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S.S. Phoenix Class Ships |
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S.S. Phoenix Class Ships |
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| S.S. Amtank, third in a series of ships similar to S.S. Phoenix, built by Welding Shipyards, Inc. for National Bulk Carriers. |
These three ships were built for the U.S. Maritime Commission during World War II, and were a special variation of the T3 type tankers being built. Only three of the T3-S-BZ1 type were built, although one additional ship (Hampton Roads) of almost exactly the same design was built by Welding Shipyards after the completion of all Maritime Commission wartime construction, and is included in this discussion. All four were built by Welding Shipyards, Inc. for National Bulk Carriers. One thing can be said of the Ludwig ships built at Welding Shipyards - they all looked pretty much alike, although they increased in size as new designs were proposed to increase tonnage. All were somewhat odd looking, the poop deck extending roughly half the length of the ship giving the after three tank sets more volume. This design was produced by the Sir Joseph Isherwood & Co., LTD after considerable experimentation with models at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, England. Propulsion consisted of geared steam turbines driving a single shaft at 13,400 shaft horsepower, giving the ships a 17 knot operating speed. Phoenix was completed first, in November 1944, taking only seventy-two days to her launching, and another twenty-seven to fit out; the rest were delivered within seven months, Hampton Roads being completed in June 1945.
| Ship | Hull# | Built | GRT | DWT | Length | Beam | Comments |
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| Phoenix | 18 | 1944 | 14,179 | 23,900 | 556' | 80'2" | Collided with Pan Mass on 6 June, 1953, total loss. |
| Nashbulk | 19 | 1945 | 14,378 | 23,814 | 556' | 80'2" | Renamed Peranza 1973, broken up Taiwan 1975. |
| Amtank | 20 | 1945 | 14,151 | 23,789 | 556' | 80'2" | Renamed Mount Hope 1972, renamed Guayanilla, Marine Hope, Guaya various dates. Renamed John J. Farber 1978. Scrapped Hualien June 1979. |
| Hampton Roads | 21 | 1945 | 14,136 | 23,699 | 556' | 80'3" | Renamed Pine 1972. Scrapped in Spain, 1975. |
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| S.S. Nashbulk riding at anchor. |
Created by A. Davis Whittaker, Jr.
Last updated on 21 February 2005.