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{{Short description|United States Army cargo ship}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:USAT ''Liberty''}}
{{Other ships|Liberty (ship)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USAT Liberty.jpg|300px]]
|Ship image=USAT Liberty.jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Liberty'' (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.
|Ship caption=USS ''Liberty'' (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.
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{{Infobox ship career
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Hide header=
|Ship country=USA
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1942}}
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1942}}
|Ship name=USS ''Liberty''
|Ship name=USS ''Liberty''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship namesake=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship builder=[[Federal Shipbuilding]]<br>[[Kearny, New Jersey]]
|Ship builder=*[[Federal Shipbuilding]]
*[[Kearny, New Jersey]]
|Ship yard number=1
|Ship yard number=1
|Ship laid down=
|Ship laid down=
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|Ship struck=
|Ship struck=
|Ship honors=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=torpedoed by {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-166||2}}, 11 January 1942, and beached
|Ship fate=Beached, 11 January 1942
|Ship status=
|Ship notes=
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'''USAT ''Liberty''''' was a [[United States Army]] [[cargo ship]] torpedoed by {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-166||2|up=on}} in January 1942 and beached on the island of [[Bali]]. She had been built as a [[Design 1037 ship]] for the [[United States Shipping Board]] in [[World War I]] and had served in the [[United States Navy]] in that war as animal transport '''USS ''Liberty'' (ID-3461)'''. She was also notable as the first ship constructed at [[Federal Shipbuilding]], [[Kearny, New Jersey]]. In 1963 a volcanic eruption moved the ship off the beach, and ''Liberty''{{'}}s wreck is now a popular [[Scuba diving|dive]] site.
'''USAT ''Liberty''''' was a [[United States Army]] [[cargo ship]] torpedoed by {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-66||2|up=yes}} in January 1942 and beached on the island of [[Bali]], [[Indonesia]]. She had been built as a [[Design 1037 ship]] for the [[United States Shipping Board]] in [[World War I]] and had served in the [[United States Navy]] in that war as animal transport '''USS ''Liberty'' (ID-3461)'''. She was also notable as the first ship constructed at [[Federal Shipbuilding]], [[Kearny, New Jersey]]. In 1963 a volcanic eruption moved the ship off the beach, and ''Liberty''{{'}}s wreck is now a popular [[Scuba diving|dive]] site.


==World War I==
==World War I==
''Liberty'' was launched on 19 June 1918 by the [[Federal Shipbuilding Company]] in [[Kearny, New Jersey]], and acquired by the [[United States Navy]] on 7 October 1918 and commissioned the same day with Lieutenant Commander Charles Longbottom in command. Assigned to the [[Naval Overseas Transportation Service]], ''Liberty'' departed the [[New York Navy Yard]] on 24 October 1918, arriving at [[Brest, France]], with her cargo of [[horse]]s 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 of [[U.S. Army]] cargo and 2,072 tons of steel rails, ''Liberty'' arrived at [[Newport News, Virginia]], on 30 April 1919 from her final cruise. She was decommissioned there on 7 May and was returned to the [[United States Shipping Board]] the same day.
''Liberty'' was launched on 19 June 1918 by the [[Federal Shipbuilding Company]] in [[Kearny, New Jersey]], and acquired by the [[United States Navy]] on 7 October 1918 and commissioned the same day. Assigned to the [[Naval Overseas Transportation Service]], ''Liberty'' departed the [[New York Navy Yard]] on 24 October 1918, arriving at [[Brest, France]], with her cargo of [[horse]]s 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 of [[U.S. Army]] cargo and 2,072 tons of steel rails, ''Liberty'' arrived at [[Newport News, Virginia]], on 30 April 1919 from her final cruise. She was decommissioned there on 7 May and was returned to the [[United States Shipping Board]] the same day.


==Between the wars==
==Between the wars==
On 23 November 1933, ''Liberty'' collided with {{SS|Ohioan|1914|2}} in the [[Ambrose Channel]]. ''Ohioan'' was consequently beached near the [[West Bank Light]].<ref name=Times241133>{{Cite newspaper The Times |articlename=Two American steamers in collision |day_of_week=Friday |date=24 November 1933 |page_number=25 |issue=46610 |column=D }}</ref>
On 20 October 1929, ''Liberty'' collided with the French [[Tugboat|tug]] {{Ship|ST|Dogue||2}} at [[Le Havre]], [[Seine Maritime]], [[France]]. ''Dogue'' sank with the loss of two crew members.<ref name=Times211029a>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Casualty reports |date=21 October 1929 |page=23 |issue=45339 |column=F }}</ref>

On 23 November 1933, ''Liberty'' collided with the American [[cargo ship]] {{SS|Ohioan|1914|2}} in the [[Ambrose Channel]]. ''Ohioan'' was consequently beached near the [[West Bank Light]].<ref name=Times241133>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Two American steamers in collision |date=24 November 1933 |page=25 |issue=46610 |column=D }}</ref>


==World War II==
==World War II==
By 1939, ''Liberty''—although owned by the [[United States Maritime Commission]] (a successor to the USSB)—was employed by the [[Southgate-Nelson Corporation]] of [[Norfolk, Virginia]]. Southgate-Nelson was the operator of several [[packet lines]], including the [[American Hampton Roads Line]], the [[Yankee Line]], and the [[Oriole Lines]], but [[secondary source]]s do not indicate for which of these services ''Liberty'' sailed.<ref>Jordan, p. 418.</ref> In November 1940, ''Liberty'' was one of ten ships taken up by the [[United States Army]] for defense service.<ref name=LAT-SN194011>{{cite news |last=Cave |first=Wayne B. |title=Shipping news and activities at Los Angeles Harbor |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=7 November 1940 |page=A12}}</ref><ref group=Note>The other nine ships taken up by the [[United States Army]] were {{USAT|Chirikof||2}}, {{USAT|Etolin||2}}, {{USAT|West Corum||2}}, {{SS|Waukegan||2}}, {{USAT|Edenton||2}}, {{SS|West Segovia||2}}, {{USAT|America||2}}, {{SS|President Roosevelt|1922|2}}, and {{SS|President Jefferson|1921|2}}. (see ref #4)</ref>
By 1939, ''Liberty''—although owned by the [[United States Maritime Commission]] (a successor to the USSB)—was employed by the [[Southgate-Nelson Corporation]] of [[Norfolk, Virginia]]. Southgate-Nelson was the operator of several [[packet lines]], including the [[American Hampton Roads Line]], the [[Yankee Line]], and the [[Oriole Lines]], but [[secondary source]]s do not indicate for which of these services ''Liberty'' sailed.<ref>Jordan, p. 418.</ref> In November 1940, ''Liberty'' was one of ten ships taken up by the [[United States Army]] for defense service.<ref name=LAT-SN194011>{{cite news |last=Cave |first=Wayne B. |title=Shipping news and activities at Los Angeles Harbor |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=7 November 1940 |page=A12}}</ref><ref group=Note>The other nine ships taken up by the [[United States Army]] were {{USAT|Chirikof||2}}, {{USAT|Etolin||2}}, {{USAT|West Corum||2}}, {{SS|Waukegan||2}}, {{USAT|Edenton||2}}, {{SS|West Segovia||2}}, {{USAT|America||2}}, {{SS|President Roosevelt|1922|2}}, and {{SS|President Jefferson|1921|2}}. (see ref #4)</ref>


At the time of the United States' entry into World War II in December 1941, USAT ''Liberty'' was in the Pacific. In January 1942, she was en route from [[Australia]] to the [[Philippines]] with a cargo of railway parts and rubber. On 11 January, ''Liberty'' was torpedoed by {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-166||2|up=on}} about {{convert|10|nmi|km}} southwest of the [[Lombok Strait]], near position {{coord|08|54|S|115|28|E}}. US [[destroyer]] {{USS|Paul Jones|DD-230|2}} and [[Netherlands|Dutch]] destroyer {{HNLMS|Van Ghent|1926|2}} took the damaged ship in tow attempting to reach [[Singaraja]], the Dutch port and administrative centre for the [[Lesser Sunda Islands]], on the north coast of [[Bali]]. However she was taking too much water and so was beached on the eastern shore of Bali at [[Tulamben]] so that the cargo and fittings could be salvaged.
At the time of the United States' entry into World War II in December 1941, USAT ''Liberty'' was in the Pacific. In January 1942, she was en route from [[Australia]] to the [[Philippines]] with a cargo of railway parts and rubber. On 11 January, ''Liberty'' was torpedoed by {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-66||2|up=yes}} about {{convert|10|nmi|km}} southwest of the [[Lombok Strait]], near position {{coord|08|54|S|115|28|E}}. US [[destroyer]] {{USS|Paul Jones|DD-230|2}} and [[Netherlands|Dutch]] destroyer {{HNLMS|Van Ghent|1926|2}} took the damaged ship in tow attempting to reach Celukan bawang harbour at [[Singaraja]], the Dutch port and administrative centre for the [[Lesser Sunda Islands]], on the north coast of [[Bali]]. However she was taking too much water and so was beached on the eastern shore of Bali at [[Tulamben]] so that the cargo and fittings could be salvaged.


In 1963 the tremors associated with the eruption of [[Mount Agung]] caused the vessel to slip off the beach, and she now lies on a sand slope in {{convert|25|to|100|ft}} of water, providing one of the most popular dive sites off Bali.
In 1963 the tremors associated with the eruption of [[Mount Agung]] caused the vessel to slip off the beach, and she now lies on a sand slope in {{convert|25|to|100|ft}} of water, providing one of the most popular dive sites off Bali.


The wreck of USAT ''Liberty'' is often misidentified as {{USAT|Liberty Glo}}<ref group=Note>{{SS|Liberty Glo}} was a [[Hog Islander]] built at the end of [[World War I]], but survived World War II to be scrapped in [[Baltimore, Maryland]], in November 1950.</ref> or identified by the misnomer, USS ''Liberty''. The wreck is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a [[Liberty ship]], through confusion of the ship's name with the class of World War II-built standard design cargo ships.
The wreck of USAT ''Liberty'' is often misidentified as USAT ''Liberty Glo''<ref group=Note>{{SS|Liberty Glo}} was a [[Hog Islander]] built at the end of [[World War I]], but survived World War II to be scrapped in [[Baltimore, Maryland]], in November 1950.</ref> or identified by its former name, USS ''Liberty''. The wreck is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a [[Liberty ship]], through confusion of the ship's name with the class of World War II-built standard design cargo ships.
== Dive site ==
''Liberty''′s wreck rests about {{convert|40|m|ft|sigfig=1}} from the beach in Tulamben, Bali, [[Indonesia]].<ref>{{cite web |title= USAT ''Liberty'' Wreck, Tulamben, map |website= openstreetmap.org |url= https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/3457562260#map=17/-8.27441/115.59490 }}</ref> The highest point of the wreck is the stern at a depth of about {{convert|5|m|ft}}<ref>{{cite web |author= Gert Leroy Underwater |title= ''Liberty'' wreck dive Tulamben, video |website= youtube.com |at= 2'20 |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoeKQ4wqMXA |access-date= 2024-05-22 }}</ref> and the lowest point sits at about {{convert|30|m|ft|sigfig=1}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.diveplanit.com/dive-site/usat-liberty-wreck-tulamben-bay/ |title= USAT ''Liberty'' Wreck in Tulamben Bay |website= diveplanit.com |date=2016-06-29 |language=en-AU|access-date=2019-10-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= USAT Liberty Map |website= tulambenwreckdivers.com |url= https://tulambenwreckdivers.com/Liberty-Wreck-Map |access-date= 2024-05-22 }}</ref> The wreck is a great display of how nature creates life everywhere{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}} and great coral formations can be observed on the wreck's guns.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://divetip.com/diving-liberty-wreck-bali/ |title=Diving USAT ''Liberty'' Wreck |website= divetip.com |date= 9 September 2018 |language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-15}}</ref>

It is also just beside a species-rich zone called "Coral Garden" (depth 4-25 m).<ref>{{cite web |title= Coral Gardens (depth 4-25 m) |website= amedjepundivers.com |url= https://amedjepundivers.com/dive-sites/coral%20gardens.html |access-date= 2024-05-16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Tulamben: Coral Garden, Drop-Off, Alamanda, Melasti and Seraya Dive Sites |website= gekodivebali.com |url= https://gekodivebali.com/en/bali-dive-sites/tulamben-bali |access-date= 2024-05-16 }}</ref>


==Gallery of wreck pictures==
==Gallery of wreck pictures==
<gallery>
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Liberty-wreck1.JPG|front 6-inch-gun
File:Liberty-wreck1.JPG|front 6-inch-gun
File:Liberty-wreck2.JPG|loading boom
File:Liberty-wreck2.JPG|loading boom
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</gallery>
</gallery>


== Explanatory notes ==
==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=Note}}
{{Reflist|group=Note}}


==References==
== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


== General and cited references ==
==Bibliography==
*[http://www.divingatbalishangrila.com/diving-bali.htm Diving at the USAT liberty]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160208061359/http://www.divingatbalishangrila.com/diving-bali.htm Diving at the USAT ''Liberty'']
* {{cite book |last=Jordan |first=Roger W. |title=The World's Merchant Fleets, 1939: The Particulars And Wartime Fates of 6,000 Ships |publisher=Chatham |location=London |year=1999 |page=383 |isbn=1-86176-023-X}}
* {{cite book |last=Jordan |first=Roger W. |title=The World's Merchant Fleets, 1939: The Particulars and Wartime Fates of 6,000 Ships |publisher=Chatham |location=London |year=1999 |page=383 |isbn=1-86176-023-X}}
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l6/liberty-ii.htm}}
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l6/liberty-ii.htm}}
*[http://www.waterworxbali.com/tulamben-ship-wreck-usat-liberty.shtml Info with photo and map of the Liberty at Tulamben]
* [http://gekodivebali.com/bali-dive-sites/usat-liberty-shipwreck Info with photo and map of the ''Liberty'' at Tulamben]


== External links ==
{{Commonscat|USAT Liberty (ship, 1918)}}
* {{Commons category inline|USAT Liberty (ship, 1918)}}
{{Design 1037 ships}}


{{Design 1037 ships}}
{{coord|8|017|03|S|115|035|021|E|source:nlwiki_region:ID_scale:50000|display=title}}
{{1929 shipwrecks}}
{{1933 shipwrecks}}
{{January 1942 shipwrecks}}
{{1963 shipwrecks}}
{{Recreational dive sites|wresit}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberty (ID-3461)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberty (ID-3461)}}
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[[Category:Buildings and structures in Bali]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Bali]]
[[Category:Design 1037 ships of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Design 1037 ships of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1942]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1929]]
[[Category:Ships built in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1933]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in January 1942]]
[[Category:Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by Japanese submarines]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by Japanese submarines]]
[[Category:Transport ships of the United States Army]]
[[Category:Transport ships of the United States Army]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1963]]
[[Category:Wreck diving sites]]
[[Category:Wreck diving sites]]
[[Category:Design 1037 ships]]
[[Category:Underwater diving sites in Indonesia]]

Latest revision as of 05:37, 12 November 2024

USS Liberty (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
NameUSS Liberty
Builder
Yard number1
Launched19 June 1918
Commissioned7 October 1918
Decommissioned7 May 1919
FateBeached, 11 January 1942
General characteristics
Displacement13,130 tons
Length411 ft 6 in (125.43 m)
Beam55 ft (17 m)
Draft26 ft 6 in (8.08 m)
Speed11 knots (20 km/h)
Complement70
Armament1 × 6" gun, 1 × 3" gun

USAT Liberty was a United States Army cargo ship torpedoed by I-66 in January 1942 and beached on the island of Bali, Indonesia. She had been built as a Design 1037 ship for the United States Shipping Board in World War I and had served in the United States Navy in that war as animal transport USS Liberty (ID-3461). She was also notable as the first ship constructed at Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny, New Jersey. In 1963 a volcanic eruption moved the ship off the beach, and Liberty's wreck is now a popular dive site.

World War I

[edit]

Liberty was launched on 19 June 1918 by the Federal Shipbuilding Company in Kearny, New Jersey, and acquired by the United States Navy on 7 October 1918 and commissioned the same day. Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, Liberty departed the New York Navy Yard on 24 October 1918, arriving at Brest, France, with her cargo of horses 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 of U.S. Army cargo and 2,072 tons of steel rails, Liberty arrived at Newport News, Virginia, on 30 April 1919 from her final cruise. She was decommissioned there on 7 May and was returned to the United States Shipping Board the same day.

Between the wars

[edit]

On 20 October 1929, Liberty collided with the French tug Dogue at Le Havre, Seine Maritime, France. Dogue sank with the loss of two crew members.[1]

On 23 November 1933, Liberty collided with the American cargo ship Ohioan in the Ambrose Channel. Ohioan was consequently beached near the West Bank Light.[2]

World War II

[edit]

By 1939, Liberty—although owned by the United States Maritime Commission (a successor to the USSB)—was employed by the Southgate-Nelson Corporation of Norfolk, Virginia. Southgate-Nelson was the operator of several packet lines, including the American Hampton Roads Line, the Yankee Line, and the Oriole Lines, but secondary sources do not indicate for which of these services Liberty sailed.[3] In November 1940, Liberty was one of ten ships taken up by the United States Army for defense service.[4][Note 1]

At the time of the United States' entry into World War II in December 1941, USAT Liberty was in the Pacific. In January 1942, she was en route from Australia to the Philippines with a cargo of railway parts and rubber. On 11 January, Liberty was torpedoed by I-66 about 10 nautical miles (19 km) southwest of the Lombok Strait, near position 08°54′S 115°28′E / 8.900°S 115.467°E / -8.900; 115.467. US destroyer Paul Jones and Dutch destroyer Van Ghent took the damaged ship in tow attempting to reach Celukan bawang harbour at Singaraja, the Dutch port and administrative centre for the Lesser Sunda Islands, on the north coast of Bali. However she was taking too much water and so was beached on the eastern shore of Bali at Tulamben so that the cargo and fittings could be salvaged.

In 1963 the tremors associated with the eruption of Mount 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 USAT Liberty is often misidentified as USAT Liberty Glo[Note 2] or identified by its former name, USS Liberty. The wreck is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a Liberty ship, through confusion of the ship's name with the class of World War II-built standard design cargo ships.

Dive site

[edit]

Liberty′s wreck rests about 40 metres (100 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][8] The wreck is a great display of how nature creates life everywhere[citation needed] and great coral formations can be observed on the wreck's guns.[9]

It is also just beside a species-rich zone called "Coral Garden" (depth 4-25 m).[10][11]

[edit]

Explanatory notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The other nine ships taken up by the United States Army were Chirikof, Etolin, West Corum, Waukegan, Edenton, West Segovia, America, President Roosevelt, and President Jefferson. (see ref #4)
  2. ^ SS Liberty Glo was a Hog Islander built at the end of World War I, but survived World War II to be scrapped in Baltimore, Maryland, in November 1950.

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 45339. London. 21 October 1929. col F, p. 23.
  2. ^ "Two American steamers in collision". The Times. No. 46610. London. 24 November 1933. col D, p. 25.
  3. ^ Jordan, p. 418.
  4. ^ Cave, Wayne B. (7 November 1940). "Shipping news and activities at Los Angeles Harbor". Los Angeles Times. p. A12.
  5. ^ "USAT Liberty Wreck, Tulamben, map". openstreetmap.org.
  6. ^ Gert Leroy Underwater. "Liberty wreck dive Tulamben, video". youtube.com. 2'20. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  7. ^ "USAT Liberty Wreck in Tulamben Bay". diveplanit.com. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  8. ^ "USAT Liberty Map". tulambenwreckdivers.com. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Diving USAT Liberty Wreck". divetip.com. 9 September 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Coral Gardens (depth 4-25 m)". amedjepundivers.com. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Tulamben: Coral Garden, Drop-Off, Alamanda, Melasti and Seraya Dive Sites". gekodivebali.com. Retrieved 16 May 2024.

General and cited references

[edit]
[edit]