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MS ''American Leader'' was a merchant cargo ship which entered service for the United States Lines in 1941. It was most noted for falling victim to the German auxiliary cruiser ''Michel'' during the Second World War. Her surviving crew members were taken as prisoners of war and collectively they endured three ship sinkings. == Design and Construction == ''American Leader'' was one of five vessels constructed by the Western Pipe and Steel Company from the US Maritime Commission's Type C1-B design.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url= http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/merchantships/wwii/c1cargoships.htm )〕 The detailed building plans were prepared for Western Pipe and Steel by New York naval architect George G. Sharp.〔 In the 1930s American shipyards were making a transition from riveting to welding as the main building method〔(【引用サイトリンク】url= http://www.aws.org/w/a/about/blockbuster.html )〕 and Western had been a pioneer in using these techniques since 1929.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url= http://www.netwelding.com/History_Submerged_Arc%201.htm )〕 Welding reduced weight and steel usage because plate seams did not have to overlap as with riveting. New workers acquired welding skills more quickly than riveting techniques. Welding transformed shipbuilding by allowing assembly in modules which could be placed sideways or even upside down to facilitate construction.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url= http://www.aws.org/w/a/about/time_by2.html )〕 :"Here there had been developed a welding technique which enables us to construct standard merchant ships with a speed unequaled in the history of merchant shipping..."〔 - US President Franklin Roosevelt to UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「MS American Leader」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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