Wonderful work IABL,

We're all looking forward to this release!

Keep up the great work mate, excellent as always.

Px3000

UPDATE # 6. HOG ISLANDERS vs. EMPIRE TYPES.

Although many people know about the Liberty Ships they did not represent the first attempt to mass-produce American merchant shipping. Towards the end of WWI the Wilson Administration awarded contracts for the construction of more than 200 merchantmen. Their goal was to create a "Bridge of Ships" for hauling men and supplies to the front lines in Europe.

Under the authority of the Shipping Board a vast new shipyard was constructed at Hog Island, PA. Thanks to a lack of Federal oversight the land on which it was built cost the Board twenty times its actual value. Cost estimates proved inaccurate, and the whole operation was plagued by fraud and mismanagement from beginning to end. For all the Wilson Administration's grandiose posturing, the Hog Island project did nothing to hasten America's victory. The yard's first vessel was not launched until August of 1918, and remained incomplete until after the November armistice. Eventually more than 100 "Hog Islanders" were built, but they compared poorly with similar designs from Europe. Many were laid up or sold for about a net loss of $200,000.00, even though the Government had promised that they would earn a profit.

Nevertheless they were reliable merchantmen, and many of them went on to provide much-needed cargo capacity during the interwar years and WWII.

Strange that Wilson's still revered as such a wonderful president to this day, whereas other leaders have been demonized for wasting much smaller amounts of taxpayers' money. And don't even get me started on his racism, First Amendment violations, persecution of antiwar activists, etc etc.:roll:

Anyway, enough ranting about ol' Woodrow. For the first time the SH3 series will have Hog Islanders in a variety of Historical paint schemes. American Export, Lykes, Alcoa Steamship, Waterman, and so on. As with all Allied merchantmen, neutrality markings will be replaced by camoflage paint as their nations become belligerent.



http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d5...life/White.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d5...Waterman-1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d5...elife/Luck.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d5...melife/Hog.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d5...life/Emp-P.jpg


Compare the Hog Islander with another standardized vessel - A British "Empire" type from WWII. It's a replacement for the vessel designated M35B in GWX. Compared to prewar types it has numerous gun mountings, sparse fittings, and a deckhouse covered in metal plates (large windows were vulnerable to MG fire). These ships had about the same top speed as a Hog Islander but had better cargo capacity, considering they were usually 6800-7200 GRT. They were built in Britain, Canada, and the US, although all seem to have been manned by British crews. As with the Hog Islanders, many Empire freighters survived the war to serve in the post-war merchant marine. By any measure the British and American standardized shipping programs of WWII were much more successful than the "Hog Island" disaster - this time, something actually got accomplished BEFORE the war ended. :shifty:

More pics:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d5...elife/Quad.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d5...life/Emp-2.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d5...life/Emp-1.jpg

Click here for more info:

http://tmh.floonet.net/articles/hogisle.shtml

http://smmlonline.com/articles/hogis...islanders.html

Cool!
 

Stuff like this is why I'm here .

I applaud the modders who follow the HISTORY and details of WWII as it actually happened...

Great work and I thank you sir. :rock:

Can't wait to download the finished product.

Empire ships not a standard type
Many different sizes and uses from Tug to cargo

http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/EmpIndex.html#index

Even Liberty not standard design
From first British ship Donington Court came design for British Ocean class

http://www.merchantnavyofficers.com/liberty.html

Next came Parks\Forts and Canadian classes all a little different as well as the liberty

http://fortships.tripod.com/

:up:

I know - after all, some ships with the "Empire" prefix were generic foreign ships captured in Allied ports. But the ONI manuals do refer to a standardized "Empire Type" - in other words, British-designed split structure merchants built during the war. And I did post that they ranged from 6800 - 7200 GRT, so of course there were variations in appearance.

And a lot smaller

Empire Bairn Coastal Tanker 813 G T
Empire Bell Cargo 2023 G T
Empire Cadet Coastal Tanker 813 G T
Empire Captain Cargo 9875 G T
Empire Cedar Estuary tug 129 G T

Etc

Look through Empire link above and note tonnages

But you the builder
Am just a player

Thanks.

I don't think I am releasing any small ships (sorry, Steve!) I made 5-6 of them but I'm not satisfied with how they look. Maybe after the main release I can rework them.

Lovely looking addition there IBL.:yep:
Good luck with getting the rest of the ships ready for release.

All this hard work on ships that will last a few seconds above water, not enough time to admire them! :lol:

Keep up the good work, IBL! Really looking foward to it! :up:

Yes I agree!:up:
Your passed work has been the very best.
I am looking forward to the release.
KUrtz

Let's just hope it arrives soon because we've been waiting for it for at least two years :hmm:

I wonder if you can use Delftship to make simple submarines too...:hmm:
i've been wanting to make a typhoon for a while now and...well, its not as easy as one would hope

No; all of my ships were created in Wings3d, using the hulls of SH3 vessels. I have never created any vessels from scratch except for one lifeboat (which did not work).

Thanks for the links. :ping:

Minor update:

Thanks to a slew of exams & presentations, the shipyard lies silent. :damn:

Hopefully, I will have better news on Sunday!

@IABL
exams???
college? highschool?
me too! (highschool)