T3 tanker

USS Niobrara AO-72, a T3-S-A1 tanker

USS Cimarron AO-22, a T3-S2-A1 tanker, lead ship of the class in February 1942

USS Suwannee a T3 tanker converted to an escort carrier, underway, after repairs from the kamikaze attacks of October 1944

Mispillion (middle) a T3-S2-A3 tanker, fueling the Bennington and Alfred A. Cunningham in 1963

The T3 tanker, or T3, are a class of sea worthy large tanker ships used to transport fuel oil, gasoline or diesel before and during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The T3 tanker classification is still used today. ^[1]

Design

T3 tankers are about 500 to 650 feet in length and are able to sustain a top speed from 15 to 18 knots. The T3 tanker is larger, and usually faster, than a T2 tanker. The hull designation AOG is used by the US Navy to denote that the ship is a T3 gasoline tanker. The AO designation denotes that the ship is a T3 fleet oiler, also referred to as a replenishment oiler (AOR).

Most of the T3 ships were built for private companies, and named by the manufacturer. Some T3 tankers were built for or sold to the US Navy, which were renamed using the names of Native Americans, rivers and lakes.

The T3 tanker can carry from about 133,800 to 200,000 BBLs. Some T3 tankers were used to transport other goods like black oil-crude oil and chemicals. T3s are also called liquid cargo carriers. The T3 tanker has roughly a full load displacement of about 24,830 tons.^[2]

T3 tankers are operated by the US Navy, War Shipping Administration and United States Maritime Commission.

Each T3 has emergency life rafts on the boat deck. The ships have cargo booms and piping to load and unload fuel. During wartime, the T3 ships were armed for protection with deck guns. A typical ship may have one single 3"/50 dual purpose gun, two 40 mm guns and three single Oerlikon 20 mm cannons. T3 ships normally carries 81 to 304 crew members. If operating as a United States Merchant Marine ship, the crew would be a mix of civilian Merchant Marines and United States Navy Armed Guards to man the deck guns.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

The World War II T3 class tankers were considered large for the their day, but are small compared to the modern tankers of today. A large modern tanker, like the Ultra Large Crude Carrier, is over 300,000 metric tons. Another modern tanker, the Very Large Crude Carrier, is over 200,000 metric tons.

The attack on Pearl Harbor brought up an urgent need for aircraft carriers. This led to some T3 tankers being converted to escort carriers. The USS Suwannee is an example of a T3 tanker hull AO-33 that was rebuilt to be an escort carrier. The T3 tanker's size and speed made the T3 an useful escort carrier. There were two classes of T3 hull carriers: Sangamon class and Commencement Bay class.^[10][11][12]

T3 classes

• T3-S-A1 tanker: Class Chiwawa-class oiler, two steam turbines to a single screw, 7,700 shp, max speed of 15 knots, 501 feet long, width 68 ft, max depth 29.6 ft, 9,880 gross tons, carry 133,800 barrels. Despite the confusing T3 designation, the T3-S-A1s built by Bethlehem Sparrows Point for Standard Oil of New Jersey were identical to the original T2 tankers except for having less powerful engines of 7700 hp., 25 of this design were ordered by the Maritime Commission, of which five became Navy oilers as the Chiwawa class oiler. Built by Bethlehem Steel in Sparrows Point, Maryland.

• T3-S2-A1 tanker, Class Cimarron-class oiler (1939): four turbine engines with twin screws, 13,500 shp, max speed of 18 knots, 553 feet long, width 75 ft, max depth 32 ft, capacity: 146,000 barrels, 11,335 gross tons, 24,830 Loaded displacement tons, crew 304, Range 12,100 nmi. First Navy commissioned 1943. Served as Fleet Oilers and some were converted to Escort carriers, CVE. Built by: Bethlehem Steel Company, Sparrows Point, Maryland; Federal SB & DD Co.of Kearny, New Jersey; Newport News SB & DD Co. of Newport News, Virginia; and Sun SB & DD Co. of Chester, Pennsylvania. A total of 17 T3-S2-A1 tanker were completed. Some of the carriers conversions were completed by: Norfolk Naval Shipyard of Portsmouth, Virginia; Newport News SB & DD Co. of Newport News, Virginia; and New York Naval Shipyard, Brooklyn, New York. Armament:AO-22 through 33: 4 × 5"/38 caliber guns, 4 × twin 40 mm gun mounts, 4 × twin 20 mm gun mounts. AO-51 and later: 1 × 5"/38 caliber gun, 4 × 3"/50 caliber guns, 4 × twin 40 mm gun mounts and 4 × twin 20 mm gun mounts.

• T3-S2-A3 tanker: Ashtabula-class The first-in-class USS Ashtabula (AO-51) jumboization was completed in 1968. Geared turbines with twin screws, 30,400 hp, Max. 18.3 knots, 553 feet long (jumboization 644 ft), width 75 ft, max depth 32 ft (jumboization 36 ft done in 1964–1965), displacement:7,423 tons (light); 25,500 tons (full load), jumboization: 12,840 tons (light); 34,350 tons (full load). Capacity: 146,000 barrels of fuel oil. crew US Navy 304, crew 108 civilians and U.S. Navy guards, Armament: 1 × 5-inch (127-mm), 38-caliber gun, 4 × 3-inch (76.2-mm) 50-caliber guns, 8 × 40 mm antiaircraft guns (4 × 2), 8 × 20 mm antiaircraft guns (4 × 2). Ships in class: USS Mispillion (AO-105), USS Navasota (AO-106), USS Passumpsic (AO-107), USS Pawcatuck (AO-108) and USS Waccamaw (AO-109). Built by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.. Most T3-S2-A3 tankers were jumboized in 1964. Jumboized Cimarron-class oilers were reclassed as Ashtabula-class oilers.

• T3-S-AZ1 tanker: One five-cylinder single-acting two-cycle oil engine, 7,500 shp, max 15.5 knots, 547 feet long, width 70 ft, 11,401 gross tons, one in class: MS Brandywine, August 1943. Built by Sun Ship.

• T3-S-B tanker: Two steam turbines to one shaft, 7,700 shp, max. speed of 14 knots, 515.9 feet long, width 70 ft, Tonnage: 11,016 GRT and 18,900 DWT[2], Crew: 50 and 31 U.S. Navy Armed Guard. Armament: 1 × 5 in (130 mm) gun, 1 × 3 in (76 mm) gun, × 20 mm guns, commissioned 1943. Two sub classes:T3-S-BF1 and T3-S-BZ1:

• T3-S-BF1 First in class SS Pan-Pennsylvania. Five built in 1943 and 1944: Bulklube, Bulkfuel, Bulkcrude and Bulkero by Welding Shipyards Inc. in Norfolk, Virginia.

• T3-S-BZ1 Completed three ships: SS Phoenix, SS Nashbulk and SS Amtank. Built in 1943 and 1944 by Welding Shipyards Inc. in Norfolk, Virginia.

Notable incidents

• USS Pan Pennsylvania, a Type T3-S-BF1 tanker, on 16 April 1944 was sunk by U-boat U-550 torpedo commanded by Klaus Hänert off Nantucket. Pan-Pennsylvania was steaming from New York Harbor on the afternoon of 15 April 1944 as part of convoy CU-21, going to England with 140,000 barrels of 80-octane aviation fuel. She had a crew of 50 men, and 31 members of the Naval Armed Guard. The 28 merchant ships of CU-21 were accompanied by Escort Flotilla 21.5, which consisted of six destroyer escorts.^[13]

• USS Mississinewa (AO-59), a T3-S2-A1 tanker, sank on 20 November 1944 after being hit by a Japanese Kaiten manned torpedo near Ulithi Island.^[14]

• USS Shabonee a T3-S-A1 tanker was sold to the US Navy and renamed the USS Escalante (AO-70). In 1947 she was sold and renamed the SS George MacDonald. On 30 June 1960 she sank 165 miles east of Savannah after an engine fire on June 27.^[15][16]

• Lake Charles, a T3-S-A1 renamed Capri, ran aground in 1961 on Molasses Reef, Florida on 27 April 1963 at (25.07 N - 80.22 W). She was a total loss.^[17]

• Brandywine, a T2-SE-A1 renamed Atlantic Sun, was damaged in 1962 and scrapped.^[18]

• Phoenix a T3-S-BZ1, first in her class, was badly damaged in collision with Pan Mass on 6 June 1953, resulting in a total loss.^[19]

See also

• T1 tanker the smallest in the T class
• T2 tanker the next size down.
• History of the oil tanker
• Victory ships
• Liberty ship
• Type C1 ship
• Type C2 ship
• Type C3 ship
• United States Merchant Marine Academy
• United States Navy oiler
• List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy

References

• Wildenberg, Thomas (1996). Gray Steel and Black Oil: Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the U.S. Navy, 1912–1995. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. Retrieved 2009-04-28. 
• hazegray.org, Ships of Mare Island

1. ↑ shipbuildinghistory.com T3 tankers
2. ↑ National Park Service, Scotts Bluff
3. ↑ NJ Scuba, Tanker
4. ↑ marad.dot.gov, Tanker
5. ↑ Auke Vissers, T3 tanker types
6. ↑ navsource.org USS Klickitat (AOG-64)
7. ↑ usmm.org, tankers
8. ↑ U.S. Maritime Commission report of trials : design T3-M-AZ1 tanker MS Brandywine, MC-2065, SUN-323 August 1943
9. ↑ The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia, T3-S
10. ↑ World Aircraft Carriers List: US Escort Carriers, T3 Hulls
11. ↑ Outboard Profiles of Maritime Commission Vessels, The Tanker Designs and her Conversions, All Drawings by Karsten-Kunibert Krueger-Kopiske 2007
12. ↑ navsource.org, USS Mispillion (AO-105) (1945 - 1975)
13. ↑ Price, Scott (30 July 2012). "Sinking the U-550". U.S Coast Guard. Retrieved 10 December 2012. 
14. ↑ ussmississinewa.com
15. ↑ uscg.mil, George MacDonald
16. ↑ noaa.gov, George MacDonald
17. ↑ Lake Charles T3-S-A1
18. ↑ Brandywine 2
19. ↑ Phoenix, 3-S-BZ1

External links

• U.S. Navy Auxiliary Ship Images, AO, AR, AS & AV
• Waccamaw AO-109
• Waccamaw – AO 109