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SS ''William S. Ladd'' (MC hull number 2084) was an American Liberty ship built during World War II, one of the 2,710 type 'EC2-S-C1' ships that carried all kinds and types of dry cargo during the war. SS ''William S. Ladd'' was named for William S. Ladd an American politician and businessman in Oregon. He twice served as Portland, Oregon’s mayor in the 1850s. ''Ladd'' was one of the 2,710 Liberty Ships that carried all kinds and types of dry cargo during the war. ''William S. Ladds'' keel was laid August 29, 1943 and 15 days later, on September 13, the hull was launched.〔 ''William S. Ladd'' was fitted out in seven days, and was delivered to the US Navy on September 20. The Navy placed ''Ladd'' under charter to Weyerhaeuser Steamship Co. ''William S. Ladd'' came under attack on December 10th, 1944 while anchored off Leyte, Philippines unloading her cargo of gasoline and ammunition. A Japanese Kamikaze crashed into the ship, and after a two-hour fire-fighting battle, ''Ladd'' sank. ''Ladd'' was the last of the ships built in the Pacific Northwest to fall to enemy action.〔Gordon Newell, Maritime Events of 1945, H.W.McCurdy, Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, p. 528.〕 ==Construction and design== ''William S. Ladd'' was powered by two oil-fired boilers and a single vertical type, triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine. Using the color-coded image at the left, The machinery space (dark blue in the picture) was located at the middle of the ship. The single propeller was driven through a long propeller shaft that ran through a tunnel (lower green area in the picture) under the aft cargo holds. The propeller rotated at 76 rpm, giving a speed of about . There were two decks running the full length of the ship, with seven watertight bulkheads dividing the machinery space and five cargo holds (light blue in the picture), three ahead of the machinery space and two aft. Crew accommodations were provided in a large three-deck structure located in the middle of the ship (medium blue in the picture) directly above the machinery space, and in a small structure (medium blue in the picture) located at the stern. The bridge, radio room and Captain's quarters were located on the top deck (yellow in the picture) of the three-deck structure. The fuel for the boiler was carried in several tanks (red in the picture) located throughout the ship. Ship's storage (light green in the picture) was located at the bow and above the machinery space. Gun crew quarters and the ship's hospital were located in the stern structure. When armed, the gun 'tubs' (white in the picture) were located at the bow, stern and above the bridge. These could be any mixture of , , , , and/or guns. The ship's steering was by a contrabalanced rudder (black, at left in the picture), with its associated steering gear located in a compartment (green in the picture) above the rudder and below the aft structure. Steam-powered generators provided electric power for radios, navigation equipment, refrigeration compressors, pumps, lighting, and degaussing. An evaporator produced fresh water for the boilers and for the crew. Large hatches above the cargo holds allowed steam winches and booms rigged to three centerline masts to quickly load or unload cargo. Liberty ships carried weapons, ammunition, food, tools, hardware, vehicles, and other things needed for the war effort. They could also be equipped to carry a large number of troops by rigging bunks in the holds similar to those used by the Armed guard. 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「SS William S. Ladd」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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