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William Leslie Comyn
William Leslie Comyn (born 30 October 1877) was a Californian businessman, shipbuilder and builder of one of the first large concrete ships. Life Comyn was the second son of Charles Comyn an English civil servant and was born at Shepherd's Bush, London. His great-uncle Stephen George Comyn had been naval chaplain to the English Admiral Lord Nelson. He was educated at Merchant Taylor's School, and Dulwich College and subsequently founded his own shipping company - Comyn Singleton and Dunn of Gracechurch Street London EC1. Through this business he went to California where he settled and became a businessman in San Francisco. His father in law William Emil Gerber of Sacramento, California was a merchant and financier, and may have supported his enterprises. One of the ships he built was a five master sailing ship named Ann Comyn after his wife. During World War I Leslie Comyn, tried to persuade the United States Shipping Board (USSB) that they should build concrete ships. They were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concrete Ship
Concrete ships are built of steel and ferrocement (reinforced concrete) instead of more traditional materials, such as steel or wood. The advantage of ferrocement construction is that materials are cheap and readily available, while the disadvantages are that construction labor costs are high, as are operating costs. (Ferrocement ships require thick hulls, which results in either a larger cross-sectional area that hurts hydrodynamics, or leaves less space for cargo.) During the late 19th century, there were concrete river barges in Europe, and during both World War I and World War II, steel shortages led the US military to order the construction of small fleets of ocean-going concrete ships, the largest of which was the SS ''Selma''. United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) designation for concrete ships-barges was Type B ship. Few concrete ships were completed in time to see wartime service during World War I, but during 1944 and 1945, concrete ships and barges were used to su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
