UNC CSI Hosting NC Splinter Fleet Lecture
The UNC Coastal Studies Institute (UNC CSI) is hosting a lecture on North Carolina’s role in World War II shipbuilding as part of its “Science on the Sound” lecture series this month.
This series, held monthly, highlights information on coastal topics and issues in northeast North Carolina.
This month, the program will feature George Converse, maritime history researcher, author and resident of Camden County. Mr. Converse’s presentation, entitled “Building the Splinter Fleet: The Wooden Warships of North Carolina in World War II”, will highlight the wooden vessels produced in eastern North Carolina during World War II.
The program will be held at 6pm on Thursday, September 21 at the UNC Coastal Studies Institute, located at 850 NC 345 in Wanchese. The presentation is free and the public is welcomed and encouraged to attend.
North Carolina shipyards produced a large number of wooden ships for the armed services in WWII. During this evening presentation, Mr. Converse will discuss the four shipyards in North Carolina that built submarine chasers, minesweepers, salvage ships, anti-submarine net tenders, air-sea rescue boats, landing craft, supply boats, and oil tank barges for the services.
George Converse is retired from the US Marine Corps and his second career as a technical manual writer for BAE systems in Chesapeake. He is now writing a book on the subject of this presentation.
This program will be streamed live at http://coastalstudiesinstitute.org/outreach/live-streaming and the online viewing audience will be able to ask the presenter questions via an online chat room.
The Manteo Boat Building Corporation produced air-sea rescue boats (pictured here), as well as army launches, navy landing craft, sailing dinghies and balsa wood life floats for the service in WWII.
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