ships which carried fighting equipment and suppHes to our forces on all 

 the world's battle fronts and brought in strategic materials necessary to 

 manufacture the weapons of victory. Ports of call included those of South, 

 East and West Africa, Russia, India, the British Isles, and many others 

 in the Southwest Pacific, the Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf and the 

 Red Sea. 



When it became apparent that World War II was nearing its end, the 

 American South African Line started its postwar construction program. 

 The first step was a careful study of the requirements of trade on this 

 route. It was decided that the ships most suitable would be those of the 

 C-3 type, with modifications. These included structural changes for heavy 

 cargo handling facilities, cargo deep tanks, cargo refrigeration, additional 

 fuel-oil capacity and passenger accommodations. On September 7, 1944, 

 the line made application to the Maritime Commission for six C-3 vessels 

 with specified changes and revisions. 



The keel of the first of the new fleet was laid at the U. S. Steel's Federal 

 Shipyard, Kearney, New Jersey, on August 21, 1945. This ship, the 

 African Star, is the second of the company bearing that name. 



On her maiden outbound voyage to South and East Africa, the African 

 Star established a new speed record for cargo ships. Sixteen days and 

 eleven hours after she sailed from New York, she arrived in Capetown. 

 Since then, the other five vessels have been delivered to the company and 

 are now in service. 



Typical of all the six new C-3 ships, the African Star has an overall 

 length of 492 feet, molded beam of 69.5 feet, registers over 12,000 dead- 

 weight tons, and is designed for a speed of 17 knots. Bale measurement 

 of space available for cargo is approximately 620,000 cubic feet, not in- 

 cluding measurement of refrigerator boxes. Radar is standard equipment 

 on vessels of the company's fleet, and ship-to-shore telephones are now 

 being installed. The African Star was the first commercial cargo vessel 

 equipped with radar. 



A feature of the American South African Line service is the use of a 

 dehumidifying (air-drying) system in the cargo spaces. The equipment 



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