SS Francis Preston Blair

SS Francis Preston Blair was an American Liberty ship, 7,196 tons stranded on Saumarez Reef in the Coral Sea during a cyclone in 1945.

The wreck was used by Royal Australian Air Force F-111 aircraft for target practice during the 1980s.

Wreck was visited by Wild Kingdom who made a TV episode hosted by Marlin Perkins for USA and world distribution in 1971.

Francis Preston Blair was operated during World War II by Sudden & Christenson Company under charter ships from the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration.

She was unloading troops and supplies at off Queensland, Australia before the grounding.