View source for SS Jeremiah O'Brien

{{short description|US cargo ship from World War II, now a museum ship}}
{{distinguish|USS O'Brien}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = Jeremiah O'Brien side.JPG
| Ship caption = SS ''Jeremiah O'Brien'' at its former berth at [[Pier 45 (San Francisco)|Pier 45]] in [[San Francisco]]
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship country = United States
| Ship flag = {{USN flag|1946}}
| Ship name = ''Jeremiah O'Brien''
| Ship namesake = [[Jeremiah O'Brien]]
| Ship registry = *[[Portland, Maine]], {{flag|United States}}
*[[San Francisco]], {{flag|United States}}<ref>[https://www.eagle.org/safenet/record/record_vesseldetailsprinparticular?Classno=4304713&Accesstype=PUBLIC&ReferrerApplication=PUBLIC American Bureau of Shipping, IMO 5171749]</ref>
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship builder = [[New England Shipbuilding Corporation]]
| Ship yard number = 230
| Ship laid down = 6 May 1943
| Ship launched = 19 June 1943
| Ship delivered = 30 June 1943
| Ship owner = [[War Shipping Administration]]
| Ship operator = Grace Line, Inc.
| Ship in service = 3 July 1943
| Ship out of service = 7 February 1946
| Ship struck = 
| Ship reinstated = 
| Ship honours = 
| Ship fate = 
| Ship identification=*[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]]: KXCH
*{{IMO number|5171749}}
*{{MMSI|366879000}}
*[[American Bureau of Shipping|ABS class no:]] 4304713<ref>[https://www.eagle.org/safenet/record/record_vesseldetailsprinparticular?Classno=4304713&Accesstype=PUBLIC&ReferrerApplication=PUBLIC American Bureau of Shipping, ABS class no: 4304713]</ref>
| Ship status = Seagoing [[museum ship]] since 1979
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship class = EC2-S-C1 ([[Liberty ship]])
| Ship displacement = {{convert|15928|LT|abbr=on}}
| Ship length = {{convert|441|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|57|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship draught = 
| Ship draft = {{convert|27|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship propulsion = *Two [[Foster Wheeler]] ([[Babcock & Wilcox]]-design) boilers, 235 psi (1,600 kPa)
*3-cylinder reciprocating [[triple expansion]] [[marine steam engine|steam engine]], 2,500 horsepower (~1.9 MW) at 76 [[rpm]]
*1 shaft, 18-foot (5.5-meter) screw
| Ship speed = {{convert|11|kn}}
| Ship range = 
| Ship complement = 
| Ship sensors = 
| Ship EW = 
| Ship armament = *1 × [[5-inch/38-caliber gun|5-inch (127 mm)/38-caliber gun]] (stern)
*1 × [[3-inch/50-caliber gun|3-inch (76 mm)/50-caliber gun]] (bow)
*8 × [[20 mm Oerlikon]] [[anti-aircraft]] guns
| Ship armour = 
| Ship armor = 
| Ship aircraft = 
| Ship aircraft facilities = 
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| embed                = yes
| name                 = SS ''Jeremiah O'Brien''
| nrhp_type            = nhl
| image                =
| caption              =
| location             = [[Pier 35 (San Francisco)|Pier 35]], [[San Francisco, California]]
| coordinates          = {{coord|37|48|31|N|122|24|25|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin             = California
| map_width            = 300
| area                 =
| built                = 1943
| architect            = New York Shipbuilding Corp.
| architecture         =
| designated_nrhp_type = 14 January 1986<ref name="nhlsum">
 {{cite web
  | url         = http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1799&ResourceType=Structure
  | title       = Jeremiah O'Brien (Liberty Ship)
  | date        = 18 June 2008
  | work        = National Historic Landmark summary listing
  | publisher   = [[National Park Service]]
  | access-date  = 19 October 2011
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110602200646/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1799&ResourceType=Structure
  | archive-date = 2 June 2011
  }}</ref>
| added                = 7 June 1978<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2008a}}</ref>
| refnum               = 78003405
}}
|}
'''SS ''Jeremiah O'Brien''''' is a [[Liberty ship]] built during [[World War II]] and named after the [[American Revolutionary War]] ship captain [[Jeremiah O'Brien]] (1744–1818).

Now based in [[San Francisco]], she is a rare survivor<ref group=lower-alpha>The tugboat ''[[Nash (tugboat)|Nash]]'', another National Historic Landmark ship located in Oswego, New York, is another survivor of the D-Day fleet,{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}} as is the battleship {{USS|Texas|BB-35}} near Houston, Texas.</ref> of the 6,939-ship 6 June 1944 [[D-Day]] armada off the coast of [[Normandy]], France.<ref>
{{cite web
  | url        = http://www.usmm.org/normandyships.html
  | title      = American Merchant Marine Ships at Normandy in June 1944
  | publisher  = U.S. Maritime Service Veterans
  | access-date = 19 October 2011
  }}</ref>

Of the 2,710 Liberty ships that were built, only the ''Jeremiah O'Brien'' and the {{SS|John W. Brown}} (both operational as of 2024) and the {{SS|Hellas Liberty}} (a static museum ship) are still afloat.<ref>
{{cite book
  | last1      = Sawyer
  | first1     = L. A.
  | last2     = Mitchell
  | first2    = W. H.
  | title     = The Liberty Ships
  | edition   = 2nd
  | pages     = 229–237
  | publisher = Lloyd's of London Press
  | location  = London
  | year      = 1985
  }}</ref>

==History==

===World War II===
''Jeremiah O'Brien'' is a class EC2-S-CI ship, built in just 56 days at the [[New England Shipbuilding Corporation]] in [[South Portland, Maine]] and launched on 19 June 1943.<ref name="nps">{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wwIIbayarea/jer.htm
 |title        = SS Jeremiah O'Brien
 |work         = World War II in the San Francisco Bay Area
 |publisher    = [[National Park Service]]
 |access-date  = 22 March 2007
 |ref          = nps
 |archive-date = 16 April 2007
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070416134218/http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wwIIbayarea/jer.htm
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref> Deployed in the [[European Theater of Operations]], she made four round-trip convoy crossings of the [[Atlantic]] and was part of the [[Operation Neptune]] invasion fleet armada on [[D-Day]].  She made 11 cross-channel round-trips to support the invasion.<ref name=centralmaine2020-05-31/> Following this she was sent to the [[Asiatic-Pacific Theater|Pacific Theater of Operations]] and saw 16 months of service in both the South Pacific and Indian Ocean calling at ports in Chile, Peru, New Guinea, the Philippines, India, China, and Australia.

===Postwar===
The end of the war caused most of the Liberty ships to be removed from service in 1946 and many were subsequently sold to foreign and domestic buyers. Others were retained by the [[U.S. Maritime Commission]] for potential reactivation in the event of future military conflicts. ''Jeremiah O'Brien'' was mothballed and remained in the National Defense [[Reserve Fleet]] in [[Suisun Bay]] for 33 years.<ref name=centralmaine2020-05-31/>

===Restoration===
In the 1970s, however, the idea of preserving an unaltered Liberty Ship began to be developed and, under the sponsorship of [[Thomas Patterson (admiral)|Rear Admiral Thomas J. Patterson]], [[United States Maritime Service|USMS]] (then the Western Regional Director of the [[U.S. Maritime Administration]]), the ship was put aside for preservation instead of being sold for scrap.<ref name=centralmaine2020-05-31/> In a 1994 interview printed by the Vintage Preservation magazine ''Old Glory'', Patterson claimed the ship was steamed to her anchorage in the mothball fleet (unlike the many that were secured as unserviceable and towed into storage), and frequently placed at the back of the list for disposal which undoubtedly contributed to her survival.

An all-volunteer group, the National Liberty Ship Memorial (NLSM), acquired ''Jeremiah O'Brien'' in 1979 for restoration. At that time, she was virtually the last Liberty at the anchorage. The volunteers who campaigned to resurrect the mothballed ship (led by Captain Edward MacMichael, NLSM Executive Director, and Master) were able to get the steam plant operating while she remained in Suisun Bay. After more than three decades in mothballs, ''Jeremiah O'Brien's'' boilers were lit. The ship left the mothball fleet on 6 October 1979 bound for San Francisco Bay, drydocking, and thousands of hours of restoration work. She was the only Liberty Ship to leave the mothball fleet under her own power.<ref>{{cite web
  | url         = http://www.ssjeremiahobrien.org/HISTORY/index.htm
  | title       = History of the O'Brien
  | access-date  = 31 July 2011
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110730075741/http://www.ssjeremiahobrien.org/HISTORY/index.htm
  | archive-date = 30 July 2011
  }}</ref>

''Jeremiah O'Brien'' then moved to Fort Mason on the San Francisco waterfront just to the west of [[Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, California|Fisherman's Wharf]] to become a [[museum ship]] dedicated to the men and women who built and sailed with the [[United States Merchant Marine]] in World War II.  She was named a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1984 and designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1986.<ref>National Park Service: [https://web.archive.org/web/20080413041507/http://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/116liberty_victory_ships/116facts3.htm Determining the Facts]</ref> Licensed to carry tours around San Francisco Bay, it was suggested{{who|date=August 2018}} that the ship be restored to oceangoing specification. After efforts in securing sponsorship, this was accomplished in time for the 50th "D-Day" Anniversary Celebrations in 1994.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

===50th Anniversary of D-Day===
In 1994, ''Jeremiah O'Brien'' steamed through the Golden Gate bound for France.  She went down the West Coast, through the [[Panama Canal]], and crossed the Atlantic for the first time since World War II. She stopped first in London, England, where she was berthed adjacent to [[HMS Belfast|HMS ''Belfast'']], then went on to Portsmouth for the D-Day +50 celebrations before she continued on to Normandy, where ''Jeremiah O'Brien'' and her crew (a volunteer crew of veteran World War II-era sailors and a few cadets from the [[California Maritime Academy]]) participated in the 50th Anniversary of [[Operation Overlord]], the Allied invasion of Western Europe. She was the only large ship from the original Normandy flotilla to return for the event.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

===Today===
Docked at [[Pier 35 (San Francisco)|Pier 35]], she makes several passenger-carrying daylight cruises each year in the San Francisco Bay, and occasional voyages to more distant ports such as Seattle and San Diego.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

Footage of the ship's engine was used in the 1997 film ''[[Titanic (1997 film)|Titanic]]'' to depict the ill-fated ship's own triple-expansion engines.<ref>{{cite web
  | url         = http://www.ssjeremiahobrien.org/rent.php/
  | title         = SS Jeremiah O'Brien - One of San Francisco's Most Unique Venues
  | access-date         = 14 October 2016
  | archive-date         = 18 October 2016
  | archive-url         = https://web.archive.org/web/20161018214551/http://www.ssjeremiahobrien.org/rent.php/
  | url-status         = dead
  }}</ref> The engine is very similar to the engines on board the [[RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic'']]; two of her engines were triple expansion marine steam engines, albeit ''Titanic''{{'s}} engines were four cylinders as opposed to three.

The ship is completely restored to its original World War II configuration.<ref name=centralmaine2020-05-31/>  Most areas are open to the public, including the engine room, bridge, and cargo holds. Modernization has been kept to a minimum and mostly involves systems related to safety, communications, and navigation.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

In 2009, ''Jeremiah O'Brien'' was dry docked inside ''[[USS Steadfast|Eureka]]'' at [[Pier 70, San Francisco|Pier 70]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Photo Tour|url=http://www.pier70sf.org/phototour/phototour_drydocks.html|access-date=2022-02-09|website=www.pier70sf.org}}</ref> During that same year, Tim Ferriss hosted a party aboard the ship to celebrate the success of his LitLiberation project.<ref>{{cite web
  | url         = http://bub.blicio.us/worlds-collide-onboard-the-ss-jeremiah-obrien/
  | title       = Worlds Collide Onboard the SS Jeremiah Obrien
  | publisher   = bub.blicio.us
  | date        = 21 Feb 2009
  }}</ref>

On 23 May 2020, ''Jeremiah O'Brien'' and [[USS Pampanito|USS ''Pampanito'']] were threatened by a [[multiple-alarm fire|4-alarm fire]] at a warehouse structure next to where ''Jeremiah O'Brien'' was berthed at San Francisco's Pier 45, but both vessels were undamaged due to the actions of the local firefighters.<ref>{{cite web
  | url         = https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/05/23/massive-4-alarm-fire-erupts-at-san-francisco-waterfront-pier/
  | title       = VIDEO: Massive 4-Alarm Fish Processing Warehouse Fire Erupts Near Fisherman's Wharf
  | publisher   = KPIX-TV
  | date        = 23 May 2020
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20200523172649/https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/05/23/massive-4-alarm-fire-erupts-at-san-francisco-waterfront-pier/
  | archive-date = 23 May 2020
  | url-status  = live
  }}</ref>  The fireboat [[St. Francis (fireboat)|''St. Francis'']] is credited with saving the ship.<ref name=centralmaine2020-05-31/> Following the fire, the ship was moved on a temporary basis to [[Pier 35 (San Francisco)|Pier 35]] until repairs to Pier 45 could be made.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rodriguez |first1=Joe Fitzgerald |title=Iconic Warship SS Jeremiah O'Brien Sails for New Home After Pier 45 Inferno |url=https://www.kqed.org/news/11820796/iconic-warship-ss-jeremiah-obrien-sails-for-new-home-after-pier-45-inferno |website=KQED |date=27 May 2020 |access-date=17 July 2023}}</ref> This relocation was made permanent in 2023 when the nonprofit organization responsible for the ship signed a long-term lease at Pier 35 with the [[Port of San Francisco]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lasher |first1=Matt |title=Matt's Message |journal=Steady as She Goes |date=Spring–Summer 2023 |volume=91 |page=2 |publisher=National Liberty Ship Memorial, Inc. |url=https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1698/8385/files/steady-as-she-goes-2023-91.pdf |access-date=17 July 2023}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths=180>
File:SS Jeremiah O'Brien at Pier 35.agr.jpg|''Jeremiah O'Brien'' at its new home at Pier 35, San Francisco, California
File:O'brien underway.jpg|''Jeremiah O'Brien'' under way in San Pablo Bay on 27 August 2005, as seen from the aft steering station
File:S.S. Jeremiah OBrien, Polynesian fantasy.jpg|Polynesian fantasy pinups painted on ''Jeremiah O'Brien''{{'s}} bow for her maiden voyage. Found beneath later paint, they were restored during the ship's 1990s restoration
File:WWII_Liberty_Ship_"SS_Jeremiah_O'Brien"_engine_room_status_board_while_underway.jpg|Engine room status board seen while underway
File:Jeremiah O'Brien (IMO 5171749).jpg|''Jeremiah O'Brien'' arriving at Chatham (UK), 8 June 1994
File:Jeremiah_O.Brien_Steam_Whistle_2022.jpg|''Jeremiah O'Brien'' steam whistle
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Liberty ship]]
*[[List of Liberty ships]]
*''[[Nash (tugboat)|Nash]]'' – last surviving D-Day Army ship
*[[Victory ship]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=centralmaine2020-05-31>
{{cite news
| url         = https://www.centralmaine.com/2020/05/31/bill-nemitz-long-live-the-lucky-obrien-the-last-of-maines-liberty-ships/
| title       = Bill Nemitz: Long live the 'Lucky O'Brien' – the last of Maine's Liberty ships
| work        = [[Portland Press Herald]]
| author      = Bill Nemitz
| date        = 2020-05-31
| archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20200601005018/https://www.centralmaine.com/2020/05/31/bill-nemitz-long-live-the-lucky-obrien-the-last-of-maines-liberty-ships/
| archive-date = 2020-06-01
| access-date  = 2020-05-31
| url-status  = live
| quote       = The SS Jeremiah O'Brien, the last of the Liberty ships built in South Portland during World War II, survived the German U-boats, the Mothball Fleet and now, a devastating fire on San Francisco's waterfront.
}}
</ref>
}}

*{{cite web
|url={{NHLS url|id=78003405}}
|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form / SS Jeremiah O'Brien
|format=pdf
|last=Butowsky
|first=Harry A.
|publisher=[[National Park Service]]
|date=May 1985
|access-date=16 September 2012
}}
**{{cite web
|url={{NHLS url|id=78003405|photos=y}}
|title=Accompanying Photos
|format=pdf
|publisher=[[National Park Service]]
|access-date=16 September 2012
}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|IMO 5171749}}
*{{cite web
  | url   = http://www.ssjeremiahobrien.org/
  | title = National Liberty Ship Memorial (SS ''Jeremiah O'Brien'' official site)
  }}
*{{cite web
  | url   = http://inphotos.org/ss-jeremiah-obrien/
  | title = Photo site of ''Jeremiah O'Brien''
  | date = 5 November 2006
 }}
*{{cite web
  | url         = http://www.hnsa.org/ships/jobrien.htm
  | title       = SS ''Jeremiah O'Brien''
  | publisher   = Historic Naval Ships Association
  | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20071014043621/http://hnsa.org/ships/jobrien.htm
  | archive-date = 14 October 2007
  }}
{{Liberty ships}}
{{Registered Historic Places}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeremiah O'Brien}}
[[Category:Liberty ships]]
[[Category:Museum ships in San Francisco]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Portland, Maine]]
[[Category:Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in California]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of the United States]]
[[Category:United States Merchant Marine]]
[[Category:Golden Gate National Recreation Area]]
[[Category:Military and war museums in California]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Battle of the Atlantic]]
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving the United States]]
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving Germany]]
[[Category:American Theater of World War II]]
[[Category:World War II on the National Register of Historic Places in California]]