Ocean-class cargo ships and wartime logistics

The Ocean class consisted of US-built British cargo ships whose careers linked wartime supply directly to the postwar recovery of the merchant marine. The book treats logistics as a fleet of individual hulls rather than as an abstract tonnage total. Its ship-by-ship armament lists show three-inch and 12-pounder guns, machine guns, and later 20 mm Oerlikons appearing in different combinations. Those variations reflect what weapons were available when each vessel crossed the Atlantic rather than a perfectly standardized design. Mass construction depended on adaptable merchant ships that were defensible enough for the current threat and remained useful after the emergency ended.