SS ''Martin Behrman'' was an American

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost constr ...

built in 1944 for service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Her namesake was

Martin Behrman Martin Behrman (October 14, 1864 – January 12, 1926), an American Democratic politician, was the longest-serving mayor in New Orleans history. Life and career Behrman was born in New York City, the son of Frederica and Henry Behrman. His pare ...

, long-time

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Isbrandtsen Line under charter with the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 19 ...

and

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...

. Among the Liberty ships, the ''Martin Behrman'' was an EC2-S-C1 Type with

hull number 2827. Like other Liberty ships, she was long and wide, carried 9000 tons of cargo and had a top speed of . Most Liberty ships were named after prominent deceased Americans. This particular ship was built by

Delta Shipbuilding Company The American Ship Building Company was the dominant shipbuilder on the Great Lakes before the Second World War. It started as Cleveland Shipbuilding in Cleveland, Ohio in 1888 and opened the yard in Lorain, Ohio in 1898. It changed its name to t ...

in New Orleans. Her keel was laid on 25 October 1944 and she was launched on 4 December 1944. The Delta

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance ...

was started specifically for the war effort, at a site on the

Industrial Canal The Industrial Canal is a 5.5 mile (9 km) waterway in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The waterway's proper name, as used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and on NOAA nautical charts, is Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (IHNC). T ...

near the

Almonaster Avenue Bridge The Almonaster Avenue Bridge is a bascule bridge in New Orleans, Louisiana. The bridge has two vehicular lanes of Almonaster Avenue and two railroad tracks over the Industrial Canal. The bridge is named after Almonaster Avenue on whi ...

, immediately south of the present-day I-10 high-rise bridge. The yard was shut down after the end of the war. The ''Martin Behrman'' survived World War II and saw service in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top: ...

. In 1947 she was engaged in the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

n trade in defiance of a Dutch blockade, and on one voyage her cargo was confiscated by the

Dutch Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world a ...

. She was scrapped at

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

in 1965. Her bow, along with the bows of many other Liberty ships, is buried at the Liberty Ship Memorial Park in Portland.

References

Liberty ships Ships built in New Orleans

SS Martin Behrman SS ''Martin Behrman'' was an American Liberty ship built in 1944 for service in World War II. Her namesake was Martin Behrman, long-time mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana. For the was she was operated by the Isbrandtsen Line under charter with t ...

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