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Liberty ships were an expedient solution to a pressing problem. The British needed a way to replace the ships lost to German U-boats, but did not have the resources required to build them. In 1939 they asked the United States to help solve the problem, bringing a ship design that they wanted built. The design was modified to fit American production methods, and five new shipyards were built to give the shipbuilding industry capacity. These ships were called 'Ocean class' with each ship's name starting with Ocean.
Liberty ships were an expedient solution to a pressing problem. The British needed a way to replace the ships lost to German U-boats, but did not have the resources required to build them. In 1939 they asked the United States to help solve the problem, bringing a ship design that they wanted built. The design was modified to fit American production methods, and five new shipyards were built to give the shipbuilding industry capacity. These ships were called 'Ocean class' with each ship's name starting with Ocean.


The United States needed more ships as war approached. The 'Ocean' design was revised and simplified to allow mass production. This new design was the basis for the Liberty ship. War reached the United States 7 December 1941 when Japan attacked the military bases at Hawaii, Guam, and a few days later, the Philippines. Liberty ships began brining troops and materials wherever they were needed, crossing both Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
The United States needed more ships as war approached. The 'Ocean' design was revised and simplified to allow mass production. This new design was the basis for the Liberty ship. War reached the United States 7 December 1941 when Japan attacked the military bases at Hawaii, Guam, and a few days later, the Philippines. Liberty ships carried weapons, ammunition, food, tools, hardware, vehicles, and other things needed for the war effort. They could also be equipped to carry a large number<ref name="build">{{cite web | url=http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/liberty_ships/BuildingLibertyShips/index.html#config|title=Liberty Ship design and construction}}</ref> of troops by rigging bunks in the holds similar to those used by the Armed guard.<ref name="brown">{{cite web | url=http://www.liberty-ship.com/html/vtour/cargoholds.php| title=Virtual tour of a Liberty ship's hold}}</ref> Liberty ships began brining troops and materials wherever they were needed, crossing both Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.


Like other Liberty Ships, ''John Burke'' transported war materials between the United States and the [[rear (military)|rear areas]] of the [[Pacific War]], often calling at [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Australia]], [[Guadalcanal]], [[Jayapura|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 [[Battle of Mindoro|Mindoro]]. The convoy arrived at Leyte the night of 27 December.
Like other Liberty Ships, ''John Burke'' transported war materials between the United States and the [[rear (military)|rear areas]] of the [[Pacific War]], often calling at [[Pearl Harbor]], [[Australia]], [[Guadalcanal]], [[Jayapura|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 [[Battle of Mindoro|Mindoro]]. The convoy arrived at Leyte the night of 27 December.

Revision as of 01:38, 12 November 2012

SS John Burke on May 10th 1944 north west of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
History
United States
NameSS John Burke
NamesakeJohn Burke (1875-1936) Roman Catholic clergyman. Editor of "The Catholic World".
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 (MC hull number 609) 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.[1] The ship was named for John Burke[2] (1875-1936), a Roman Catholic clergyman and editor of "The Catholic World". Burke was built at Kaiser Shipbuilding Company's Oregon Shipbuilding yard in Portland, Oregon. Burke's keel was laid November 20, 1942[1] and 33 days later, on December 13[1], the hull was launched. After fitting-out over the following ten days, Burke was delivered to the US Navy December 23.[1] The Navy placed Burke under charter to Northland Transportation Company in early 1943.[3]

On December 28, 1944, while transporting ammunition to Mindoro, Philippines, Burke was hit by a Japanese kamikaze aircraft, and disintegrated in a tremendous explosion.[4][5] John Burke was one of three Liberty Ships[6] and one of forty-seven ships sunk by kamikaze attack during World War II.[7]

Construction and design

A colored diagram of compartments on a ship
A colored diagram of compartments on a Liberty ship, from the starboard side, bow to the right

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. The machinery space (dark blue in the picture) was located at the middle of the ship (see the color-coded image at the left). The single propeller was driven through a long propeller shaft that ran through a tunnel (lower green area in the picture) under the aft cargo holds. The propeller rotated at 76 rpm, giving a speed of about 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). 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 in the picture), 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 in the picture) directly above the machinery space, and in a small structure (medium blue in the picture) located at the stern. The bridge, radio room and Captain's quarters were located on the top deck (yellow in the picture) of the three-deck structure. The fuel for the boiler was carried in several tanks (red in the picture) located throughout the ship. Ship's storage (light green in the picture) was located at the bow and above the machinery space. Gun crew quarters and the ship's hospital were located in the stern structure. </ref> When armed, the gun 'tubs' (white in the picture) were located at the bow, stern and above the bridge. These could be any mixture of 5 inches (130 mm), 4 inches (101.60 mm), 3 inches (76 mm), 40 millimetres (1.57 in), 20 millimetres (0.79 in) and/or .5 inches (12.70 mm) caliber guns.

The ship's steering was by a contrabalanced rudder (black, at left in the picture), with its associated steering gear located in a compartment (green in the picture) 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. Large hatches above the cargo holds allowed steam winches and booms rigged to three centerline masts to quickly load or unload cargo.[8]

History

Liberty ships were an expedient solution to a pressing problem. The British needed a way to replace the ships lost to German U-boats, but did not have the resources required to build them. In 1939 they asked the United States to help solve the problem, bringing a ship design that they wanted built. The design was modified to fit American production methods, and five new shipyards were built to give the shipbuilding industry capacity. These ships were called 'Ocean class' with each ship's name starting with Ocean.

The United States needed more ships as war approached. The 'Ocean' design was revised and simplified to allow mass production. This new design was the basis for the Liberty ship. War reached the United States 7 December 1941 when Japan attacked the military bases at Hawaii, Guam, and a few days later, the Philippines. Liberty ships carried weapons, ammunition, food, tools, hardware, vehicles, and other things needed for the war effort. They could also be equipped to carry a large number[9] of troops by rigging bunks in the holds similar to those used by the Armed guard.[10] Liberty ships began brining troops and materials wherever they were needed, crossing both Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Like other Liberty Ships, John Burke transported war materials between the United States and the rear areas of the Pacific War, 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.

Japanese forces were alerted to the convoy's arrival shortly before daybreak on December 28th. If the convoy was 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[11]) 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 0815 hrs, the first kamikaze appeared on the American ship's radar, and orders were immediately dispatched for the convoy to begin evasive maneuvering.[12]

The attack

Through holes in the clouds, the Japanese pilots sighted the large American force as it steamed through calm seas South of Cebu and Bohol Islands, finding it without the common 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 at 1020.[12]

A brief flash of fire was visible to most of the ships in the convoy, and for several seconds, only smoke could be seen bellowing from her hold. Then suddenly, a huge pillar of fire shot out of Burke's cargo hold, followed by an immense cloud of white smoke.[7] 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[13] or 29[14] Armed guards.

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.[12] 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. The Combat Air Patrol arrived at 1213 after the weather cleared, providing much-needed air cover for the next three hours.[12]

In spite of the near-constant attacks, the force reached its destination at 0648 30 December with much-needed material for the Mindoro invasion.[12]

Today, the fragments of SS John Burke lie 1,500 feet (457 m) 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

References

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

Liberty Ship Resources

Template:Liberty ships J

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