Editing Concrete ship (section)

==History==
[[Image:ConcreteBoatPlans.JPG|thumb|upright|Blueprints for a concrete boat]]
[[Image:ConcreteBoat pic1.JPG|thumb|Concrete boat constructed by Walter Dowsey hauled out in [[Chicago]]]]
[[File:Namsenfjord - no-nb digifoto 20160405 00015 NB NS NM 09922.jpg|thumb|The ''Namsenfjord'']]

The oldest known ferrocement watercraft was a [[dinghy]] built by [[Joseph-Louis Lambot]] in Southern [[France]] in 1848. Lambot's boat was featured in the [[Exposition Universelle (1855)|Exposition Universelle]] held in [[Paris]] in 1855.

Beginning in the 1860s, ferrocement [[barge]]s 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''.<ref name="eberhardt">Eberhardt, Robert. "Concrete Shipbuilding in San Diego, 1918–1920," ''Journal of San Diego History'', 41:2, Spring 1995.[http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/95spring/shipbuilding.htm]</ref>

Between 1908 and 1914, larger ferrocement barges began to be made in Germany, United Kingdom,<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/yourplaceandmine/topics/work/Y040226.shtml "Working Lives--Pat Durkin."]</ref> the Netherlands, Norway and United States.<ref name="svenska">[http://www.mareud.com/Ferro-Concrete/fc_historygbr.htm Svenska, På. "The History about the Ferro-Concrete Ships."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070307231217/http://www.mareud.com/Ferro-Concrete/fc_historygbr.htm |date=2007-03-07 }}</ref> The remains of a British ship of this type, the auxiliary coaster ''Violette'' (built 1919), can be seen at [[Hoo St Werburgh|Hoo]], [[Kent]], England.<ref>National Register of Historic Vessels, Name: Violette, Certificate Number 716.{{cite web |url=http://nationalhistoricships.org.uk/index.cfm/event/getVessel/vref/716 |title=Violette (716) |accessdate=2008-04-21 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420162849/http://nationalhistoricships.org.uk/index.cfm/event/getVessel/vref/716 |archivedate=2008-04-20 }}</ref>

On August 2, 1917, Nicolay Fougner of Norway launched the first self-propelled ferrocement ship intended for ocean travel. This was an {{convert|84|foot|adj=on}} 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.<ref>Fougner, Nicolay Knudtzon. ''Seagoing and Other Concrete Ships.'' H. Frowde and Hodder & Stoughton, 1922.</ref><ref>Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Division for Economics and History. ''Preliminary Economic Studies of the War.'' London: Oxford University Press, 1919.</ref> The Fougner Concrete Shipbuilding Company, [[Flushing Bay]], [[New York City|New York]], reported calculated cost was of $290 per deadweight ton for the ''Cape Fear'' ([[List of shipwrecks in 1920]] "10.21 30 October") and the ''Sapona'' which they presumably built.<ref name="eberhardt"/>

About the same time, the California businessman [[William Leslie Comyn|W. Leslie Comyn]] took the initiative to build ferrocement ships on his own. He formed the San Francisco Ship Building Company (in [[Oakland, California]]), and hired Alan Macdonald and Victor Poss to design the first American ferrocement ship, a 6,125-ton steamer named the {{SS|Faith}}. ''Faith'' was launched March 18, 1918. She cost $750,000 to build. She was used to carry [[bulk cargo]] for trade until 1921, when she was sold and scrapped as a [[Breakwater (structure)|breakwater]] in Cuba.<ref name="eberhardt"/>

[[File:SS Palo Alto.jpg|thumb|The American concrete oil tanker ''[[SS Palo Alto|Palo Alto]]'', originally meant for merchant service in the first World War, but completed in 1919. (Naval History and Heritage Command - Photo NH 799)]]

On April 12, 1918, President [[Woodrow Wilson]] approved the [[United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation|Emergency Fleet Corporation]] 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.<ref name="eberhardt"/>

Other countries that looked into ferrocement ship construction during this period included Canada, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Sweden<ref name="svenska"/> and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |title=Concrete Barge Elmarine 1919 |url=https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/~cmi/books/miscWr/concrete.html |website=www.liverpool.ac.uk |access-date=3 September 2022}}</ref>

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 [[World War II]], the U.S. military found that its contractors had steel shortages. Consequently, the U.S. government contracted [[Matthew McCloskey|McCloskey & Company]]<ref>[http://www.mareud.com/Ferro-Concrete/mccloskey_tampa1.html "McCloskey & Co., Hookers Point, Tampa, Florida, U.S.A."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070821230454/http://www.mareud.com/Ferro-Concrete/mccloskey_tampa1.html |date=2007-08-21 }}</ref> of [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]] to build 24 self-propelled concrete ships. Construction started in July 1943. The shipyard was at Hookers Point in [[Tampa, Florida]], and at its peak, it employed 6,000 workers.<ref name="builders">[http://www.coltoncompany.com/shipbldg/ussbldrs/wwii/merchantshipbuilders/concreteships.htm "Builders of Concrete Ships: WWII Construction Record"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711235205/http://www.coltoncompany.com/shipbldg/ussbldrs/wwii/merchantshipbuilders/concreteships.htm |date=2007-07-11 }}</ref> The U.S. government also contracted with two companies in California for the construction of [[Concrete barge|concrete barge ships]].<ref name="builders"/> 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 [[Normandy Landings|D-Day Normandy landings]], where they were used as part of the [[Mulberry harbour]] defenses, for fuel and munitions transportation, as [[blockship]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.usmm.org/concrete.html |title=D-Day 1944 and Why They Owe Me a Trip on the Queen Mary by Richard R. Powers |access-date=2016-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928035838/http://www.usmm.org/concrete.html |archive-date=2018-09-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and as floating [[Pontoon bridge|pontoons]]. 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.<ref name=Rainham/>

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 [[River Thames|Thames Estuary]] including near [[Rainham Marshes Nature Reserve|Rainham Marshes]].<ref name=Rainham>{{cite web |title=Local History - Concrete Barges and The Diver |url=https://www.londonriversidebid.co.uk/news-and-events/local-history-concrete-barges-and-the-diver |website=www.londonriversidebid.co.uk |access-date=3 September 2022 |language=en}}</ref>) Two remain in civil use as [[Mooring (watercraft)|moorings]] at [[Westminster]]. 

One notable wartime FCB, previously beached at [[Canvey Island]], 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hallmann |first1=Robert |title=Canvey's Concrete Barge |url=https://www.canveyisland.org/history-2/memories/the-1950s-and-beyond/canveys-concrete-barge-2 |website=CanveyIsland.org |access-date=4 September 2022 |language=en |date=20 October 2010}}</ref>

In 1944 a concrete firm in California proposed a [[submarine]] shaped [[Cargo ship|freighter]] 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.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=mCYDAAAAMBAJ&dq=Popular+Science+1931+plane&pg=PA80 "Concrete Liner"] ''Popular Science'', June 1944</ref>

Concrete barges also served in the [[Pacific Ocean theater of World War II|Pacific]] during 1944 and 1945.<ref>See, for example, {{USS|Quartz}}.</ref> From the [[Charleroi, Pennsylvania]], ''Mail'', February 5, 1945:

{{Quote|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&nbsp;– even ice cream&nbsp;– 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.}}

One concrete barge under tow by ''Jicarilla'' (ATF-104) was lost off [[Saipan]] during a [[typhoon]], and another barge damaged the [[Moreton Bay Pile Light]] in [[Brisbane]],<ref>{{cite loa|QLD|Moreton%20Bay|Moreton Bay Pile Light}}</ref> but the rest served admirably.<ref>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.[http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/BBBO/BBBO-10.html]</ref>