USAT Jane Addams
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Remarks
Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II. In 1940 the British government ordered 60 Ocean-class freighters from American yards to replace losses caused by U-Boat activity, and to boost their merchant fleet. The Liberty ships evolved from this design being all built to one basic design, before their design was modified later to further simplify design and costs. To further increase efficiency, a new method of construction was invented: the ships were to be built in modularized sections, all over the country before being brought to locations where they would be put together by welding instead of rivets. The resulting ship looked unconventional, or even ugly by some standards. They were constructed for both the US Army and US Navy in 18 shipyards around the United States. Three major variants to the basic design were used to accommodate specific cargo.
In total, American shipyards built 2,710 Liberty ships between 1941 and 1945. An important innovation was the replacement of riveting with welding of plates together. While the Jane Assams was denoted as a US Navy Commissioned ship, she was operated by the Army Transportation Service (USAT). USAT Jane Addams's keel was laid on 15 Jul 1942, and during her construction she spent 38 Days on Way No. 4 before launching and 19 days afloat before her fit out was complete, a total of 57 days. From September 1942 until April 1945 the Jane Addams was active between Australian ports and New Guinea and its islands. She was later sold to a private owner in 1947 and converted to a floating wharf.
Following her war service in the Pacific Ocean, the SS Jane Adams was sold privately in 1947 and converted into a floating wharf at Portland, Oregan.
First day of Issue stamp 29 Jan 2016
Soldiers carried
Darwin to Jacquinot Bay, New Britain 25 November - 3 December 1943
16th Australian Infantry Battalion (Cameron Highlanders Regiment)
11th Australian Infantry Battalion (City of Perth Regiment)
13th Australian Field Company
Named after
Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 – May 28, 1935) was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator and author. She was an important leader in the history of social work and women's suffrage in the United States and advocated for world peace.