Scale 1:96. A modern full hull model of the ‘A J Cassatt’ (1944), a ‘Liberty’ merchant ship. The hull is constructed from fibreglass in modern ‘exhibition’ style and is decked and fully equipped including anti-aircraft guns and various lifesaving appliances. Built by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, the ‘A J Cassatt’ measured 422 feet in length by 57 feet in the beam and had a registered tonnage of 7210 gross. It was powered by a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine of 2500 horsepower and produced a service speed of 12 knots.

The design of these ships originated from the ‘Empire Liberty’ which was built in the United Kingdom and launched in October 1941. The first American ship took 245 days to build, which included 150 days on the slipway. However, experience was soon to reduce this to as little as ten days, and in a special effort including pre-fabricating, the ‘Robert E Peary’ was launched in four days and 15 1/2 hours after that keel had been laid.

The ‘A J Cassatt’ was originally named the ‘Appanoose’ and used as a navy transport in July 1944. In 1946, it was taken over by the United States War Shipping Administration and renamed ‘A J Cassatt’. After the war it was sold and renamed ‘SS Santa Ana’ and registered in Panama. In 1965, it was taken to Yokohama and scrapped.