Liberty ship of World War II
USS
P.H. Burnett
|
History
|
United States
|
Name
|
- Peter H. Burnett
(1942-1943)
- P.H. Burnett
(1943-1946)
|
Namesake
| Peter H. Burnett
|
Owner
| |
Builder
| California Shipbuilding Corp.
|
Laid down
| 29 June 1942
|
Launched
| 10 August 1942
|
Sponsored by
| Mrs. Clyde Weed
|
Commissioned
| 29 August 1942
|
Out of service
| 17 November 1958
|
Identification
| |
Honors and
awards
| See Awards
|
Fate
| Scrapped
, 1958
|
General characteristics
[1]
|
Class and type
| |
Tonnage
| |
Displacement
| |
Length
|
- 441 feet 6 inches (135 m)
oa
- 416 feet (127 m)
pp
- 427 feet (130 m)
lwl
|
Beam
| 57 feet (17 m)
|
Draft
| 27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m)
|
Installed power
|
- 2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C)
boilers
, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa)
- 2,500 hp (1,900 kW)
|
Propulsion
| |
Speed
| 11.5
knots
(21.3
km/h
; 13.2
mph
)
|
Capacity
|
- 562,608 cubic feet (15,931 m
3
) (grain)
- 499,573 cubic feet (14,146 m
3
) (bale)
|
Complement
| 12 officers, 170 enlisted
|
Armament
| |
SS
Peter H. Burnett
was an American
Liberty ship
built in 1942 for service in
World War II
. She was later acquired by the
United States Navy
and renamed
USS
P.H. Burnett
(IX-104)
. Her namesake was
Peter Hardeman Burnett
, an American
Governor
from 1849 to 1851.
Description
[
edit
]
The ship was 442 ft 8 in (134.92 m) long overall (417 ft 9 in (127.33 m)
between perpendiculars
, 427 ft 0 in (130.15 m)
waterline
), with a beam of 57 ft 0 in (17.37 m). She had a depth of 34 ft 8 in (10.57 m) and a draught of 27 ft 9 in (8.46 m). She was assessed at 7,210
GRT
, 4,880
NRT
, 10,856
DWT
.
[1]
[2]
She was powered by a
triple expansion steam engine
, which had cylinders of 24.5 inches (62 cm), 37 inches (94 cm) and 70 inches (180 cm) diameter by 70 inches (180 cm) stroke. The engine was built by the Worthington Pump & Machinery Corporation,
Harrison, New Jersey
. It drove a single screw
propeller
,
[2]
which could propel the ship at 11 knots (20 km/h).
[1]
Construction and career
[
edit
]
This particular ship was built by
California Shipbuilding Corporation
in
Los Angeles
. She was
laid down
on 29 June 1942 and
launched
on 10 August 1942, later delivered on 29 August 1942.
[3]
The
United States War Shipping Administration
gave the operations of the ship to
American President Lines
.
[4]
On 22 January 1943,
Peter H. Burnett
was on her voyage carrying 18,154
bales of wool
from
Newcastle
to
San Francisco
. At 21:55, she was traveling at 11 knots when a
torpedo
, fired by
Japanese submarine I-21
, exploded on the ship's
starboard
side, at the no.5 hatch. 5 lifeboats were launched and stayed alongside the damaged ship for the night. But the no.3 lifeboat drifted 90 miles southeast to be rescued by
USS
Zane
.
HMAS
Mildura
then towed the damaged ship to Sydney for repairs. One armed guard onboard the ship was seriously injured and later died from his injuries.
[5]
Peter H. Burnett
carried cargo in the
Pacific
until 15 June 1943 when she was acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission under a bareboat charter. Renamed USS
P. H. Burnett
and designated as an unclassified vessel, IX-104, on 18 June, she was accepted by
Commander Service Force
,
Seventh Fleet
, at 8:00 a.m. on 2 July 1943 at
Sydney
,
Australia
, and placed in service as a
freighter
on 30 August 1943, Lt. D. Ruos, officer-in-charge.
As a dry cargo provisions ship,
P.
H. Burnett
served at staging areas in the Pacific during the remainder of the war. With a cargo capacity in excess of 130,000 cubic feet, she hauled and discharged thousands of tons of supplies, joining Service Squadron 8 on 1 February 1944 and continuing her vital logistical operations as the westward advance of the Allies progressed.
Following the
Japanese surrender
in 1945,
P.
H. Burnett
remained in the
Pacific theater
until ordered to return to the
United States
early in 1946. On 20 April 1945, she left
Hollandia
for
Manila
with Convoy GI 22.
[6]
Under tow, she proceeded from the
Western Pacific
, via
Midway
, to
Seattle
,
Washington
, where she arrived that summer. Placed out of service on 7 August 1946,
P.
H. Burnett
was transferred to the
Reserve Fleet Division
of the War Shipping Administration the following day (8 August 1946) at
Olympia
, Washington, at 3:00 p.m.
Stricken from the
Naval Register
on 8 October 1946,
P.
H. Burnett
remained in custody of the Maritime Administration (formerly Maritime Commission) until purchased by the
National Metal & Steel Corp.
, on 20 October 1958. Removed from the Reserve Fleet at 1000 hours on 17 November 1958, she was broken up for scrap subsequently.
[7]
Awards
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]