Of all the businesses Henry Kaiser founded during his career, he is best known for his World War II (1939–45) shipbuilding yards. In 1941 under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program, the U.S. Maritime Commission (USMC) began a massive expansion of the merchant marine fleet. A central part of the program was a standard designed cargo ship called a Liberty Ship. Designed for emergency production, President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945; served 1933–45) referred to them as "ugly ducklings." At first the USMC planned to construct 60 ships for the British, which grew to 112. The first Liberty Ship was completed on September 27, 1941. Over the next year, Kaiser shortened the time of production from 197 days for each ship to 14 days. The record was 4 days, 15 hours, and 30 minutes.

Each of the 441 foot-long ships cost about two million dollars. Each could carry nine thousand tons of cargo inside its hull and airplanes, tanks, or other equipment...