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Fort Dearborn
T2-SE-A1
Text with photo, below.
Broken Tanker Being Towed To Honolulu
Honolulu - The stern section of the broken tanker S.S. "Fort Dearborn" is pictured here as it neared here under tow by the salvage tug "Tawakoni". Which experienced much difficulty in the heavy seas with broken tow lines. The "Fort Dearborn" several weeks ago split in two during a heavy storm in the Pacific.
Official US Navy photo.
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Bow of the "Fort Dearborn", after breaking.
Bow of the "Fort Dearborn", after breaking.
Text with photo, below.
Log Beach, California - January 1952.
Half a ship towed from Honolulu
The stern section of the tanker "Fort Dearborn", nears port here at the end of a tow from Honolulu. A job that took 33 days and was discribed as one of them most difficult Pacific towing jobs ever undertaken. The Ship broke in two 7800 miles form Oahu in 1946, but the stern section containing the power plant and 2,000 tons of scrapmetal survived and made Hilo, T.H., under her own power. It will be turned into scrap here.
( AP Wirephoto), 1952
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"Fort Dearborn", and "Tawakoni".
Bow of the "Fort Dearborn", after breaking.
FORT DEARBORN, T2-SE-A1
History :
Built by The Kaiser Co., Swan Island Yard, Portland, Oregon.
Yardnumber 13. UMSC No. 805. Off. nr. 243528.
Keel laid 30-01-1942. Launched 07-05-1943. Completed 11-06-1943. Gr. 10448 t., Net. 6285 t., Dw. 16613 t. L.o.a. 159,57 m., Br. 20,78 m., Dr. 8,99 m. Engine: 2 steam turbines, manufactured by General Electric Company, Lynn, Massachussetts. 7240 B.h.p., 5401 kW. Speed 15 knots. 26 Tanks.
History:
FORT DEARBORN-1948 completed for United States War Shipping Administration, Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.
Additional Reports:
Reported Fort Dearborn damaged by Japanese aircraft off Guam 1944.
Reported Fort Dearborn broke in two 12 Mar. 1947 in position 36.00 N / 168.00 W, forepart scuttled, afterpart towed to Honolulu 9 Apr., sold to Hilo Electric Light Co., and used as electric generating station,
Reported Fort Dearborn sold to shipbreakers in USA. Arrived Terminal Island 22 Jan. 1952 in tow to be broken up.
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Earlier attack on FORT DEARBORN :Fort Dearborn (Date: 11-20-44)
Time of Attack: 1500
Year Built: 1943
Position: 12 N / 155 E
Gross Tonnage: 10,448
Owner: WSA
Draft When Attacked: 21 ft.
Operator: Deconhil Shipping Co.
Cargo: 142,000 bbls. water ballast
Master: Gordon O. Robinson
Propulsion: steam
Armament: 1 5"; 1 3"; 8 20 mm
Speed When Attacked: 14.5
The Fort Dearborn sailed from Ulithi, Caroline Islands, on 18 November en route to Eniwetok, Marshall Islands. The tanker sailed in consort with the SS Ball’s Bluff and the SS Mission Buenaventura.
The three vessels proceeded in a “V” formation, with the Mission Buenaventura taking the position astern. Iapanese planes attacked the three vessels for ninety minutes and made about fifteen attempts to bomb and strafe the ships. The near misses and enemy machine gun fire, however, caused only slight damage. Four of the eight officers, forty-two men, twenty-seven armed guards, and five passengers on board reported minor injuries. The Fort Dearborn arrived at Eniwetok on 22 November.
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Source : Ellensburg Daily Record, March 17, 1947.
Seamen From Broken Tanker - Feared Lost
HONOLULU. March 17. The Hawaiian sea frontier announced today that 22 men had been rescued from the severed stern of the
wrecked tanker Fort Dearborn.
The Navy amphibious command ship El Dorado transferred the men from the half-ship to the Navy patrol craft 902.
HONOLULU. March 17. Nine aircraft prepared to take off from Midway today to search anew for 12 men missing in a lifeboat - and
feared beyond the reach of planes - while 22 other crewmen of the broken tanker Fort Dearbom rode out lashing seas halfway between Midway and Pearl Harbor.
Late reports from the Navy command ship El Dorado, escorting the tanker's stern section, said the half-ship with the 22 aboard was “steaming ahead safely, with stern to sea and wind." and with the storm subsiding.
The El Dorado said the men reported the bulkhead still intact and the stern seaworthy, despite battering by 45-knot winds and high seas, which had prevented their rescue.
Ten other Fort Dearborn crewmen, taken from the almost, awash bow section, were safely aboard the liner General W.H. Gordon, bound for San Francisco.
The bow and stern, broke apart in last Wednesday's storm 1,100 miles northwest of Honolulu.
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| Mysterious Lights On Broken Tanker Stern Honolulu, March 31th (AP)
The sea-going tug ATF 114 towed the stern section of the broken tanker Fort Dearborn toward Pearl Harbor today after the navy tug Lipan churned into port with a log that told of flashing lights and opened portholes aboard the supposedly deserted half-ship.
The tow line the Lipan had placed aboard the stern section broke Thursday and could not be replaced. The ATF 114, 300 miles north of here, was not expected for another week.
Lipan crewmen, speculating on, the mysterious occurrences aboard the stern section, suggested someone might be attempting to claim salvage on the remnant, with its valuable power plant and fuel oil.
The section had been searched and reported empty.
Text thanks to Brian Quillen, whose father was Chief Boatswain Mate on the tug Tawakoni.
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