Liberty ship
Standard US cargo ship mass-produced in The Second World War
The Liberty ship was the standard US cargo ship of The Second World War: more than 2,710 were built in 18 shipyards between 1941 and 1945. The US Navy's 30-boat robot order of 29 September 2026, split across three yards, echoes that model.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026
Timeline for Liberty ship
Mentioned in: US Navy buys 30 robot boats from 3 yards
Autonomous Systems: Land & SeaBackground
The Liberty ship has become the reference point for buying cheap uncrewed hulls in volume. On 29 September 2026 the US Navy split an order for 30 medium uncrewed surface vessels evenly between Galliano Marine Services, HII and Saronic Technologies, and expects the first hulls before fiscal 2027 closes. Splitting the work across several yards follows the wartime model, in which no single yard could hold up the programme. The same comparison is made for the Pentagon's volume drone buying, whose test is sustained production in a long war.
The United States built more than 2,710 Liberty ships in 18 shipyards between 1941 and 1945, the largest class of ships ever built. The first, SS Patrick Henry, was launched on 27 September 1941. The design came from the British Ocean class, modified for mass production, and Henry Kaiser's yards cut build times from months to as little as four days.
The class stands for wartime volume over refinement: a simple design, built fast in many places, accepted as good enough. That is the argument now made for uncrewed boats.