Fastest ship building

The fastest times in which complete ships of more than 10,000 tonnes deadweight were ever built were achieved at Kaiser's Yard, Portland, Oregon, USA during the Second World War Liberty ship building programme. In 1942 No. 440, named Robert E. Peary, had her keel laid on 8 November, was launched on 12 November and was operational after 4 days 15.5 hr on 15 November. In one of the most impressive ever feats of mass production, 2,742 identical Liberty cargo ships were built in 18 shipyards around the US from 27 Sep 1941. They were 134.5 m (441.5 ft) long, 17.3 m (57 ft) wide and were able to carry 8 tonnes of cargo. Fast production times were achieved through the extensive use of prefabrication.

The Liberty ships were a lifeline for the Allies campaign against the Germans in Europe, carrying thousands of tonnes of supplies and equipment to Britain in preparation for D-Day. The idea behind the ships was to build them faster than they could be sunk by German submarines.