SS Francis Preston Blair explained

-21.8°N 153.7°W

-- commercial vessels -->	+SS Francis Preston Blair Ship Name: Francis Preston Blair Ship Owner: War Shipping Administration. Ship Operator: Sudden & Christenson Company Ship Launched: 3 January 1943 Ship Fate: Wrecked 15 July 1945

SS Francis Preston Blair was an American Liberty ship, 7,196 tons stranded on Saumarez Reef in the Coral Sea during a cyclone in 1945. The ship has since deteriorated into a rusty heap. The wreck was used by Royal Australian Air Force F-111 aircraft for target practice during the 1980s.

The bronze propeller was salvaged by unknown persons between 1964 and 1970. Wreck was visited by Wild Kingdom who made a TV episode hosted by Marlin Perkins for USA and world distribution in 1971.

Francis Preston Blair was operated during World War II by Sudden & Christenson Company under charter ships from the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration. She was unloading troops and supplies at off Queensland, Australia before the grounding.^[1]

See also

• World War II United States Merchant Navy

Sources

• Web site: Davies. James. "Liberty" Cargo Ship – Feature Article. ww2ships.com. May 2004. 3 February 2022. en.

External links

• Web site: No.1 SAUMAREZ REEFS - (21°38'S., 153°46'E.) LIBERTY SHIP . 9 June 2012.

Notes and References

1. http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/LibShipsF.html mariners-l.co.uk, ships F