According to the finest hours true story, the world war iiera t2 tanker was carrying kerosene and heating oil. Triumph and tragedy off cape cod naval history magazine. They contained cavernous fuel tanks whiched provided the fuel to run massive diesel powered generators that provided 3,100 kilowatts of electricy per ship for a total of 15,500 kilowatts. Along the way the reader will discover the important part played by the u. The remaining 51 were built later, mostly by bethlehem sparrows point, which built 37 of them. She was sold in 1948 to national bulk carriers, serving until february 1952 when she broke in two in a storm. The t2 tanker, or t2, was a class of oil tanker constructed and produced in large quantities in the united states during world war ii. The t2sea1s were the most numerous maritime commission standard tankers built during the war and constituted all but eleven of the t2 tankers constructed. What few people know is that a second tanker also broke in two that night, and the rescue of her crew was equally dramatic. World war 2 t2 and t3 tankers converted into great lakes. The t2 tanker, or t2, was a class of oil tanker constructed and produced in large quantities in.
The true story of the us coast guards most daring sea rescue by michael j. Ss pendleton is probably one of the most famous t2 tankers because of a storm in 1952 were she broke in two leaving only the stern section afloat and taking on water. Two tankers down and millions of other books are available for instant. The t2 tanker design was first adapted from ss mobilfuel and ss mobilube, built for the soconyvacuum company later to become mobile oil.
Five ships, called t2 tankergenerators were permanently anchored at this jetty. On the same night another t2 tanker broke in half leaving only a. T2sea1 tanker none sunk around here the t2 was the backbone of the wartime tanker fleet, and far more numerous than the other types. Maritime commission after the liner america, before settling in to the longerterm t2 program. Liberty ship fatigue failures failure case studies. They were used to transport fuel oil, diesel fuel, gasoline and sometimes black oilcrude oil.
Pine sets out with a small team to rescue the crew of the pendleton t2 oil tanker, which. Shell manages one of the largest fleets of oilchemical tankers and liquefied natural gas lng carriers in the world, all playing a vital role in the safe and secure delivery of energy around the world. It traces the early history of these ships from the planning stages through their commissioning. Ss pendleton was a type t2sea1 tanker built in 1944 in portland, oregon, united states, for the war shipping administration. Factchecking the finest hours movie confirmed that nearby cutters observed sea heights anywhere from 40 to 60 feet. Where the size of tankers had been more or less the same for 25 years, after world war ii they have grown in size significantly, initially slowly. My experiences on a commercial tanker part i january 23, 2014 20 comments featured. The t2 tanker ships were prone to splitting in two in cold weather. Development of the oil tanker, 1940 by spyrou, andrew and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The fort mercer, like the pendleton, was a t2sea1 tanker, built on the cheap. T2 tankers still in reserve fleets there are two more tankers still in reserve under u. This was happening during a noreaster so the waters were very choppy and they had 70 foot seas. Uss saugatuck ao75 was a suamico class t2sea1 type tanker.
T2 tanker generator ships located at cp 048144 in khanh hoa province, ii corps. One of the most characteristic ships of ww2 were t2 tankers. All received the gold lifesaving medal, the coast guards highest honor, for extreme and heroic daring. Triumph and tragedy off cape cod the recent disney movie the finest hours chronicles the 1952 rescue of the oil tanker pendleton off cape cod. Not included are the tankers of the samosetchiwawa t3sa1 type, which despite the t3 designation were in fact nearly identical hulls to the original t2s, and smaller than the t2a and t2se series. Gentlemen, i am looking for information on t2 tankers specifically the flying a washington operated by texaco.
The history of attacking entrepreneurial elites of foreign origin has been a repetitive story in international business. A brief history of the t2 tanker as a lifelong student of maritime and naval history, i became interested in some ships of our merchant fleet. Tougias and casey sherman tells the story of the shipwreck of two oil tankers and the harrowing coast guard rescue when four men in a tiny lifeboat overcame insurmountable odds and saved more than 30 stranded sailors. They were rated at 9,900 tons gross, and a deadweight tonnage of 15,850 tons. The coast guard called it the greatest rescue by a small boat in its history. Already the nations specialist in oil tanker construction, sun ship naval architects and engineers designed a variation on its traditional oil tanker that became the model for the united states maritime commission. Two t2 oil tankers split in half near cape cod on the same day.
They were constructed at 4 us shipyards and accordingly differed slightly in deckhouse design, armament, vents and. This is a list of names for the approximately 500 type t2 tankers built for the united states maritime commission during world war ii. This book, titled victory ships and tankers the history of the victory type cargo ships and of f the tankers built by the united states of. One of the most famous ships ever built in tyneside vintage everyday. Department of commerce and operated by pacific tankers inc.
The tanker equivalent of the liberty ship, almost 500 type t2 tankers were built in us shipyards during world war 2. From t2 to supertanker provides a unique insight into the oil tanker industrys efforts to produce safe and efficient vessels dr. Hollywood chose to tell half the story of this daring coast guard rescue. The most common variety of the t2 style tanker was the united states maritime commission type t2 sea1, a commercial design already being built by sun shipbuilding company for standard oil company of new jersey. The gunwale bars and the other retrofits were successful. Did senior officer ray sybert really cut one of the pendletons lifeboats loose to prove that it couldnt handle the rough seas.
The book is based off of what happened on february 18, 1952. Did the ship really break apart due to a previous weld that did not hold. Later t3 type were built for private companies and named by the company. One is probably the last surviving t2sea1 in mostly original condition. Navy and named after native american names of rivers and lakes. The t2 tankers were built to a standard design by four u. Mr onassis business structure analysis aristotle onassis. This book completely blew me away with how two large tankers split in half during a huge winter storm, and the heroic rescue efforts that were made during horrible weather conditions. The ship had just completed its sea trials and had returned to port at swan island, oregon, when suddenly she cracked just aft of. Type cargo ships constructed in the united states during the second world war, they turned their attention to the victory ships and tankers. The finest hours recounts the true story of the most daring sea rescue in us coast guard history.
The first 12 t3 tankers were the first ships bought by the u. Through the end of the war, only 127 of the 4,694 liberty ships and t2 tankers ever suffered a class i fracture, and no ships with antifracture devices failed. Mostly telling the story of the santa inez, jaffees book serves as a tribute to all of these tankers and their gallant crews. These ships have not been used in a number of years, and are layed up and likely to be scrapped in the next few years. The true story of a heroic sea rescue, by michael tougias and casey sherman is a work of nonfiction. Their design was developed by sun shipbuilding and dry dock co. Plans of the world war ii t2 tanker mission santa ynez please support the model shipwright is entirely user supported.
By the end of the war these were too many merchant ships that. Enormous changes have taken place in tanker design and construction since world war ii. Maritime commission in the design, development, and acquisition of the cimarronclass oilers of world war ii fame. Hollywood chose to tell half the story of this daring coast guard. The trouble with t2 tankers dated back nearly a decade, beginning on. Some 533 t2s were built between 1940 and the end of 1945. This adaptation for young readers of the finest hours. The t2 design was based on two ships ss mobilfuel and ss mobillube owned by socony vacuum oil which will later become mobile oil. Single screw tanker t2sea1 a short summary of the t2 tanker. Ss pendleton was a type t2 sea1 tanker built in 1944 in portland, oregon, united states, for the war shipping administration. Constructed as per a vast scale commissioning order placed by the united states navy during the second world war, these tanker ships were designed to be utilised as both oil carrying cargo vessels and, if necessary, as naval vessels too.
Spyrou believes that marine transportation is the key to effective global shipping, part of which is carrying petroleum by tanker. Sailed for four years, married, worked for two propeller companies, one marine. Henry, a leading naval architect and the founder and president of the naval architectural and marine engineering firm bearing his name, died at the age of 73 on november 2, 1986 following a heart attack. They were built in large numbers for oiling navy ships and support them. Tougias and casey shermans 2010 book the finest hours. Tougias and casey sherman is a superb, and brief, retelling of an extraordinary set of coast guard rescues off the coast of cape cod. Ss pendleton t2 tanker full interior minecraft map. My father was a merchant seaman, sailing as an engineer in several vessels before, during, and after world war ii. Great lakes freighters in the 50s and 60s started to come from unlikley sources.
They faced freezing temperatures and 60foot waves in the hopes of reaching the pendleton, an oil tanker that had snapped in two during the fierce storm. Mobilube, built for the soconyvacuum company later to become mobile oil. From t2 to supertanker provides a unique insight into the oil tanker industrys efforts to produce safe and efficient vessels. Their specifications were 10,448 gross tons, overall length 523. Do you know whether that vessel is the same as the texaco washington. Several world war 2 t2 and t3 tankers were converted into great lakes freighters. Many tankers were built for or taken over by the u.
Hello everyone today i bring you a t2 tanker built in 1944. The other t2 tanker that broke in half, the ss fort mercer, was carrying kerosene. The book itself is under 200 pages and features some extraordinary images from the rescues. Type t2a consisted of 5 ships built in 1940 for keystone tankers and all converted during the war to us navy oilers of the mattaponi class. The t2 types were named after monuments, national parks, forts, battles, historic settlements, trails, lakes, swamps. There were 481 of these built between 1942 and 1945. Only the t3 tankers were larger navy oilers of the period. It built merchant vessesl of types of liberty, victory, c1, c2, c3 dry cargo merchant vessels and t2 tankers. In addition to the tankers, shell introduced the lng bunker vessel cardissa into the fleet in 2017. The brig elizabeth watts sailed for england in late 1861 carrying 224 tons of a substance called petroleum. One very famous variant of tanker ships during the early days of shipping and at the time of world war were the t2 tankers. From the creation of msts, tanker operators criticized the service for the operation of its tankers.
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