User:Buster40004/Sandbox/Projects/Liberty ship

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SS John Burke on May 10th 1944 at position 50°50'N 130°127'W north west of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Owned by U.S.Department of Commerce and operated by Northland Transportation Co.under WSA Service Agreement Form GAA (General Agent Agreement).
History
NameSS John Burke
BuilderOregon Shipbuilding Company, Portland, OR
Laid downNovember 20, 1942
LaunchedDecember 15, 1942
AcquiredDecember 23, 1942
FateLost December 28, 1944 off Mindoro, P.I. due to Kamikaze strike
General characteristics
TypeLiberty ship
Displacement14,245 long tons (14,474 t)
Length422 ft 10 in (128.88 m)
Beam57 ft 0 in (17.37 m)
Draft27 ft 10 in (8.48 m)
Depth of hold34 ft 10 in (10.62 m)
PropulsionTwo oil-fired boilers, triple-expansion steam engine, single screw, 2,500 hp (1,864 kW)
Speed11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement40 crew, 28 Armed Guard, 68 total
ArmamentCombination of 4"/50, 40mm, 20mm, and .50 caliber guns

SS John Burke was an American Liberty ship built during World War II. SS John Burke was named for John Burke who was an American lawyer, jurist, and political leader from North Dakota. He was the tenth Governor of North Dakota. She was one of the 2,710 Liberty Ships that carried all kinds and types of dry cargo during the war. John Burke, (MC hull number 609) was a type EC2-S-C1 ('EC' for emergency cargo, '2' for a ship between 400 and 450 feet (120 and 140 m) long at the load waterline, 'S' for steam engines, and 'C1' for built under design C1) Liberty Ship,[1] built at Kaiser Shipbuilding Company's Oregon Shipbuilding yard in Portland, Oregon. Her keel was laid November 20, 1942 and just 33 days later, on December 13, the hull was launched.[1] Burke was fitted out in just ten days, and was delivered to the US Navy on December 23. The Navy placed Burke under charter to Eric Wickman's Northland Transportation Company in early 1943.[2] On December 28, 1944, while transporting its cargo of ammunition to Mindoro, Philippines, Burke was hit by a Japanese kamikaze aircraft, and disintegrated in a tremendous explosion.[3][4] John Burke was one of three Liberty Ships[5] and one of forty-seven ships sunk by kamikaze attack during World War II.[6]

Construction and design[edit]

Liberty Ship Compartment Layout
Liberty Ship Compartment Layout

John Burke was powered by two oil-fired boilers and a single 2,500 hp (1,864 kW) vertical type, triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine. Using the color-coded image at the left, The machinery space (dark blue) was located at the middle of the ship. The single propeller was driven through a long propeller shaft that ran through a tunnel (lower green area) under the aft cargo holds. The propeller rotated at 76 rpm, giving a speed of about 11 knots. There were two decks running the full length of the ship, with seven watertight bulkheads dividing the machinery space and five cargo holds (light blue), three ahead of the machinery space and two aft. Crew accommodations were provided in a large three-deck structure located in the middle of the ship (medium blue), directly above the machinery space, and in a small structure(medium blue) located at the stern. The bridge, radio room and Captain's quarters are located on the top deck (yellow) of the three-deck structure. The fuel for the boiler is carried in several tanks (red) located at various locations. Ship's storage (light green) is located at the bow and above the machinery space. Gun crew quarters and the ship's hospital were located in the stern structure.[7][8] When armed, the gun 'tubs'(white) are located at the bow and stern, and above the bridge. These could be any mixture of 5", 4", 3", 40mm, 20mm and/or .50 caliber guns.

The ship's steering was by a contrabalanced rudder(black, at left), with its associated steering gear located in a compartment(green) above the rudder and below the aft structure. Steam-powered generators provided electric power for radios, navigation equipment, refrigeration compressors, pumps, lighting, and degaussing. An evaporator produced fresh water for the boilers and for the crew.[7]

Large hatches above the cargo holds allowed steam winches and booms rigged to three centerline masts to quickly load or unload cargo.[9] Liberty ships carried weapons, ammunition, food, tools, hardware, vehicles, and anything and everything that was needed for the war effort. Liberty Ships could also carry a large number of troops, when equipped to do so.[7]

History[edit]

Liberty Ship at sea
Liberty Ship at sea

Like many Liberty Ships, John Burke transported war materials between the United States and the rear areas of the Pacific Front, often calling at Pearl Harbor, Australia, Guadalcanal, Hollandia and Manaus. On what would be her final trip, Burke had spent several days loading munitions at Guam before joining the 100-ship "Uncle Plus 13" convoy which was bound for the Island of Leyte in the Philippines. There, it would join the force that was to supply the October 1944 invasion force on the island of Mindoro. The convoy arrived at Leyte the night of 27 December. Burke had been in service for two years and four days, and had traveled tens of thousands of miles hauling untold tons of cargo.

Japanese Forces were alerted to the convoy's arrival shortly before daybreak on December 28 and quickly realized that if it could be destroyed, the U.S. forces on Mindoro would be essentially cut off from their supply line. A flight of six Japanese Kamikaze fighter/bombers was sent up from Cebu Island shortly after dawn.

That morning Burke had joined the other ships in the Mindoro-bound TG 77.11 (under the command of Captain George F. Mentz[10]) in going to general quarters shortly after the dawn weather report indicated air cover would not launch until the poor weather cleared. The crews began their wait for the inevitable arrival of Japanese aircraft. At about 1000 hrs, the first kamikaze appeared on the American ship's radar, and orders were immediately dispatched for the convoy to begin evasive maneuvering.

The attack[edit]

Through holes in the clouds, the Japanese pilots easily sighted the large American force as it steamed through calm seas South of Cebu and Bohol Islands, surprised at finding it without the expected air cover. The six Japanese planes began their attack, one of them choosing John Burke. Diving through massive anti-aircraft fire, the Japanese pilot had no intention of pulling out of his steep dive, and despite damage to his aircraft, he crashed into Burke's forward cargo hold.[11]

A brief flash of fire was visible to most of the ships in the convoy, and for a several seconds, only smoke could be seen bellowing from her hold. Then suddenly, a huge pillar of fire shot skyward, followed by an immense cloud of white smoke. Then suddenly, a huge pillar of fire shot out of Burke's cargo hold, followed by an immense cloud of white smoke.[6] The shock wave rocked the entire convoy, and several ships reported that they had been torpedoed. Within seconds all eyes were drawn to Burke where an enormous fireball erupted when her entire cargo of munitions detonated, instantly disintegrating the ship and her crew of 40 Merchant Marine sailors and 28 Armed Guards.[12][13]

For several seconds, Burke was not visible under an enormous mushroom cloud of smoke, fire and explosions. Several ships nearby were heavily damaged by the force of the blast and flying fragments.[14] As the towering cloud of smoke collapsed, several ships closed on Burke's former position to search for survivors. It was soon clear that Burke, and all 68 men aboard her, were gone. The Japanese attack that morning was just the beginning of a two-day series of attacks on the convoy, costing several more ships and hundreds of lives. In spite of the near-constant attacks, the force reached its destination with much-needed material for the Mindoro invasion.[14]

Aftermath[edit]

Today, the fragments of SS John Burke lay 457 feet below the surface, in the vicinity of 9°1'11"N 123°26'50"E,[15] the location the ship was last seen, in the strait between Negros, Siquijor Islands and Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte, Mindanao, Philippines.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Notes
  1. ^ a b "Oregon Shipbuilding".
  2. ^ "US Maritime Commission".
  3. ^ Cressman, pp 597-599
  4. ^ "Eyewitness account".
  5. ^ "William S. Ladd, 10 Dec 1944; John Burke, 28 Dec 1944; Lewis L. Dyche, 5 Jan 1945".
  6. ^ a b "47 Ships Sunk by Kamikaze Aircraft".
  7. ^ a b c "Liberty Ship design and construction".
  8. ^ "Virtual tour of a Liberty Ship".
  9. ^ "Hoist, masts and rigging".
  10. ^ "Captain Mentz' Navy Cross".
  11. ^ "Attack on SS John Burke".
  12. ^ "Merchant sailors and armed guard losses".
  13. ^ "Chronological List of U.S. Ships Sunk or Damaged during 1944". usmm.org.
  14. ^ a b "USS Bush (DD 529)'s deck log".
  15. ^ "Location on Google Maps".
Bibliography

Liberty Ship Resources[edit]

  • Category:Liberty ships]]
  • Category:World War II merchant ships of the United_States]]
  • Category:Ships sunk by kamikaze attack]]
  • Category:Ships built in Oregon]]
  • Category:1942 ships]]
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