Questions About Liberty Ships/Convoys

[Kevin C. Smith]

If this is the wrong forum, Moderators, please move/delete

I have a few questions about WWII convoys:

Convoy Sizes:
-How did the size of Atlantic convoys compare year by year? I understand the British started theirs in 1939(?), the US in 1942, and they grew in size during the war. But how many ships would have been a common number to find during those years? 20? 50? 70? I really have no idea.
-Was convoying used from the Pacific ports of Canada? If so, how big would those convoys have been?

Convoy Ships:
I know that this is a question with no one answer, and even a wildly variable range of answers. Roughly how long did it take to load a Liberty Ship? Now I know it depends on troops, dry cargo, vehicles, petroleum, etc.; some ports had more auxiliary cranes, etc., than others to speed things up. But I haven't the slightest idea of what it's about. If you tell me a day, or a week, I would find either just as believable. It's like building a Liberty Ship-I know they took as long as half a year to begin with, and could be done in as little as half a week to show it could be done...but (at least according to the ever reliable Wiki) the general average time was 42 days. So, something like that for loading times?

Thanks to any/all in advance.

 

[BlackDragon98]

Here's a website I use when looking for info on convoys.
Gives the size, name of ship, number of ships and escorts, etc.
Hope this helps.

Convoy Index Page - warsailors.com

warsailors.com

Not sure that convoys were even used in the Pacific. IJN didn't target merchant shipping, they weren't fighting a tonnage war like the Kriegsmarine.

 

[alspug]

Convoys definitely got used in the Pacific. The American Navy was concerned about large Cruiser raiders so much they built the Alaska Class as an answer.
Have a look at the shipments to Australia they all came under a convoy system. Australia did not effectively run convoys down the coast and the IJN Submarines sunk some large vessels.

 

[naraic]

Unloading is very different depending on what the contents are.

I remember one example from 1939 pre war of a cargo ship typically taking 2 weeks to load 2 weeks to travel the Atlantic and 2 weeks to unload. Once war came in and they travelled by convoy it took them 2 weeks to load and 1 month to unload as they were waiting for other ships to clear piers before they could unload (as too many ships arrived in port at the one time).

That's just one ship and not an overall average.

 

[Othala]

Just going from memory here:

Submarine warfare and commerce raiding were known threats. After all those had happened in WWI (RMS Lusitania should ring a bell). So Britain introduced a convoy system as soon as war was declared, though uptake and refinement took a while. These convoys also included US flagged ships that were bound for British ports. Before Lend Lease the US policy was Cash & Carry, so Britain had to provide transport on their own. Neutral ships were sunk by Uboat, but I can't offhand remember any specific incidents.

While once the US entered the war, they participated in trans Atlantic convoys, they didn't introduce a convoy system off the east coast immediately. Something that the German Navy exploited, causing the "Second Happy Time".

Before the entrance of the US into the war I'd expect ships from the Canadian pacific port to travel to the Atlantic ports where convoys formed. I can mention Halifx offhand, but I'm unsure as to others. There probably was one in the Caribbean as well.

After the Japanese and US entrance I'm less sure. I know that Japanese subs operated off the US west coast, but I'm note sure how often and to what ends. I know they did bombard the coast at least once. (Quick wikipedia check points to Ellwood). High value cargo probably used convoys and warship escorts, but maybe less valuable ones set out on their own? If so I'd expect them to form convoys either at Panama or somewhere in Texas?