City of Ely

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Everybody,

How about this for an absolute piece of gold dust. My local model shop is all about trains and cars but spotted in the workshop area the bows of a freighter poking out from the attic storage area. I fear the shop is about to close so without even getting the hull down made the owner an offer (the owner didn't even know it was there). Haggle, haggle, £25. Out it came from the loft, all 59 inches of a dust covered fiberglass hull.

There was one sheet of drawings inside which is the plan view. Enough info on it to identify it as a Deans Marine model of the 'City of Ely' or the 'Samarina'. She's a Liberty ship!

Built 1943, convoy duty, survived the war but destroyed by fire in 1965 and scrapped in Taiwan. There's lots of info on Google but it would be nice if any one had a copy of the elevation drawings (I only have the plan view), it would help tremendously.

The second pic is just to make a point to STMBO. Both the ship and cat are rescued orphans (and the cat is hers)!

This isn't really Scratch build but didn't know where else to post it.

Len

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Liberty Ship

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Nice find Len

I've always had a fascination for Liberty ships………They were a life saver for the UK and could be built in record time

Back to your model

I thought they were just about all the construction?…….So any plan would be good enough

Bob Wilson is the man you need!

He'll be here shortly

Bob

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Len you jammy dodger. What a find! Good luck with that. Looks like most of the work has been done. Is is outfitted with motor and so on ??

Ashley

[Tony HadleyParticipant @tonyhadley]

Nice find Len,

Deans offer the plans for a Liberty Ship in their plans range.

[Geoff SleathParticipant @geoffsleath41411]

A lucky find and a great bargain. 59" waterline is a substantial model. I know nothing about Liberty ships beyond what everyone my age knows so I can't help you on that score but I would have thought that, if the cat has anything to do with it, it will certainly qualify as scratch built.

Geoff

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Bob A, I also thought all Liberty ships were the same but apparently not. According to t'internet City of Ely was one of 184 'SAM' versions which stands for 'Superstructure Aft of Midships'. Hopefully it will be just the same superstructure as all the others but pushed backwards. I'm sure you're right about Bob W being the man!

Hi Ashley, a lot of the work has been done and she's essentially complete apart from the bridge superstructure. There's nothing inside but the prop shaft and rudder have been fitted. Need to give her a good clean and devise a cunning plan. The bit I do like is that in war time trim she carried a 12 pdr aft and 6 20mm Oerlicons forward!

Len

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Tony, thanks for that. Had a look and Deans Marine do offer Liberty ship plans to exactly the same scale (1/96). It's got to be the same ship. Will order a set. Interestingly they quote the length as 54.5 inches. Out with the tape measure again and yes she is that length. I've no idea where I got 59 inches from but finding the mistake made me very happy. 54.5 just fits in the bath with an inch to spare!

And Geoff, if it all works out she just might make the purrfect model!

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Liberty ship accommodation was real simple. Here is a perspective drawing by kind permission of The Motor Ship journal.

Bob

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Dear Bob W, as ever a brilliant input! Can see the whole thing fabbed up in one mill ply but more importantly the picture identifies this:-

It was found rolling about in the bottom of the hull and is obviously the deck hatch behind the main bridge. It allows me to scale the whole job up to the correct dimensions! Have Googled Liberty ships for the last two days. Now need to find the good books. Any recommendations? Thanks again Bob.

Len

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

There is Liberty Ships in Peacetime by I G Stewart. You could probably find one on http://www.bookfinder.com and it contains plans and lots of photographs, including City of Ely.

They were designed for easy, quick construction and this rubbed off into models of them. They are very easy to build.

Here is a profile, also by courtesy of The Motor Ship.

Bob

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

This is a photograph I took of Aquila at Cape Town, 48 years ago.

It is useful for showing the very full hull form, designed for maximum cargo capacity during the war years.

Bob

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Here is the Dromon at Durban about the same time, from two different angles.

Bob

Edited By Bob Wilson on 25/11/2014 19:23:10

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Thanks Bob, helped me sort the wheat from the chaff. Easy to get hold of on the internet. Prices range from forty to eighty quid. Will probably go for a grubby version as all I'm looking for is information. Not really interested if it's a signed new first edition!

Len

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Len,

If you look here:

**LINK**

You will find a few pictures of City of Ely.

Bob

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Thanks for the Link Bob. Excellent pictures. Lot of detail and a lot of variation between shots at different stages in her career. Ample scope to play with and I am leaning towards her war years as the Samarina. I can see this job is going to cost me a shed load in 'weathering paint' (not to mention going to church)!

Time now to do all the reading and planning. Thanks again Bob,

Len

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Glad to be of assistance. Here is the last Liberty I made, the St. Helena, ex Samloyal. It is not the St. Helena that I sailed in for 11 years, but an earlier one!

It makes a refreshing change for me to see someone else making a merchant ship model. I have virtually given up building them now, because of a widespread lack of interest (by model shipbuilders) in the subject.

Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

That's a lovely model, Bob

Would like it more with the guns though

Bob

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

That's what they all say!

Those round things on the bridge wings on the top deck of the perspective drawings are gun platforms!

Bob

PS

This is my St. Helena in which I served for 11 years.    I am in the middle!

Bob

Edited By Bob Wilson on 27/11/2014 20:37:16

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Sorry Bob

Didn't see whatever you are on about…..lol

I like to see the big round gun platform forrard!

Were they ever used in anger?

Bob

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Bob

The gun platforms are shown on the perspective drawing of the Liberty ship on the previous page.

The guns above, on my St. Helena were Oerlikons. We had two on the foredeck, two on either side of the accommodation, six machine guns and AS12 missiles in the helicopter. They were never fired in anger, but lots of gunnery practice. The above photograph was not a drill though, we were at Defence Stations in the Total Exclusion Zone, Falklands, 1982. Six hours on duty, six hours off, all the time, and not allowed to take most of the gear off when we slept (if we could sleep that is). We could take off helmet, lifejacket and boots, that was all! We didn't even have proper beds anyway, just sleeping bags!

We were the armed support ship to mine counter measures vessels HMS Brecon and HMS Ledbury. All very interesting, but not exactly my "cup of tea," although they had us on MOD charter for 13 months

32 years on, they have just decided to give us the South Atlantic medal!

Bob

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Bob, your St Helena is excellent but I have now spotted your trick. You have a 3 feet long fountain pen!

My interest in Liberty ships is quite simple, they are at the other end of my main interest, submarines. Need to have one of each.

Point of detail having poured over no end of pictures. Nearly all models have their ventilation funnels pointing forwards. They obviously rotate as all the real ship pictures show them pointing in all directions. Was this a manual thing or where they motorized? Is it a case of wind direction and whether they are inlets or exhausts?

Len

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

Len,

I have to have a big pen, because I have big hands

Ventilators:

They were turned by hand. Ships of that era were very basic. I have personal experience of them, because one of the big cowl vents at the after end of the boat deck of the cargo ship Richmond Castle (Completed 1944)

touched my emergency aerial when pointing in a certain direction. When this happenned, I used to go along and turn it round myself rather than bother about getting a seaman to do it. I suppose it was about two feet in diameter. It may have had a locking screw, but I really can't remember. It was quite easy to turn. They just led into the engine-room and were to direct the breeze down there. All the engine exhaust gasses went up the funnel!

As well as Liberty ships there were other standard wartime merchant ships such as the "Oceans" "Forts" and "Parks" as well as the T2 class tankers, C1, C2 and C3 cargo ships. My first ship was an old C3 (American built – 1943) horribly uncomfortable as far as accommodation went. The Liberty's were superior, but I never sailed in one!

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Lovely model, Bob

You are a Master Builder, without any doubt

Bob

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Bob, thanks for your comments about ventilators. I shall make sure that mine do not all point forwards.

You must have massive hands. Otherwise your picture is almost unbelievable!

Len

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