The T2 tanker, or T2, was a class of oil tanker constructed and produced in large numbers in the United States during World War II. Only the T3 tankers were larger "navy oilers" of the period. Some 533 T2s were built between 1940 and the end of 1945. They were used to transport fuel oil, diesel fuel, gasoline and sometimes black oil-crude oil. Post war many T2s remained in use; like other hastily built World War II ships pressed into peacetime service, there were safety concerns. As was found during the war, the United States Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation in 1952 stated that in cold weather the ships were prone to metal fatigue cracking, so were "belted" with steel straps. This occurred after two T2s, Pendleton and Fort Mercer, split in two off Cape Cod within hours of each other. Pendleton's sinking is memorialized in the 2016 film The Finest Hours. Engineering inquiries into the problem suggested the cause was poor welding techniques. It was found the steel was not well suited for the new wartime welding construction. The high sulfur content made the steel brittle and prone to metal fatigue at lower temperatures.
The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the United States west coast during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The shipyards were owned by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Company, a creation of American industrialist Henry J. Kaiser (1882–1967), who established the shipbuilding company around 1939 in order to help meet the construction goals set by the United States Maritime Commission for merchant shipping.
Overlook is a neighborhood in the North section of Portland, Oregon on the east shore of the Willamette River. It borders University Park and Arbor Lodge on the north, Humboldt and Boise on the east, Eliot on the southeast, and Northwest Industrial and the Northwest District across the Willamette on the west.
Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation was a World War II emergency shipyard located along the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. The shipyard built nearly 600 Liberty and Victory ships between 1941 and 1945 under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. It was closed after the war ended.
The Swan Island Municipal Airport was a joint civil-military airport that was operational on Swan Island in Portland, Oregon. Though it officially opened in 1927, the United States Postal Service had been using the airfield for a year. After the Portland–Columbia Super Airport was completed in the late 1930s, Swan Island Municipal Airport had little use since its runways were too small for newer aircraft and the low altitude made takeoffs and landings difficult. The airport was operational for nearly two decades, but due in part to the advances in aviation, it became obsolete soon after its construction. During World War II, a Kaiser shipyard was located at Swan Island. The shipbuilding facilities were acquired by the Port of Portland after the war.
The Swan Island Shipyard was a shipyard on Swan Island in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was constructed by the industrialist Henry J. Kaiser in 1942 as part of the U.S. Maritime Commission's Emergency Shipbuilding Program in World War II. The Swan Island yard was one of three Kaiser Shipyards in the Portland area, along with the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation and the Vancouver Shipyard.
Vigor Industrial (Vigor) is an American shipbuilding, shiprepair, and industrial service provider in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Based in Portland, Oregon, the company consists of several subsidiary companies for a combined total of seven facilities with ten drydocks, more than 17,000 feet of pier space, and over 2,000 employees.
SS John Burke was an American Liberty Ship built during World War II, one of the 2,710 type 'EC2-S-C1' ships that carried all kinds and types of dry cargo during the war. The ship was named for John Burke, the 10th Governor of North Dakota. Burke was built at Kaiser Shipbuilding Company's Oregon Shipbuilding yard in Portland, Oregon. Burke's keel was laid November 20, 1942 and the hull was launched on December 13. After fitting-out, Burke was delivered to the US Maritime Commission on December 23, just 33 days after construction began. The War Shipping Administration then placed Burke under management of the Northland Transportation Company.
SS Pendleton was a Type T2-SE-A1 tanker built in 1944 in Portland, Oregon, United States, for the War Shipping Administration. She was sold in 1948 to National Bulk Carriers, serving until February 1952 when she broke in two in a storm. The T2 tanker ships were prone to splitting in two in cold weather. The ship's sinking and crew rescue is the topic of the 2009 book The Finest Hours: The True Story Behind the US Coast Guard's Most Daring Rescue, by Michael J. Tougias. Tougias' book inspired the 2016 Disney-produced film The Finest Hours with Chris Pine, which focuses on the Pendleton rescue.
The SS Elwood Mead was a Liberty ship built for service during World War II.
Swan Island is located on the Willamette River about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) downriver from downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Although presently connected to the Willamette's east bank, it existed as a river island under natural conditions.
The Swan Island Industrial Park is an industrial park on Swan Island in Portland, Oregon, United States. The industrial park comprises 430 acres (170 ha) and is operated by the Port of Portland.
SS Camden was an American 6,653-ton tanker built by the New York Shipbuilding Company of Camden, New Jersey, for the Charles Kurz & Co. Inc. of Pennsylvania Shipping Company. She was operated by Shell Oil Company of Wilmington, Delaware. She was launched in 1921. The ship became famous when it was torpedoed early in World War II off the West Coast of the United States off Coos Bay, Oregon, at 43.38 N, –124.48 W at 7:00 am. She had departed San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, to Portland, Oregon, with fuel oil. The ship was attacked by Japanese submarine I-25 on October 4, 1942 off Oregon. She had been stopped for engine repairs at the time of the attack. She survived the attack, but later sank on October 10. One Crew member died and went down with the ship. The Camden was set on fire by the torpedo hit to her bow and was sinking. The crew abandoned ship and was rescued by a Swedish merchant ship, the MV Kookaburra. The Camden still on fire remained afloat. The tugboat Kenai was towing her to Astoria, Oregon, but then changed the path to Seattle, but the Camden sank off the coast of Washington state at 46.7772, -124.5208 and now rests at a depth of 312 feet.
SS Samuel Heintzelman was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. Named after Samuel Heintzelman, a United States Army general, the ship was laid down by California Shipbuilding Corporation at Terminal Island in Los Angeles, and launched on 27 August 1942. It was operated by Coastwise Line.
SS Anne Hutchinson was a Liberty ship built by the Oregon Shipbuilding Company of Portland, Oregon, and launched on 31 May 1942 The ship was named after the Anne Hutchinson, a 1600 Massachusetts Bay Colony Puritan.
SS Augustana Victory was built and operated as Victory ship class cargo ship which operated as a cargo carrier in World War II, and Vietnam War.
Northland Transportation Company operated cargo and passenger ships from Seattle to Southeast Alaska starting in 1923. During World War II Northland Transportation Company was active in charter shipping with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration. Northland Transportation Company, proposed a loan from United States Shipping Board to build a ship for Puget Sound-Alaska trade in 1933. In 1934, the company was granted a $350,000 loan to build a new ship. The 1,400 tons passenger ship, was built at Lake Washington Shipyard in Houghton, Washington. Northland Transportation Company Seattle dock and warehouse were at Pier 56, now Ainsworth and Dunn Wharf.
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