TheT2 tanker, orT2, was a class ofoil tanker constructed and produced in large numbers in the United States duringWorld War II. Only theT3 tankers were larger "navy oilers" of the period. Some 533 T2s were built between 1940 and the end of 1945. They were used to transportfuel oil,diesel fuel,gasoline and sometimesblack oil-crude oil. After the war, many T2s remained in use, and as with other hastily built World War II ships later converted to peacetime uses, there were safety concerns. TheUnited States Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation in 1952 found that in cold weather the ships were prone to metalfatigue cracking; in response to this finding, surviving ships were "belted" withsteel straps. This occurred after two T2s,Pendleton andFort Mercer, split in two offCape Cod within hours of each other.Pendleton's sinking is memorialized in the 2016 filmThe Finest Hours.[1] Engineering inquiries into the problem suggested the cause was poor welding techniques. It was found that steel that had been successfully used in riveted ship design was not well-suited for the new wartime welding construction. The highsulfur content made the steel brittle and prone to metal fatigue at lower temperatures.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
The T2 design was formalized by theUnited States Maritime Commission as its medium-sized "National Defense tanker", aship built for merchant service which could be militarized as a fleet auxiliary in time of war. MarCom subsidized the excess cost of naval features beyond normal commercial standards. The T2 was based on two ships built in 1938–1939 byBethlehem Steel forSocony-Vacuum Oil Company,Mobilfuel andMobilube, differing from the Mobil ships principally in the installation of more powerful engines for higher speed. Standard T2s were 501 ft 6 in (152.9 m) in total length, with a beam of 68 ft (20.7 m). Rated at 9,900tons gross (GRT), with 15,850 long tonsdeadweight (DWT), standard T2sdisplaced about 21,100 tons.Steam turbines driving a singlepropeller at 12,000horsepower (8,900 kW) delivered a top speed of 16knots (30 km/h; 18 mph). Six were built for commerce byBethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard inMaryland, only to be taken over by theUnited States Navy following theAttack on Pearl Harbor as theKennebec-class oiler.
Keystone Tankships company ordered five tankers in 1940 fromSun Shipbuilding & Drydock of Chester, Pennsylvania, based on the T2 but longer and with increased capacity; Marcom would designate this design T2-A. Bigger but faster, they were 526 ft (160.3 m) in total length, displaced about 22,445 tons, and were rated at 10,600 tons gross with 16,300 DWT — yet they attained a top speed approaching16+1⁄2 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph). All five were requisitioned by the Navy during the war and converted to fleet oilers as theMattaponi class.
The T2-SE-A2 variation, built only by Marinship of Sausalito, was nearly identical to the T2-SE-A1 version, except with 10,000 hp (7,500 kW) rather than 7,240. The A3 variation was essentially an A2 built as a naval oiler from the start, rather than converted later as many A2s were. Two of the A2 ships would be converted to thePasig-class ofdistilling ships.
Despite the confusing T3 designation, the T3-S-A1s built byBethlehem Sparrows Point forStandard Oil of New Jersey were identical to the original T2s except for having less powerful engines of 7,700 hp (5,700 kW). Twenty-five of this design were ordered by the Maritime Commission, of which five became Navy oilers as theChiwawa class.
T2-A-MC-K had a M.C. deadweight tonnage of 16,300 and a full load tonnage of 22,445. The dimensions were: Length: 526 ft (160 m), Beam: 68 ft (21 m) and max. draft: 30 ft 10 in (9.40 m). Powered by turbine engines rated at 12,000 hp (8,900 kW) with a top speed of 17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph). The first Navy commissioning was in 1942. could hold 117,400 Bbls of oil and 595,000 gal of gasoline. Crew of 23 officers and 329 enlisted men. Armament: one single 5'/38 cal dual-purpose gun mount, four single 3"/50 cal dual-purpose gun mounts, four twin 40 mm AA gun mounts and twelve single 20 mm AA gun mounts. Example wasUSS Patuxent, aKennebec-class oiler.[10][11]
In 1966, theUS Army reactivated 11 T2 tankers and converted them into floating electrical power generation plants and deployed them toVietnam. The ships' propulsion systems' electrical turbines were used to generate electricity for on-shore use, drawing on fuel from the ships' 150,000-barrel holds. This allowed the ships to produce electricity for two years without refueling for theVietnam War.USNS French Creek was the first to arrive in June 1966, then next wasUSS Kennebago, both installed inCam Ranh Bay.[12][13][14][15]
The new T2 tankerSchenectady broke in two at its dock due to brittle metal and bad weldingThe fractured USS Ponaganset (AO-86), at the General Ship and Iron Works, Boston, MA., 9 December 1947The T2 tanker "Pendleton" bow in 1952Crew fromUSCGC Yakutat pull in a life-raft carrying survivors from the bow section of SS Fort Mercer, the photo was taken 20 minutes prior to its sinking 1952
Schenectady broke in two in 1943. At 11 pm on 16 January 1943, a few days after completing her sea trials, the 501-foot-long T2 tankerSchenectady broke in two amidships while lying at the outfitting dock in the constructors yard in Portland, Oregon. The temperature of the harbor water was about 39 °F (4 °C) and water conditions were still. The air temperature was approximately 26 °F (−3 °C) and winds were light. The hull failure was sudden and accompanied by a report that was heard a mile away.Schenectady, built by aKaiser Shipyard, was the first catastrophic T2 hull failure, made all the more impressive by the still conditions under which it occurred. The failure ofSchenectady initiated on the deck between two bulkheads and ran down to the keel (see photo). A defective weld was present in a region of stress concentration arising at a design detail point. Poor welding procedures were cited by the committee investigating the failure as contributory; however, at that time themetallurgical problems were not fully understood.[16][17]
SSCaddo (1942) sank on 23 November 1942 after being hit by atorpedo from theU-boatU-518 in the North Atlantic while en route to Iceland. She had 8 survivors of the 59 men aboard. Also known as SSDorchester Heights.[18]
SSEsso Gettysburg sank on 10 June 1943 after being hit by a torpedo fromU-66 while 90 miles (140 km) off theGeorgia coast. She was bound for Philadelphia with crude oil. She lost 57 of her 72 crew.[19]
SSBloody Marsh sank on 2 July 1943 after being hit by a torpedo fromU-66.Bloody Marsh was on her maiden voyage and sank 75 miles (121 km) east ofSavannah, Georgia. She lost three of her 77 crew.[20]
USTouchet sank on 3 December 1943 after being hit by a torpedo fromU-193. She sank in theGulf of Mexico while en route to New York fromHouston, Texas.[21]
SSMcDowell sank on 16 December 1943 after being hit by a torpedo fromU-516 offCuba.[22]
SSSalem Maritime exploded on 17 January 1956 while taking on a load of fuel in Lake Charles, Louisiana. 18 crew members on board were killed, including the oncoming and the retiring Master; as well as 3 personnel ashore when the No. 8 port fuel tank exploded in flames. TheSalem Maritime and three tank barges in close proximity and shore installations were severely damaged.[26]
SSMidway Hills sank 2 October 1961 after she broke in two from an engine room explosion. She sank 110 miles east fromJacksonville, Florida, on a trip from Houston toPerth Amboy, New Jersey.
SSMarine Sulphur QueenThe remains ofMarine Sulphur Queen, recovered by the US coast guard
SS Marine Sulphur Queen and its crew of 39 disappeared near the southern coast of Florida after 4 February 1963.
SSWhite Bird Canyon sank on 17 December 1964 with loss of all the crew in bad weather offUlak Island,Aleutians on trip fromVancouver to Yokohama.
SSRainier (T2-SE-A1) built by Swan Island. After World War II was sold to private company in 1948. Was converted to bulk cargo ship on 1962, was wrecked and sank on 22 December 1965 off Faja Grande Lighthouse,Flores, Azores as SSPapadiamandis.
SSFort Schuyler (T2-SE-A1) fire started in engine room, then was damaged by explosions and sank on 24 October 1966 off the coast ofMorgan City, Louisiana.[27]
SSNinety-Six sank on 3 March 1971 after starting to leak in storm in the Indian Ocean, on trip fromBunbury, Western Australia, to Savannah.
SSTexaco Oklahoma sank on March 27, 1971 after breaking up off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. (US Coast Guard incident report July 26, 1972)
SS V. A. Fogg, a T2 tanker, lost 1 February 1972 mistakenly believed to have been lost in the Bermuda Triangle
SS Capricorn, a T2 that in 1980 collided with USCGC Blackthorn in Tampa Bay Florida
SS Belridge Hills Sank 24 December 1972 in gale storm 800 miles south of Kodiak on trip from Vancouver to Yokohama.
SS Marine Floridian, a T2 Tanker that in 1977 collided with a drawbridge in Virginia in a spectacular and costly accident.
SS Marine Electric, a T2 tanker that sank in a 1983 storm, the investigation of which led to major reforms in ship inspections and safety standards.
Delta Conveyor sank in theMississippi River adjacent to Delta Bulk Terminal inConvent, Louisiana. Raised in two sections: the bow in early 2003 and the aft section in late 2003.[28]
