Park ship

	Launch of SS Ashby Park at the Pictou Shipyard in 1944
Class overview
Name	Park ship
General characteristics
Type	Cargo ship
Tonnage	2,878 GRT; 1,653 NRT; 10,000 DWT;
Length	440 ft 0 in (134.11 m)
Beam	57 ft 0 in (17.37 m)
Depth	22 ft 9 in (6.93 m)
Installed power	Triple expansion steam engine
Propulsion	Screw propeller
Crew	34, plus 4 DEMS gunners
Armament	1 x 4 inch/50 caliber deck gun aft; 1 x 3 inch (76 mm)/50 caliber gun; 4 x 20 mm Oerlikon; 2 x twin .50 cal. machine guns; 20 x rail anti-aircraft rocket launcher (pillar box);

Park ships were merchant steamships constructed for the Canadian Merchant Navy during the Second World War. Park ships and Fort ships (built in Canada for operation by the British) were the Canadian equivalent of the American Liberty ships. All three shared a similar design by J. L. Thompson and Sons of Sunderland, England. Fort ships had a triple expansion steam engine and a single screw propeller. While Fort ships were transferred to the British government, the Park ships were those employed by the Canadian government. The ships were named after local and national parks of Canada. A few Park ships were launched as Camp ships, named after Canadian military camps, but were quickly renamed after parks. Jasper Park was the first Park ship lost to enemy attack, in the Indian Ocean after a torpedo attack from U-177 south of Durban, South Africa.