| Tonnage | 5386 displacement tons 7800 gross register tons 12,500 deadweight tons |
| Dimensions | 492' by 69'6" by 28'6" 150m by 21.2m by 8.7m |
| Maximum speed | 16.5 knots |
| Machinery |
1-shaft General Electric geared
turbine (8500 shp) 2 Foster-Wheeler boilers |
The C3 class were standard Maritime Commission cargo vessels. They differed from prewar designs principally in their widespread use of high pressure, high temperature turbine engines and double reduction gear, which allowed the ships to combine fuel efficiency with reasonable speed. The formal specifications were actually conservative; one ship of this class reached a speed on trials of 19.5 knots with a fuel consumption rate of 0.563 pounds per shaft horsepower per hour. Building times were on the order of 190 days.
A small percentage of these ships used all-welded construction and
were about 600 tons lighter than their more conventional riveted
sisters.
A number of these ships were completed as C3-C&P (Cargo and Passengers) ships with accomodations for 95 to 192 passengers. Others were completed for the Navy as escort carriers.
The only real failing of the C3s was that they were built to high enough standards that they could not be produced at the rate required for the war. This led to the conversion of most shipyards to production of the much cheaper, if also much slower and less durable, Liberty Ships.
References
United
States Merchant Marine (accessed 2007-11-15)
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007, 2009 by Kent G. Budge. Index
