Liberty Ship Paint Schemes? Where can you find them?

Civilian Liberty ships were, for the most part. 5-O Ocean Gray overall.   The instructions in the Trump kit to paint a lighter neutral gray are incorrect for the wartime period.  The Wardwell was a civilian ship.   Naval Liberties were painted in accordance with any of the in-force camouflage measures:  Ms21 - Haze Gray over Navy Blue, Ms22 - Overall Navy Blue, and Ms3x - Dazzle.

A google of Wardwell & Liberty Ship didn't return any confirming photos.  There is a archive which contains some Liberty Ship photos at the USArmy Signal Corps archives at the Library of Virginia.

http://ajax.lva.lib.va.us/F/?func=file&file_name=find-b-clas72&local_base=CLAS72

If you're going to SanFrancisco,  you will be looking in the wrong place for the John Brown.   The Jeremiah O'Brien is in SFO.   The John Brown is in Baltimore.

Todd,

The Jeremiah O’Brien doesn’t have much specific information on WWII paint schemes (I am the person on board who keeps track of this sort of thing). 

As Ed pointed out, like most Liberty ships the Francis Wardwell was operated by a commercial shipping company (in her case, American President Lines); the multi-color camouflage patterns were used on many of the 150 or so ships that were operated by the US Navy.  The correct color was probably Slate Gray, similar to the 5-O Ocean Gray specified by Ed.  The lower 10 feet of the hull would have been anti-fouling red, with everything above gray.  Merchant Marine Liberty ships did not have the black boot-topping stripe found on Navy ships.

Regards,

Chris Friedenbach

Crewmember, SS Jeremiah O’Brien

Chris

How is your online build of the Liberty going.   I seem to have lost track of it when you were 2 episodes in.    What is the address again?

Thought you might like to see these recently dug up at the USNHC

and the starboard side ...

Wow ... now THAT would have been some colorful Liberty ship! I wonder if that was ever implemented on any kind of large scale? I remember reading that some Liberty ships deployed to forward areas got an overall coat of Ocean Blue, but not that many.

On the other hand, the Victory ships my Dad sailed on were either overall gray (dealer's choice on the shade!) or by that time of the war, some were even in the black hull and white upperworks pattern that would take them right into commercial use after the war.

That one was not approved for service.   It does not have US Navy Construction & Repair a sign-off stamp on it.

Ed, 

I am sorry to have to say that the online build has been pretty well stalled for a year due to a lack of modeling time after starting at a new job (what hobby time I have had has largely been taken up with projects related to the full-size O’Brien).  I think the second update was the last one I posted.  I have since completed all of the other subassemblies (hatches, mast houses, etc.) and was about to begin adding photoetch before life intervened and the project got shelved.  Things have settled down a bit now and I recently dusted off the modeling bench, so hopefully I will have some updates to add soon.

The stuff I had posted is at: 

http://chris.friedenbach.net/hobby/liberty/build/index.html

The camouflage sheets you posted are interesting- this looks like a variant of a pattern I have seen on a number of Navy Liberty ships.  The overall pattern is the same, but there does not appear to be any shading visible in the photos. 

Regards,

Chris Friedenbach
Crewmember, SS Jeremiah O’Brien

Chris Friedenbach wrote:

Ed,  I am sorry to have to say that the online build has been pretty well stalled for a year due to a lack of modeling time after starting at a new job (what hobby time I have had has largely been taken up with projects related to the full-size O’Brien).  I think the second update was the last one I posted.  I have since completed all of the other subassemblies (hatches, mast houses, etc.) and was about to begin adding photoetch before life intervened and the project got shelved.  Things have settled down a bit now and I recently dusted off the modeling bench, so hopefully I will have some updates to add soon. The stuff I had posted is at:  http://chris.friedenbach.net/hobby/liberty/build/index.html The camouflage sheets you posted are interesting- this looks like a variant of a pattern I have seen on a number of Navy Liberty ships.  The overall pattern is the same, but there does not appear to be any shading visible in the photos.  Regards, Chris Friedenbach Crewmember, SS Jeremiah O’Brien

Thanks to all who replied!

Yah, having just moved to the west coast, I still have the Brown on the mind. Chris, maybe I will see you on the O'brien soon?! Thanks either way for the info!

-TMW

Todd, 

If you can come by on Friday or Saturday of this week I should be aboard.

Regards,

Chris Friedenbach
Crewmember, SS Jeremiah O’Brien