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Welding Shipyards

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Coordinates: 36°56′34″N 76°19′15″W / 36.942836°N 76.320776°W / 36.942836; -76.320776
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Penn-Jersey Shipbuilding Corp.
Founded1940
FounderDaniel K. Ludwig
Defunct1950
FateCeased operations
HeadquartersNorfolk, Virginia
USS Niobrara, a T3-S tanker

Welding Shipyards was founded by American shipping businessman, Daniel K. Ludwig (1897–1992) in 1940 at Norfolk, Virginia on the Sewell's Point peninsula. Welding Shipyards build T3 tanker ships for World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Welding Shipyards had one construction berth with 600 workers. The shipyard built what Ludwig was known for Oil tankers. Welding Shipyards built five type T3-S-BF1 tankers, the largest at the time.[1] Ludwig' Welding Shipyards used what is called block construction. To shorten keel to ship launching time due losses to German U-boats, block construction was used. Ships blocks were built as the keel was being laid and then the prefabricated parts were then put in place and welded. With this construction time was reduced dramatically. Welding Shipyards and Ludwig had an important role in this new type of construction.[2][3] All of the tanker ships were operated by Ludwig's shipping company that he founded, the National Bulk Carriers in 1936 in New York. National Bulk Carriers owned and operated oil tanker ships and bulk carriers. Some of the ships were among the largest in the world at that time. In 1953 Ludwig moved the shipyard operated to the Kure shipyard in Japan. Ludwig leased the Japanese navy Kure yard for 10 years (1950 to 1960). The Welding Shipyards site today is part of the Naval Station Norfolk.[4][5] In 1940 and early 1941, Welding Shipyards converted older World War I surplus cargo ships into oil tankers.

Ships built

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Ships built at Welding Shipyards: (To save money some of the ships had used reconditioned engines).[6][7]

Original Name GT Feet Delivered Notes
* Virginia 11,000 516 March 1941 Torpedoed and lost in Gulf of Mexico 1942 U-507 on 12 May 1942. (T3-S-BF1) [8]
* Bulkoil 8,000 456 Jan. 1942 renamed Munger T. Ball 1947, Transwestern 1958, scrapped 1961
* Virginia 11,000 516 Nov. 1942 renamed Amoco Maryland 1955, Virginia 1966, scrapped 1967 (T3-S-BF1)
* Pan-Massachusetts 11,000 516 April 1943 renamed Commonwealth 1953, Calgary 1964, Defiant Spirit 1965, Cerberus 1966, scrapped 1968 (sometimes noted as T3-S-BF1)
* Pan-Pennsylvania 11,000 516 Nov. 1943 Torpedoed and lost off New Jersey 1944 (T3-S-BF1)
* Bulklube 11,000 516 Dec. 1943 renamed Star Point 1962, Freeport 1963, scrapped 1963 (T3-S-BF1)
* Bulkfuel 11,000 516 Feb. 1944 renamed Amoco Texas 1955, Bulkfuel 1961, scrapped 1964 (T3-S-BF1)
* Bulkcrude 11,000 516 April 1944 renamed Blue Point 1962, scrapped 1963 (T3-S-BF1)
* Bulkero 11,000 516 June 1944 renamed Amoco Florida 1957, Black Point 1962, scrapped 1963 (T3-S-BF1)
* Phoenix 14,200 556 Nov. 1944 Damaged in collision in 1953 with Pan Massachusetts, 17 miles south of Wilmington in the Delaware River, (T3-S-BZ1) a total loss[9][10]
* Nashbulk 14,200 556 Feb. 1945 renamed Peranza 1973, scrapped 1975 (T3-S-BZ1)
* Amtank 14,200 556 May 1945 renamed Mounthope 1972, scrapped 1979 (T3-S-BZ1)
* Hampton Roads 14,200 556 June 1945 renamed Pine 1972, scrapped 1975 (T3-S-BZ1)
* Ulysses 14,600 597 June 1947 renamed Phaedon 1964, scrapped 1966, Largest tanker in the world in 1947,[11]
* Danginn 722 191 foot yacht Feb. 1950 renamed Henriette, now Chrysalis [12]
* Bulkpetrol 15,600 630 1948 renamed Vega 1966, combined with Mobile Energy 1971, scrapped 1975, Largest tanker in the world in 1948. (Improved T3-S-BZ1)
* Bulkoil 15,600 630 1949 renamed Altair 1966, Pegasus 1967, Keo 1968, broke in two and sank off Nantucket 5 November 1969 in an Atlantic storm, with 210,000 US gallons fuel oil (Improved T3-S-BZ1)[13][14]
* Bulkoceanic 15,600 630 1949 renamed Pacocean 1968, broke in two and sank off Taiwan 1969 (Improved T3-S-BZ1)[15]
* Bulkstar 15,600 630 1949 renamed Amphialos 1963, broke in two and sank off Cape Cod 1964 (Improved T3-S-BZ1)[16]
* Bulktrader 15,600 630 1950 renamed Golden Drake 1964, exploded and sank off Venezuela 1972 (Improved T3-S-BZ1).[17]

T3-S-BF1

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T3-S-BF1 had a crew of 50 civilians and 31 United States Navy Armed Guard to man the deck guns and radio. Ships armament had: 1 × 5-inch gun, 1 × 3-inch/50-caliber gun and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon. T3-S-BF1 had two steam turbines, a single screw with 7,700 shp, top speed of 14 kn (26 km/h), was 515.9 feet long with a beam of 70 feet, was 11,016 tons and held up to 140,000 bbl.

The T3-S-BZ1

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The first T3-S-BZ1, SS Phoenix was constructed in just 76 days keel to launching and 24 days to completion. The ships were 556 feet long, 80 foot beam, 14,160 gross tonnage, deadweight capacity 23,600 tons and with a barrel capacity off 217,000. T3-S-BZ1 had high pressure turbines with double reduction gears for 13,400 shp, to a single propeller with a top speed of 17 knots.[18]

Notable incident

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  • USS Pan Pennsylvania, a Type T3-S-BF1 tanker, on 16 April 1944 was sunk off Nantucket by a torpedo from U-boat U-550 commanded by Klaus Hänert. 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 (22,000 m3) 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.[19]

See also

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36°56′34″N 76°19′15″W / 36.942836°N 76.320776°W / 36.942836; -76.320776.

References

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  1. ^ shipbuildinghistory.com Welding Shipyards
  2. ^ nashbulk.steamcheng.net Welding Shipyards
  3. ^ norfolkpubliclibrary.org Welding Shipyards
  4. ^ Proceedings of the Federal Inter-Agency Sedimentation Conference, 1963. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture. 1965. p. 610. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  5. ^ Blume, Kenneth J. (2012). Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Maritime Industry. Scarecrow Press. p. 287. ISBN 9780810856349. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  6. ^ Welding Shipyards
  7. ^ t2tanker.org Welding Shipyards
  8. ^ SS Virginia
  9. ^ SS Phoenix
  10. ^ wrecksite SS Phoenix
  11. ^ USNS Shoshone (T-AO-151)- Ulysses
  12. ^ Danginn
  13. ^ Bulkoil
  14. ^ /wrecksite.eu Bulkoil
  15. ^ wrecksite.eu Bulktrader Bulkoceanic
  16. ^ Bulkstar
  17. ^ Bulktrader
  18. ^ usmaritimecommission.de T3 Tankers
  19. ^ Price, Scott (30 July 2012). "Sinking the U-550". U.S. Coast Guard. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
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