At midnight on November 8, 1942, workers at the Richmond shipyard in California began assembling the keel of a 135-meter-long cargo ship named the SS Robert E. Peary. This keel was the first part of the ship's frame, and the entire vessel—made up of about 250,000 pieces weighing around 14 million pounds—was completed in just 4 days, 15 hours, and 29 minutes. The ship was launched on November 12, 1942, a remarkable achievement that demonstrated the rapid construction capabilities of American shipyards during World War II. The ship's construction used a new method that revolutionized shipbuilding. Instead of traditional riveting, which required highly skilled workers to fasten plates together, welders used a technique that was faster and required less specialized training. This method allowed for the use of prefabricated sections of the ship, which were transported by rail from across the country and assembled on an open-air production line, similar to the assembly lines used in car manufacturing by Henry Ford before the war. This approach significantly reduced the time and expertise needed for construction. The SS Robert E. Peary was not an isolated success. Earlier that year, another shipyard had built a Liberty ship in just ten days, and the owner of the Richmond shipyard, Henry J. Kaiser, claimed that the Peary could have been completed even faster—possibly in eight days. However, the schedule was adjusted to accommodate President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s attendance at the launch. This event marked a turning point in shipbuilding efficiency, with the time required to construct a Liberty ship dropping from 150 days in 1941 to just over two weeks by 1944. The SS Robert E. Peary went on to serve in the war, transporting food and war supplies across the Pacific. After the war, it continued to operate until 1963, when it was finally scrapped in Baltimore, Maryland. The ship's legacy reflects the technological and organizational advances that helped the United States rapidly expand its naval and merchant fleets during World War II, playing a crucial role in the Allied war effort.