IN 24 DAYS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 237, 7 October 1942, Page 2

IN 24 DAYS

CARGO SHIP BUILT U.S. "MIRACLE MAN" (0.C.) SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 31. "This will be bad news to Hitler," declared Henry J. Kaiser, of San Francisco, the so-called "miracle" shipbuilder, the world's greatest builder of merchant ships, who recently completed constructing thirty ships for the British Government in record time, and was complimented in the House of Commons for his "fascinating assembly line methods." Mr. Kaiser, who is a sincere optimist, has several large shipyards on the Pacific Coast, and is now embarked upon building a mammoth steel rolling mill at Fontana, in Southern California, to supply his own steel. He was present at the launching at one of his Richmond shipyards, near San Francisco, of his latest cargo ship, the John Fitch, which established a world record by being built in 24 days after the laying of the keel and entering the Pacific Ocean for duty for Uncle Sam in the world war transportation service. A Day in World History In a speech before several thousand shipyard workers and distinguished guests, Mr. Kaiser said: "Sons of America, to me this day is full of sentiment and romance. It is one of those days filled with cheerful thoughts and pleasant memory. It was here on San Francisco Bay that the original six companies were formed, and these associations have stood the test of time. Venture after venture have seen fruition, and even this shipyard was but empty land less than a year ago. The six companies are participating in this shipyard. A Liberty ship was launched yesterday at our Portland, Oregon, shipyard, in the record time of 26 days, but to-day you have broken that record and established a new one of 24 days. (Loud cheers.) "To-day's record will be shortlived, for I am told by our boys in this yard that to-morrow's record will be 18 days from the laying of the keel to the actual launching, and this will be established within a few months. In the John Fitch cargo ship the Charles Moore Company, in Sunnyvale, have just completed their 100 th engine for Liberty ships, and still more amazing is the fact that that engine in the John Fitch was completed and assembled in Sunnyvale in just 30 hours. This is another record-breaking achievement. "This is a remarkable day for America when she can proclaim to the world that what 100,000 shipyard workers in Portland and San Francisco thought was a miracle is now a challenge to the Axis. It proves that America has just commenced to fight." (Renewed cheers.)

Giant Cargo Planes Mr. Kaiser then proceeded to laud the U.S. Maritime Commission under the chairmanship of Admiral Emory Land, assisted by Admiral Vickery both of whom have played a notable part in supervising the building of hundreds of great ships for Britain in her fight against the Axis Powers Mr. Kaiser said he expected to leave San Francisco shortly for Washington to present a definite proposal to the United States Government for the manufacture of giant cargo planes. "You can understand that I cannot reveal the details of this proposal," he said, "but it is being made jointly by Mr. Howard Hughes and myself. The engineering will be done by Mr. Hughes and his engineering organisation."