T1_tanker

T1 tanker

T1 tanker

Class of tanker ships


The T1 tanker or T1 are a class of sea worthy small tanker ships used to transport fuel oil before and during World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War. The T1 tanker classification is still in use today. T1 tankers are about 200 to 250 feet (61 to 76 m) in length and are able to sustain a top speed of about 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). The hull designation AO is used by the US Navy to denote the ship is a T1 oil tanker and AOG that the T1 is a gasoline tanker. The small size allows the T1 to enter just about any sea port or to anchor around a small island, this was very useful during the Pacific War. The T1 tanker can carry about 48,000 to 280,000 bbls. Some T1 tankers were used to transport goods other than oil, a few were used for black oil-crude oil, diesel, chemicals and rarely bulk cargo like grain. T1 tankers are also called liquid cargo carriers. The T1 tanker has about a 6,000 to 35,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) of cargo. The small size also gives the ships short turn around time for repair, cleaning, loading and unloading. A T1 tanker carrying dirty cargo, like crude oil needs a few weeks of labor to clean before carrying clean cargo. Most T1 ships during World War II were named after major oil fields.[1]

Quick Facts History, General characteristics ...
USNS Alatna, 1956 T1 tanker

T1 tankers are operated by the US Navy, War Shipping Administration and United States Maritime Commission. Some T1s were loaned to England in the Lend-Lease program for World War II, after the war most were returned to the US. After World War II many of the T1 ships were sold to for civilian use. Each T1 had emergency life rafts on the boat deck. The ships had cargo booms and piping to load and unload fuel. During war time the T1 are 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 cannon. A T1 at war time normally had a crew of 38 and up to 130. 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 guns.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

US classes

Lead ship of T1 class, T1-MT-M1, USS Patapsco, sister ship of USS Natchaug
USS Chehalis a 1944 T1-MT-M1 tanker[27]

Other T1 type ships

Notable incidents

  • Sulphur Bluff a T1-M-A1, renamed Punta Ciguena sank on 7 February 1960 at Rio Uruguay river in Buenos Aires. She was raised, repaired and renamed Dona Isabel.[28]
  • USS Chehalis, a T1-MT-M1, exploded while in Samoa, caught fire and sank in 1949.
  • USS Escatawpa, a T1-M-A2, ran aground and sank during Typhoon Louise at Kyushu, Japan, on 17 September 1945. She was raised, repaired and renamed Gravatai which sank again in 1970.[29]
  • USS Nanticoke, a T1-M-BT1, renamed ARA Punta Delgada which sank in 1985.[30]
  • Nodaway, a T1-M-BT1, renamed Dynafuel sank in a collision with SS Fernview in 1963 at Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.[31][32][33]
  • MS Avoca, a T1-M-BT1, renamed Petaluma then MS Transpet caught fire and sank on 30 October 1951 after an explosion in the engine room in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
  • Sebasticook, a T1-M-BT1, renamed Mexia, then Kwang Lung caught fire and sank on 5 April 1961 at Kaohsiung Harbor, Taiwan. The fire-fighting party from USS Prichett help put the fire out, but she still sank, spilled a million gallons of gasoline.[34]
  • USS Tetonkaha, a T1-M-A2, was renamed Maumee Sun. Damaged in a collision with MV American Pilot in November 1965 and then scrapped. USCGC Escanaba came to her aid after the collision.[35]
  • Tarantella, a T1-M-BT2, renamed MV Esso Regulus was wrecked after running aground on Mengalum Island in the South China Sea near Malaysia. on 15 January 1976, she was later scrapped in Hong Kong.[36]
  • USS Klickitat, a T1-M-BT1, renamed Capitan was wrecked in 1948, repaired and renamed MV Punta Loyola. She was sold and renamed MV Alkene, but wrecked again in 1974 off the Philippines.[37]

See also


References

  1. "NJ Scuba, Tanker". Archived from the original on 2016-10-07. Retrieved 2017-01-10.
  2. Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Volume 3, edited by James L. Mooney, page 82
  3. "coltoncompany.com, USS Tetonkaha (AOG-41)". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2017-04-07.

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