name | Francis Preston Blair |
Owner | War Shipping Administration. |
Operator | Sudden & Christenson Company |
Launched | 3 January 1943 |
Fate | Wrecked 15 July 1945 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Class and type |
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Tonnage | |
Displacement | |
Length | |
Beam | 57 feet (17 m) |
Draft | 27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
Capacity |
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Complement | |
Armament |
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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.[2]
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