{"id":83369,"date":"2021-07-30T11:57:23","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T15:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/?p=83369"},"modified":"2021-07-30T12:57:57","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T16:57:57","slug":"henry-fords-fleet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/vida-vidas\/entretenimento\/henry-fords-fleet\/","title":{"rendered":"Henry Ford\u2019s fleet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Henry Ford wanted and desired control of each and every raw material he required for his automobiles. The list included iron ore from Michigan, coal from West Virginia and Kentucky, rubber from Brazil and lumber from the Michigan upper Peninsula. This methodology allowed Henry to control his costs more efficiently. Initially it was an exceptional plan as opposed to today\u2019s model, which includes outsourcing all of your material to the lowest bidder of course and concentrate only on the assembly phase. Henry probably would not approve. Today we will briefly explore Henry Ford\u2019s once mighty fleet of Great Lakes and ocean worthy ship vessels. Henry Ford had one basic philosophy towards money, that being, money should never sit idle in a bank account, he considered this very wasteful and almost immoral. He figured, money only had value when it was used to employ people and to keep them occupied. We have previously reviewed several of Henry Ford\u2019s acquisitions, including a railroad and a hotel. Today we will take a quick look at the extensive shipping fleet, once operated by him. Ford\u2019s holdings and assets included an extensive number of marine vessels, both for the Ford Motor Company<\/a> itself and also for his business and personal use. His ships sailed over the Great Lakes and around the World. This article is a minuscule sample at best. The most widely recognizable Ford vessels in the fleet, on the Great Lakes, were the huge bulk ore carriers that transported coal from Toledo, Ohio and iron ore from the North all the way to Mighty Rouge Steel Mills in Dearborn, Michigan. <\/b><\/p>\n

T<\/span>he two carriers were the \u201cBenson Ford\u201d and \u201cHenry Ford II\u201d, both commissioned in 1924 and aptly named after Henry\u2019s two grandsons. Each carrier was in excess of 600 feet and were the largest in the Great Lakes at the period. Their respective power plants were powered by super highly advanced Sun-Doxford diesel engines. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"HenryHenry Ford owned several personal yachts, but also fitted the two lakers with posh and comfortable staterooms, in which both Henry and Clara would travel to their summer home in Northern Michigan. There were many other vessels in the fleet, too many to list and describe in today\u2019s article. <\/span><\/p>\n

In 1925, a marine department was created within the Ford Motor Company. Under the direct instruction of Henry Ford, the department began to build the enormous fleet. Beginning in 1930, the Ford Motor Company expanded overseas into Asia, Europe and South America. He also established export plants on the U.S East Coast. At the same time Henry Ford purchased zoo surplus World War I merchant vessels from the U.S Government. It is worth mentioning that the \u201cEast Indian\u201d after being purchased in 1925, was efficiently retrofitted with a diesel power-plant, totalling a whopping 3000 horsepower. As a result of this, the \u201cEast Indian\u201d became the most powerful and fastest merchant motor-ship, under the \u201cBlue Bird\u201d and American Flag. The \u201cBlue Bird of Happiness\u201d flag was Ford\u2019s own exclusive house flag for the entire fleet. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"HenryLastly, the late 1980\u2019s were brutal for the Marine Department, the Ford Motor Company subsequently extracted itself from the business of shipping and as a result the familiar sights, which had been commonly seen around the Great Lakes for over 50 years, were no longer and eventually scrapped. The Benson Ford was decommissioned in 1984 and the Pilot House was converted into a luxury home at put-in-bay on South Bass Island in Lake Erie. The William Clay Ford was scrapped in 1987. Originally built in 1953, the William Clay Ford was lengthened to 767 feet from 647 feet in 1979. It was named for Henry Ford\u2019s youngest grandson and was the last of the Great Lake freighters, that had been owned by Ford. <\/span><\/p>\n

The vessel\u2019s most famous moment occurred on November 10th, 1975, when it left safe harbour in the midst of an extremely violent storm, to lead the search for the doomed \u201cEdmund Fitzgerald\u201d, who went down with all hands, on Lake Superior. The event has been immortalized in Gordon Lightfoot\u2019s, \u201cWreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald\u201d song.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \"Henry<\/span><\/p>\n

The following examples are from the collection:<\/p>\n