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| Above, the S.S. Albert S. Burleson from "Beware The Wrecker." |
In the 1953 Adventures of Superman episode, "Beware The Wrecker", there are some stock shots of the Los Angeles Harbor and one of what appears to be a freighter, the S.S. Albert S. Burleson.
Just for the fun of it, I looked up the S.S. Albert S. Burleson and it turned out to be a World War II liberty ship named after a former U.S. Congressman and Postmaster General from Texas, Albert Sidney Burleson (June 7, 1863 – November 24, 1937).
Unfortunately, Burleson was not exactly a "nice guy" while he was Postmaster General.
According to Wikipedia:
In 1913 he was appointed Postmaster General by Woodrow Wilson. To his credit, he initiated the parcel post and air mail services, increasing mail service to rural areas. However, Burleson was one of the most reactionary politicians to have served as Postmaster General, and for that reason (and several others) his term is often seen as one of the worst in the history of the post. Burleson persecuted African-Americans in the mail service, segregating workers and firing Southern black postal workers. At a cabinet meeting on April 11, 1913, just over one month into Wilson's first term his, Burleson "suggested that the new administration segregate the railway mail service," a suggestion Wilson adopted.Well, back to the ship.
The keel of the S.S. Albert S. Burleson was laid down on September 14, 1943. The ship was launched on October 28, 1943. It was later scrapped in 1971 in Santander, Spain.
I wonder if any of the Adventures of Superman production staff were aware of the ship's unsavory namesake?
I wonder if any of the Adventures of Superman production staff were aware of the ship's unsavory namesake?
4 comments:
I think you need to correct your dates because how can they lay the keel and a month and 5 weeks launch the ship?
You'll have to ask the U.S. Navy.
Go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Liberty_ships_(A%E2%80%93F)
The question raised another question: What was the average time to build a liberty ship?
According to the National Park Service:
Prefabrication was perfected, with complete deckhouses, double-bottom sections, stern-frame assemblies and bow units speeding production of the ships. By 1944, the average time to build a ship was 42 days. In all, 2,751 Liberties were built between 1941 and 1945, making them the largest class of ships built worldwide.
They built liberty ships with the main priority being built, not strong ,not large, not of the highest quality, but produce quickly, wartime makes it happen,
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