Concrete ship

<h2 id="history">History</h2>

The oldest known ferrocement watercraft was a <a href="/facts/Dinghy/SkIGaMWD">dinghy</a> built by <a href="/facts/Joseph-Louis_Lambot/BQNfNSbN">Joseph-Louis Lambot</a> in Southern <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a> in 1848. Lambot's boat was featured in the <a href="/facts/Exposition_Universelle_(1855)/xwc295r8">Exposition Universelle</a> held in <a href="/facts/Paris/DrNHpwnA">Paris</a> in 1855.
Beginning in the 1860s, ferrocement <a href="/facts/Barge/9XrPkXV4">barges</a> were built in Europe for use on canals, and around 1896, an Italian engineer, Carlo Gabellini, began building small ships out of ferrocement. The most famous of his ships was the Liguria.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a>
Between 1908 and 1914, larger ferrocement barges began to be made in Germany, United Kingdom,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a> the Netherlands, Norway and United States.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a> The remains of a British ship of this type, the auxiliary coaster Violette (built 1919), can be seen at <a href="/facts/Hoo_St_Werburgh/mEkIod31">Hoo</a>, <a href="/facts/Kent/aYfQI6Fc">Kent</a>, England.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a>
On August 2, 1917, Nicolay Fougner of Norway launched the first self-propelled ferrocement ship intended for ocean travel. This was an 84-foot (26 m) vessel of 400 tons named Namsenfjord. With the success of this ship, additional ferrocement vessels were ordered, and in October 1917, the U.S. government invited Fougner to head a study into the feasibility of building ferrocement ships in the United States.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a> The Fougner Concrete Shipbuilding Company, <a href="/facts/Flushing_Bay/Q1HFANL0">Flushing Bay</a>, <a href="/facts/New_York_City/YlyvFmVC">New York</a>, reported calculated cost was of $290 per deadweight ton for the Cape Fear (<a href="/facts/List_of_shipwrecks_in_1920/bum4XHbl">List of shipwrecks in 1920</a> "10.21 30 October") and the Sapona which they presumably built.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a>
About the same time, the California businessman <a href="/facts/William_Leslie_Comyn/ED9RHsvW">W. Leslie Comyn</a> took the initiative to build ferrocement ships on his own. He formed the San Francisco Ship Building Company (in <a href="/facts/Oakland,_California/84tfrNlx">Oakland, California</a>), and hired Alan Macdonald and Victor Poss to design the first American ferrocement ship, a 6,125-ton steamer named the <a href="/facts/SS_Faith/z3Pt1jeR">SS Faith</a>. Faith was launched March 18, 1918. She cost $750,000 to build. She was used to carry <a href="/facts/Bulk_cargo/uF94k6DP">bulk cargo</a> for trade until 1921, when she was sold and scrapped as a <a href="/facts/Breakwater_(structure)/gHBSWptv">breakwater</a> in Cuba.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a>

On April 12, 1918, President <a href="/facts/Woodrow_Wilson/zE4yxK2X">Woodrow Wilson</a> approved the <a href="/facts/United_States_Shipping_Board_Merchant_Fleet_Corporation/3mCohkNd">Emergency Fleet Corporation</a> program which oversaw the construction of 24 ferrocement ships for the war. However, when the war ended in November 1918, only 12 ferrocement ships were under construction and none of them had been completed. These 12 ships were eventually completed, but soon sold to private companies who used them for light-trading, storage, and scrap.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a>
Other countries that looked into ferrocement ship construction during this period included Canada, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Sweden<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a> and the United Kingdom.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a>
Between the world wars, there was little commercial or military interest in concrete ship construction. The reason was that other shipbuilding methods were cheaper and less labor-intensive, and other kinds of ships were cheaper to operate. However, in 1942, after the U.S. entered <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>, the U.S. military found that its contractors had steel shortages. Consequently, the U.S. government contracted <a href="/facts/Matthew_McCloskey/cmTQqaA0">McCloskey & Company</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a> of <a href="/facts/Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania/2bFFCCTU">Philadelphia, Pennsylvania</a> to build 24 self-propelled concrete ships. Construction started in July 1943. The shipyard was at Hookers Point in <a href="/facts/Tampa,_Florida/lnjNsRL6">Tampa, Florida</a>, and at its peak, it employed 6,000 workers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17">17</a> The U.S. government also contracted with two companies in California for the construction of <a href="/facts/Concrete_barge/jE2MXDQc">concrete barge ships</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18">18</a> Barge ships were large vessels that lacked engines to propel them. Instead, they were towed by tugs.
In Europe, ferrocement barges (FCBs) played a crucial role in World War II operations, particularly in the <a href="/facts/Normandy_Landings/q4wsAqGV">D-Day Normandy landings</a>, where they were used as part of the <a href="/facts/Mulberry_harbour/BYS3hgcR">Mulberry harbour</a> defenses, for fuel and munitions transportation, as <a href="/facts/Blockship/gSgAcHb1">blockships</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19">19</a> and as floating <a href="/facts/Pontoon_bridge/DX5xQlzl">pontoons</a>. In 1940, 200 were commissioned to serve as petrol-carrying barges. The barges weighed 160 tons and were constructed on the London dockside before being craned into the water by a giant crane.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20">20</a>
Some barges were fitted with engines and used as mobile canteens and troop carriers. Some of these vessels survive as abandoned wrecks or sea defenses (against storm surges) in the <a href="/facts/River_Thames/XnQWN52L">Thames Estuary</a> including near <a href="/facts/Rainham_Marshes_Nature_Reserve/PUFaloIn">Rainham Marshes</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21">21</a>) Two remain in civil use as <a href="/facts/Mooring_(watercraft)/3Pl1EkqM">moorings</a> at <a href="/facts/Westminster/fpfm7LnR">Westminster</a>. 
One notable wartime FCB, previously beached at <a href="/facts/Canvey_Island/D7ACvRuK">Canvey Island</a>, was partially removed in 2003 by the local sailing club, whose land it was on, for fear it was a "danger to children". Local historians disagreed with the club and were displeased with their actions.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22">22</a>
In 1944 a concrete firm in California proposed a <a href="/facts/Submarine/6fhcAKHV">submarine</a> shaped <a href="/facts/Cargo_ship/G7JSpeMc">freighter</a> which they claimed could achieve speeds of 75 knots. The war ended any more research into the project. In retrospect many believe the claims were greatly overstated.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23">23</a>
Concrete barges also served in the <a href="/facts/Pacific_Ocean_theater_of_World_War_II/CRsAVSe4">Pacific</a> during 1944 and 1945.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24">24</a> From the <a href="/facts/Charleroi,_Pennsylvania/cMtKKmcG">Charleroi, Pennsylvania</a>, Mail, February 5, 1945:

<blockquote>Largest unit of the Army's fleet is a BRL, (Barge, Refrigerated, Large) which is going to the South Pacific to serve fresh frozen foods – even ice cream – to troops weary of dry rations. The vessel can keep 64 carloads of frozen meats and 500 tons of fresh produce indefinitely at 12°F. Equipment on board includes an ice machine of five-ton daily capacity and a freezer that turns out more than a gallon of ice cream a minute. Three of the floating warehouses, designed for tropical warfare, have been built of concrete at National City, Calif., and cost $1,120,000 each. In the crew of the 265-ft. barges are 23 Army men.</blockquote>
One concrete barge under tow by Jicarilla (ATF-104) was lost off <a href="/facts/Saipan/d8k8nEMK">Saipan</a> during a <a href="/facts/Typhoon/xGfFa6H7">typhoon</a>, and another barge damaged the <a href="/facts/Moreton_Bay_Pile_Light/qtVTyhnp">Moreton Bay Pile Light</a> in <a href="/facts/Brisbane/DdUE1VPW">Brisbane</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25">25</a> but the rest served admirably.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26">26</a>

<h2 id="today">Today</h2>

Modern hobbyists also build ferrocement boats (ferroboats),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27">27</a> as their construction methods do not require special tools, and the materials are comparatively cheap. Since the 1960s, the <a href="/facts/American_Society_of_Civil_Engineers/FVPmz6sf">American Society of Civil Engineers</a> has sponsored the National <a href="/facts/Concrete_canoe/5P6Nb2ev">Concrete Canoe</a> Competition.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:28" href="#fn:28">28</a>
In Europe, especially the Netherlands, concrete is still used to build some of the barges on which <a href="/facts/Houseboat/ExzlxPpc">houseboats</a> are built.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:29" href="#fn:29">29</a>

<h3>Remaining wartime ships</h3>
Surviving wartime concrete ships are no longer in use as ships. Several continue in use in various forms, mostly as museums or breakwaters.

<h4>North America</h4>
The largest collection is at <a href="/facts/Powell_River,_British_Columbia/9r2c7G0T">Powell River</a>, <a href="/facts/British_Columbia/Ty3e3g1Q">British Columbia</a>, <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=49.865238_N_124.555821_W_">49°51′55″N 124°33′21″W / 49.865238°N 124.555821°W / 49.865238; -124.555821</a>, where a lumber mill uses ten floating ferrocement ships as a breakwater,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:30" href="#fn:30">30</a> known as <a href="/facts/The_Hulks/WteevrBo">The Hulks</a>.
The <a href="/facts/Kiptopeke_State_Park/QwHtBdQH">Kiptopeke</a> Breakwater in <a href="/facts/Chesapeake_Bay/IBeolBQc">Chesapeake Bay</a>, Virginia, <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=37.164267_N_75.991402_W_">37°09′51″N 75°59′29″W / 37.164267°N 75.991402°W / 37.164267; -75.991402</a>, is formed by nine sunken concrete ships built in World War II.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:31" href="#fn:31">31</a>
SS San Pasqual, a former oil tanker, lies off the coast of Cayo Las Brujas, <a href="/facts/Cuba/vHjTXLPW">Cuba</a>, <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=22.623439_N_79.22327_W_">22°37′24″N 79°13′24″W / 22.623439°N 79.22327°W / 22.623439; -79.22327</a>, where it served as a hotel, then as a base for divers. Currently, the San Pasqual is abandoned.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:32" href="#fn:32">32</a>[not specific enough to verify]
The wreckage of <a href="/facts/SS_Atlantus/L1tHDWUM">SS Atlantus</a> (commissioned in 1919, sunk in 1926) is visible off <a href="/facts/Sunset_Beach_(New_Jersey)/K3yKt7pY">Sunset Beach</a> near <a href="/facts/Cape_May/J1cWM2X1">Cape May</a>, <a href="/facts/New_Jersey/pI5k19S7">New Jersey</a>, <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=38.944322_N_74.972083_W_">38°56′40″N 74°58′19″W / 38.944322°N 74.972083°W / 38.944322; -74.972083</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:33" href="#fn:33">33</a>[not specific enough to verify]
The tanker <a href="/facts/SS_Selma_(1919)/gdGrYPSn">SS Selma</a> is located northwest of the fishing pier at <a href="/facts/Seawolf_Park/5ttCx0jK">Seawolf Park</a> in <a href="/facts/Galveston/aJhPdhog">Galveston</a>, <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=29.344249_N_94.786343_W_">29°20′39″N 94°47′11″W / 29.344249°N 94.786343°W / 29.344249; -94.786343</a>. The ship was launched the same day Germany signed the <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Versailles/BsNmjaqV">Treaty of Versailles</a>, ending the war, so it never saw wartime duty and instead was used as an oil tanker in the <a href="/facts/Gulf_of_Mexico/bGE5s57G">Gulf of Mexico</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:34" href="#fn:34">34</a>
The <a href="/facts/SS_Palo_Alto/FQ23Kncx">SS Palo Alto</a>, a concrete tanker launched on May 29, 1919, was purchased and turned into an amusement pier, and is still visible at <a href="/facts/Seacliff_State_Beach/AhHkVJdW">Seacliff State Beach</a>, near <a href="/facts/Aptos/aIIaBJcX">Aptos</a>, <a href="/facts/California/zLW2vdQJ">California</a>, <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=36.969704_N_121.913947_W_">36°58′11″N 121°54′50″W / 36.969704°N 121.913947°W / 36.969704; -121.913947</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:35" href="#fn:35">35</a> It broke up during a January 2017 storm.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:36" href="#fn:36">36</a>
The SS McKittrick, launched in 1921 in <a href="/facts/Wilmington,_North_Carolina/5mL8UmdH">Wilmington, North Carolina</a>, later became the <a href="/facts/SS_Monte_Carlo/YYUrg4Jy">SS Monte Carlo</a>, a gaming ship off <a href="/facts/Coronado,_California/CIx95EGI">Coronado, California</a>, that ran aground on December 31, 1936. The wreck is periodically exposed by strong storm tides.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:37" href="#fn:37">37</a>
The vessel aground in the surf at Shipwreck Beach on the north shore of <a href="/facts/Lanai/ak0lBoYQ">Lanai</a>, Hawaii is the wreck of <a href="/facts/YOG-42/SHaR7glD">YOG-42</a>, <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=20.921299_N_156.910139_W_">20°55′17″N 156°54′37″W / 20.921299°N 156.910139°W / 20.921299; -156.910139</a>, a concrete gasoline barge built for the US Navy in 1942 and placed in service in 1943. The wreck is often misidentified as a <a href="/facts/Liberty_ship/JuXDDY97">Liberty ship</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:38" href="#fn:38">38</a>
The remains of the Col. J. E. Sawyer can be seen near the <a href="/facts/USS_Yorktown_(CV-10)/jVVG4nx6">USS Yorktown</a> in Charleston Harbor, <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=32.798761_N_79.906863_W_">32°47′56″N 79°54′25″W / 32.798761°N 79.906863°W / 32.798761; -79.906863</a>, South Carolina.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:39" href="#fn:39">39</a>
The wreckage of the <a href="/facts/SS_Sapona/tvaFsa3D">SS Sapona</a> is visible slightly south of Bimini Island in the Bahamas, <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=25.65063_N_79.29337_W_">25°39′02″N 79°17′36″W / 25.65063°N 79.29337°W / 25.65063; -79.29337</a>. It is a popular snorkeling site and boating landmark in the area.

<h4>Europe</h4>
One of the few concrete ships built for but not completed in time to be used in World War I, the SS Crete Boom, lies abandoned in the <a href="/facts/River_Moy/QXwY5wqW">River Moy</a>, <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=54.135515_N_9.138452_W_">54°08′08″N 9°08′18″W / 54.135515°N 9.138452°W / 54.135515; -9.138452</a> just outside the town of <a href="/facts/Ballina,_County_Mayo/Wd8YMl02">Ballina</a>, <a href="/facts/County_Mayo/eM9BEJUF">County Mayo</a>, Ireland, and is considered of much interest to the area's many tourists.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:40" href="#fn:40">40</a> 
A concrete barge, the Cretetree, is beached in the harbour of the <a href="/facts/Scalpay,_Outer_Hebrides/Us7bxP1p">Isle of Scalpay</a> near <a href="/facts/Tarbert,_Harris/jv3YyTv0">Tarbert</a>, Harris, Scotland, <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=57.876873_N_6.699965_W_">57°52′37″N 6°42′00″W / 57.876873°N 6.699965°W / 57.876873; -6.699965</a>. It was built by Aberdeen Concrete Ships, and completed in 1919.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:41" href="#fn:41">41</a>
The <a href="/facts/Purton_Hulks/69aAIuL5">Purton Hulks</a>, a collection of vessels intentionally beached at <a href="/facts/Purton,_Berkeley/JpbmwkEf">Purton</a> during the first half of the twentieth century as a method to prevent coastal erosion, includes eight ferro-concrete barges. <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=51.737178_N_2.455798_W_">51°44′14″N 2°27′21″W / 51.737178°N 2.455798°W / 51.737178; -2.455798</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:42" href="#fn:42">42</a>[not specific enough to verify]
A large collection of abandoned concrete barges are seen at River Thames in <a href="/facts/Rainham,_London/b6LkN4WK">Rainham, London</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:43" href="#fn:43">43</a> <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=51.498608_N_0.18202_E_">51°29′55″N 0°10′55″E / 51.498608°N 0.18202°E / 51.498608; 0.18202</a>
The wreckage of the Ulrich Finsterwalder, a small <a href="/facts/Nazi_Germany/8kRbqRpo">Nazi-era German</a> tanker, is visible in <a href="/facts/D%C4%85bie_Lake/n8V2tmtw">Dąbie Lake</a>, near <a href="/facts/Szczecin/BCmb6DUv">Szczecin</a>, Poland. It was sunk during a <a href="/facts/Soviet_Union/m7wWsPto">Soviet</a> air raid on 20 March 1945. In the late 1950s Polish authorities decided to lift it and tow it to another location to be converted into swimming pools, but during that operation it began sinking again, so it was abandoned in shallow water, where it has remained since.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:44" href="#fn:44">44</a>

 
During the <a href="/facts/Axis_occupation_of_Greece/GQ5vV4Ap">German occupation of Greece</a> (1942–1944) during World War II, the <a href="/facts/German_Army_(Wehrmacht)/yP5zyQ76">German Army</a> built 24 concrete cargo vessels for transporting goods to various <a href="/facts/Greek_islands/EQBxrjvE">Greek islands</a>, including <a href="/facts/Crete/VSqxTU9u">Crete</a>. These were constructed in the <a href="/facts/Perama/ea72FSbY">Perama</a> shipbuilding area of <a href="/facts/Piraeus/VzkzdTHc">Piraeus</a>. After the war, many of the vessels were used as piers (e.g., in <a href="/facts/Rafina/17QFszDo">Rafina</a>, <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=38.022056_N_24.010368_E_">38°01′19″N 24°00′37″E / 38.022056°N 24.010368°E / 38.022056; 24.010368</a>) and <a href="/facts/Breakwater_(structure)/gHBSWptv">breakwaters</a> (e.g., in Agios Georgios, <a href="/facts/Methana/N7EUMpqm">Methana</a>, <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=37.63834_N_23.394544_E_">37°38′18″N 23°23′40″E / 37.638340°N 23.394544°E / 37.638340; 23.394544</a>).
Due to the need to deliver necessary raw materials (such as oil, weapons, ammunition, food and drugs) through mined river currents, <a href="/facts/Adolf_Hitler/3zyXG1L8">Adolf Hitler</a> ordered the production of 50 concrete ships for different purposes. Most were concrete barges made for oil transportation from Romania, and needed raw materials that were driven to the Baltic front. A smaller number of ships was intended for transporting food (specializing in cold storages). The most valuable ships were the specialized ship-hospitals, which evacuated seriously wounded and "important" soldiers to German hospitals along rivers.

<h4>Japan</h4>
Several concrete ships were aground on the west beach of <a href="/facts/Iwo_To/g319z38p">Iwo To</a> (Iwo Jima) in Japan, <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=24.78238_N_141.293095_E_">24°46′57″N 141°17′35″E / 24.78238°N 141.293095°E / 24.78238; 141.293095</a>, to make a breakwater by the US forces in 1945.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:45" href="#fn:45">45</a> Most of them were broken by typhoons but one was used as a pier.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:46" href="#fn:46">46</a>
Japan built four concrete ships named Takechi Maru No. 1 to 4 (武智丸) during World War II. After the war, two of them turned into a breakwater in <a href="/facts/Kure,_Hiroshima/IACDRMfr">Kure, Hiroshima</a>, <a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Concrete_ship¶ms=34.280089_N_132.756295_E_">34°16′48″N 132°45′23″E / 34.280089°N 132.756295°E / 34.280089; 132.756295</a>.

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Concrete_canoe/5P6Nb2ev">Concrete canoe</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Capella_(concrete_ship)/eCtncPgF">Capella (concrete ship)</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Concrete_Ship/5RKRuAUl">Concrete Ship</a>, former concrete hospital ship</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Trefoil_class_concrete_barge/NUbsD6M4">Trefoil class concrete barge</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Concrete ships.

<ul><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070307231217/http://www.mareud.com/Ferro-Concrete/fc_historygbr.htm">History of ferro-concrete ships</a></li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071015190601/http://mareud.com/Ferro-Concrete/f-c-list.htm">Comprehensive list of ferro-concrete builders</a></li>
<li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180930081300/http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/search/results.aspx?index=0&form=advanced&collection=Koos%20(concrete%20ships)">Images of concrete vessels from the National Monuments Record </a> Photographic record of the construction and launch of the Cretemanor at Preston and the Seacraft Concrete Co on the Mersey.</li>
<li><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=7igDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA73">"Pour in the Concrete and Take Out a Ship"</a>, February 1919 <a href="/facts/Popular_Science/dE4EBW22">Popular Science</a></li>
<li><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=uicDAAAAMBAJ&dq=popular+science+1943+brothers+under+the+skin&pg=PA124"> "How Pour Ships Are Made" , June 1943, Popular Science</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">"Concrete Ship | MARAD". www.maritime.dot.gov. Retrieved 2023-06-11. <a href="https://www.maritime.dot.gov/multimedia/concrete-ship" target="_blank">https://www.maritime.dot.gov/multimedia/concrete-ship</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">State Historical Commission. "S.S. Selma Ship Texas Historical Marker". <a href="http://www.stoppingpoints.com/texas/sights.cgi?marker=SS+Selma&cnty=galveston" target="_blank">http://www.stoppingpoints.com/texas/sights.cgi?marker=SS+Selma&cnty=galveston</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"WWII Builders of Concrete Ships and Barges". Archived from the original on 2018-09-24. Retrieved 2019-07-08. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180924224714/http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/wwtwoconcrete.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20180924224714/http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/wwtwoconcrete.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">A Brief History of Concrete Ships <a href="http://www.concreteships.org/history/" target="_blank">http://www.concreteships.org/history/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">Eberhardt, Robert. "Concrete Shipbuilding in San Diego, 1918–1920," Journal of San Diego History, 41:2, Spring 1995.[1] <a href="http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/95spring/shipbuilding.htm" target="_blank">http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/95spring/shipbuilding.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">"Working Lives--Pat Durkin." <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/yourplaceandmine/topics/work/Y040226.shtml" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/yourplaceandmine/topics/work/Y040226.shtml</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">Svenska, På. "The History about the Ferro-Concrete Ships." Archived 2007-03-07 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.mareud.com/Ferro-Concrete/fc_historygbr.htm" target="_blank">http://www.mareud.com/Ferro-Concrete/fc_historygbr.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">National Register of Historic Vessels, Name: Violette, Certificate Number 716."Violette (716)". Archived from the original on 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2008-04-21. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080420162849/http://nationalhistoricships.org.uk/index.cfm/event/getVessel/vref/716" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20080420162849/http://nationalhistoricships.org.uk/index.cfm/event/getVessel/vref/716</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">Fougner, Nicolay Knudtzon. Seagoing and Other Concrete Ships. H. Frowde and Hodder & Stoughton, 1922. <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Division for Economics and History. Preliminary Economic Studies of the War. London: Oxford University Press, 1919. <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">Eberhardt, Robert. "Concrete Shipbuilding in San Diego, 1918–1920," Journal of San Diego History, 41:2, Spring 1995.[1] <a href="http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/95spring/shipbuilding.htm" target="_blank">http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/95spring/shipbuilding.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">Eberhardt, Robert. "Concrete Shipbuilding in San Diego, 1918–1920," Journal of San Diego History, 41:2, Spring 1995.[1] <a href="http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/95spring/shipbuilding.htm" target="_blank">http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/95spring/shipbuilding.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">Eberhardt, Robert. "Concrete Shipbuilding in San Diego, 1918–1920," Journal of San Diego History, 41:2, Spring 1995.[1] <a href="http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/95spring/shipbuilding.htm" target="_blank">http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/95spring/shipbuilding.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">Svenska, På. "The History about the Ferro-Concrete Ships." Archived 2007-03-07 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.mareud.com/Ferro-Concrete/fc_historygbr.htm" target="_blank">http://www.mareud.com/Ferro-Concrete/fc_historygbr.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">"Concrete Barge Elmarine 1919". www.liverpool.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2022. <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/~cmi/books/miscWr/concrete.html" target="_blank">https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/~cmi/books/miscWr/concrete.html</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">"McCloskey & Co., Hookers Point, Tampa, Florida, U.S.A." Archived 2007-08-21 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.mareud.com/Ferro-Concrete/mccloskey_tampa1.html" target="_blank">http://www.mareud.com/Ferro-Concrete/mccloskey_tampa1.html</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:17">"Builders of Concrete Ships: WWII Construction Record" Archived 2007-07-11 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.coltoncompany.com/shipbldg/ussbldrs/wwii/merchantshipbuilders/concreteships.htm" target="_blank">http://www.coltoncompany.com/shipbldg/ussbldrs/wwii/merchantshipbuilders/concreteships.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:18">"Builders of Concrete Ships: WWII Construction Record" Archived 2007-07-11 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.coltoncompany.com/shipbldg/ussbldrs/wwii/merchantshipbuilders/concreteships.htm" target="_blank">http://www.coltoncompany.com/shipbldg/ussbldrs/wwii/merchantshipbuilders/concreteships.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:19">"D-Day 1944 and Why They Owe Me a Trip on the Queen Mary by Richard R. Powers". Archived from the original on 2018-09-28. Retrieved 2016-06-08. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180928035838/http://www.usmm.org/concrete.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20180928035838/http://www.usmm.org/concrete.html</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:20">"Local History - Concrete Barges and The Diver". www.londonriversidebid.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2022. <a href="https://www.londonriversidebid.co.uk/news-and-events/local-history-concrete-barges-and-the-diver" target="_blank">https://www.londonriversidebid.co.uk/news-and-events/local-history-concrete-barges-and-the-diver</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:21">"Local History - Concrete Barges and The Diver". www.londonriversidebid.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2022. <a href="https://www.londonriversidebid.co.uk/news-and-events/local-history-concrete-barges-and-the-diver" target="_blank">https://www.londonriversidebid.co.uk/news-and-events/local-history-concrete-barges-and-the-diver</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:22">Hallmann, Robert (20 October 2010). "Canvey's Concrete Barge". CanveyIsland.org. Retrieved 4 September 2022. <a href="https://www.canveyisland.org/history-2/memories/the-1950s-and-beyond/canveys-concrete-barge-2" target="_blank">https://www.canveyisland.org/history-2/memories/the-1950s-and-beyond/canveys-concrete-barge-2</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:23">"Concrete Liner" Popular Science, June 1944 <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=mCYDAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1931+plane&pg=PA80" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=mCYDAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1931+plane&pg=PA80</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:24">See, for example, USS Quartz. <a href="/wiki/USS_Quartz" target="_blank">/wiki/USS_Quartz</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:25">"Moreton Bay Pile Light". Lighthouses of Queensland. Lighthouses of Australia Inc. <a href="https://www.lighthouses.org.au/lights/QLD/Moreton%20Bay/Moreton%20Bay.htm" target="_blank">https://www.lighthouses.org.au/lights/QLD/Moreton%20Bay/Moreton%20Bay.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:26">Carter, Worrall Reed. Beans, Bullets, and Black Oil: The Story of Fleet Logistics Afloat in the Pacific during World War II. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1953.[2] <a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/BBBO/BBBO-10.html" target="_blank">http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/BBBO/BBBO-10.html</a> <a href="#fnref:26" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:27">"The World of Ferro-Cement Boats." <a href="http://www.ferroboats.com" target="_blank">http://www.ferroboats.com</a> <a href="#fnref:27" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:28">"History of the Concrete Canoe Competition". Archived from the original on 2007-04-07. Retrieved 2007-03-09. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070407160503/http://www.asce.org/inside/nccc2004/history.cfm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20070407160503/http://www.asce.org/inside/nccc2004/history.cfm</a> <a href="#fnref:28" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:29">"Amsterdam Houseboat Trivia" <a href="http://www.xs4all.nl/~jheeck/boot1eng.html" target="_blank">http://www.xs4all.nl/~jheeck/boot1eng.html</a> <a href="#fnref:29" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:30">"The Powell River Floating Breakwater". Concrete Ships <a href="http://www.concreteships.org/ships/powellriver/" target="_blank">http://www.concreteships.org/ships/powellriver/</a> <a href="#fnref:30" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:31">"Kiptopeke Breakwater". Concrete Ships <a href="http://www.concreteships.org/ships/kiptopeke/" target="_blank">http://www.concreteships.org/ships/kiptopeke/</a> <a href="#fnref:31" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:32">"Concrete Ships.org: An Experiment in Ship Building". <a href="http://www.concreteships.org" target="_blank">http://www.concreteships.org</a> <a href="#fnref:32" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:33">"Concrete Ships.org: An Experiment in Ship Building". <a href="http://www.concreteships.org" target="_blank">http://www.concreteships.org</a> <a href="#fnref:33" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:34">State Historical Commission. "S.S. Selma Ship Texas Historical Marker". <a href="http://www.stoppingpoints.com/texas/sights.cgi?marker=SS+Selma&cnty=galveston" target="_blank">http://www.stoppingpoints.com/texas/sights.cgi?marker=SS+Selma&cnty=galveston</a> <a href="#fnref:34" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:35">"Concrete Ships.org: An Experiment in Ship Building". <a href="http://www.concreteships.org" target="_blank">http://www.concreteships.org</a> <a href="#fnref:35" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:36">"Famed Calif. 'cement ship' flipped, broken up by strong waves". San Francisco Chronicle. 23 January 2017. <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Famed-Calif-cement-ship-flipped-broken-up-by-10875861.php" target="_blank">http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Famed-Calif-cement-ship-flipped-broken-up-by-10875861.php</a> <a href="#fnref:36" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:37">"Tide, storms expose gaming ship". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2010-01-31. Retrieved 2012-08-21. <a href="http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jan/31/one-gamble-that-didnt-pay-off/" target="_blank">http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jan/31/one-gamble-that-didnt-pay-off/</a> <a href="#fnref:37" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:38">Roberts, Stephen S. (September 14, 2010). "Class: Concrete Barges (YO-144, YOG-40)"; Van Tilburg, Hans K. 2003. "Department of Defense Legacy Management Program. Underwater Cultural Resources Management and Protection. Project (01-121)". Washington, DC: Naval Historical Center, pp. 373–375. <a href="http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/IX2/YO144.html" target="_blank">http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/IX2/YO144.html</a> <a href="#fnref:38" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:39">"Mount Pleasant Old Sunken Hull Historical Marker". Mount Pleasant Historical Commission. 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2015-01-05. <a href="http://sc-mountpleasant.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/5676" target="_blank">http://sc-mountpleasant.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/5676</a> <a href="#fnref:39" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:40">m4Y0N04TH (17 June 2019). "Visit the SS Crete Boom – the fabled concrete ship in Ballina". Mayo North. Ballina Tourist Office. Retrieved 10 February 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) <a href="https://www.northmayo.ie/visit-the-ss-crete-boom-the-fabled-concrete-ship-in-ballina/" target="_blank">https://www.northmayo.ie/visit-the-ss-crete-boom-the-fabled-concrete-ship-in-ballina/</a> <a href="#fnref:40" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:41">"Aberdeen Ships | Cretetree". aberdeenships.com. Retrieved 2014-06-01. <a href="http://www.aberdeenships.com/single.asp?index=100840" target="_blank">http://www.aberdeenships.com/single.asp?index=100840</a> <a href="#fnref:41" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:42">"Friends of Purton" <a href="http://www.friendsofpurton.org.uk" target="_blank">http://www.friendsofpurton.org.uk</a> <a href="#fnref:42" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:43">"Local History - Concrete Barges and The Diver". www.londonriversidebid.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2022. <a href="https://www.londonriversidebid.co.uk/news-and-events/local-history-concrete-barges-and-the-diver" target="_blank">https://www.londonriversidebid.co.uk/news-and-events/local-history-concrete-barges-and-the-diver</a> <a href="#fnref:43" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:44">"Historia betonowych wraków na jeziorze Dąbie i Bałtyku". Nortus & Potworna spółka. Retrieved 2020-07-12. <a href="http://nortus.pinger.pl/m/1464330" target="_blank">http://nortus.pinger.pl/m/1464330</a> <a href="#fnref:44" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:45">Beachead Cargo, Iwo Jima, Arvin S. Gibson, Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Transportation Corps, Hq. and Hq. Co., AGF, APO 86 <a href="http://www.justinmuseum.com/jkjustin2/gibson4.html" target="_blank">http://www.justinmuseum.com/jkjustin2/gibson4.html</a> <a href="#fnref:45" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:46">"Photos from Iwo Jima". Hot Air <a href="http://hotair.com/archives/2006/08/23/photos-from-iwo-jima/" target="_blank">http://hotair.com/archives/2006/08/23/photos-from-iwo-jima/</a> <a href="#fnref:46" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Concrete ship open-in-new

Concrete ship