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Ponaganset
See also : Construction photos "Ponaganset"
T2-SE-A2
Suamico Class Fleet Oiler:
"Ponaganset", just after her launch.
USS Ponaganset (AO-86) at anchor, date and location unknown.
( Photo NARA )
USS Ponaganset (AO-86) at anchor, date and location unknown.
( Photo NARA )
USS Ponaganset (AO-86) taking on water at Balusoa Water Point, Samar, P.I.,
date unknown.
( US Navy photo )
USS Ponaganset (AO-86) at anchor, date and location unknown.
( US Navy photo )
USS Ponaganset (AO-86), Boston, Massachusetts : Fourteen workmen were injured,
one critically, when the 18,000 ton former Navy tanker USS Ponaganset broke in two.
She was not repaired but scrapped by Northern Metal Co.
( Photo © Bettmann/CORBIS )
USS Ponaganset (AO-86), at the General Ship and Iron Works, Boston, MA., 9 December 1947, shortly after
breaking in half during reactivation. Ponaganset was one of 24 tankers that the Navy reacquired in late 1947 to
bring fuel oil for the fleet from the Persian Gulf. Fractures like this had been a problem since late 1942 in war-built
welded ships, particularly in Liberty ships and T-2 tankers.
Ponaganset was replaced in the Navy's reactivation plan by Mission Santa Ana (AO-137).
( US Navy photo )
USS Ponaganset (AO-86), at the General Ship and Iron Works, Boston, MA.
( US Navy photo )
USS Ponaganset (AO-86), at the General Ship and Iron Works, Boston, MA.
( US Navy photo )
USS Ponaganset (AO-86), at the General Ship and Iron Works, Boston, MA.
( US Navy photo )
In 1947 Ponaganset fractured into two sections while tied up at dockside in Boston:
The source of the fracture was an arc strike located at the toe of a fillet weld that joined a chock in the deck. The presence of the sharp cracks in the arc strike located in a region of high residual stress resulting from the fillet weld provided the necessary conditions for fracture initiation at tem-peratures below the NDT. As indicated by the fracture analysis diagram, the failure temperature was 15°F below the NDT temperature of the source plate. The steel was typical of the World War II production material which features relatively high carbon and low manganese contents.
( U.S. Naval Research Laboratory report 5920 )
On 2 March 1948 the vessel was reacquired by the Navy "as is where is". On 2 June 1948 title was transferred back to the Maritime Commission at the Boston Naval Shipyard on 30 June 1948. She was sold for scrap to Northern Metal Company on 7 January 1949.
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USS Ponaganset (AO-86), Boston, Massachusetts, broken in two.
( ACME telephoto )
Text with photo :
BOSTON, Ma. December 22nd, 1947.
The tanker Ponaganset, which split apart last week ago, is berthed in two pieces, bow and stern, on opposite sides of the pier today (12/22) as salvage work begins. Photo shows the T2-tanker tied up at pier two, Eats Boston. Cause of the mishap is still undetermined.
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PONAGANSET, T2-SE-A2
History :
Built by Marinship Co., Sausalito, California.
Yardnumber 22. UMSC No. 1265. Off. nr. AO-86
Keel laid 27-04-1943. Launched 10-07-1943. Completed 15-05-1944. Gr. 10448 t., Net. 6423 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. 10000 B.h.p., 7356 kW. Speed 15 knots. 26 tanks.
History:
PONAGANSET-1944 Completed for U.S. War Shipping Administration, San Francisco, USA.
PONAGANSET-1944 Delivered to Kaiser Swan Island Yard, Portland, OR., for completion and conversion to a Fleet Oiler.
AO-86 PONAGANSET-1946 Decommissioned, 24 April.
AO-86 PONAGANSET-1947 Struck from the Naval Register, 23 April.
AO-86 PONAGANSET-1947 Transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal at Norfolk, VA., 15 May. Transferred to American Petroleum Transport Co., 20 October, under a General Agency Agreement.
PONAGANSET-1948 Title transferred back to the Maritime Commission, 30 June, at Boston Navy Yard, Boston, MA.
PONAGANSET-1949 Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 15 December.
Additional Reports :
Reported Ponaganset broke in two alongside at East Boston 9 Dec. 1948 and become a constructive total loss.
Reported Ponaganset sold to shipbreakers in USA. Arrived 7 Jan. 1949 to be broken up. [ By Northern Metal Steel, Boston ]
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USS Ponaganset, Fleet Oiler, hull # 22, keel laid 4/27/43, launched July 10, 1943. Sponsor: Mrs. J. W. Fowler, wife of 12th Naval District official. Sold by Navy and scrapped 1/7/49.
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