TRUE. Though “being long lasting” was NOT a huge priority, as MOST cargo ships that supplied the UK & the USSR during WWII seldom made no more than 2-3 roundtrips before being “lost at sea”, due to storms, striking obstructions, collusions with other ships of the convoy, sea conditions or U-Boats.
Fwiw, I saw a period document from 1943 some years ago that said that a ship was “considered” a SUCCESS, if it made ONE round-trip to the USSR with the cargo/crew intact.
Yours, TMN78247
Very true. A boat that successfully made 5 trips was either considered “very lucky” or “out of luck”, depending on your point of view. Most Americans do not know the sacrifices of the Merchant Marine.