SS John P. Gaines
SS John P. Gaines was a Liberty ship built during World War II by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, and named for politician John P. Gaines. Northland Transportation Company was chartering the ship from the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration that owned the ship as part of the Merchant navy.
On 24 November 1943 she broke in two and sank with the loss of 10 lives off the Aleutian Islands. It was later determined that the welded construction combined with the grade of steel used had caused embrittlement in cold water that caused a sudden break, as demonstrated by metallurgist Constance Tipper. A number of other Liberty ships suffered similar problems, with three sinking.
Construction and design
John P. Gaines was powered by two oil-fired boilers and a single vertical type, triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine. The machinery space was at the middle of the ship. The single propeller was driven through a long propeller shaft that ran through a tunnel under the aft cargo holds. The propeller rotated at 76 rpm, giving a speed of about. There were two decks running the full length of the ship, with seven watertight bulkheads dividing the machinery space and five cargo holds, three ahead of the machinery space and two aft. Crew accommodations were provided in a large three-deck superstructure located in the middle of the ship directly above the machinery space, and in a small superstructure located at the stern. The bridge, radio room and Captain's quarters were on the top deck of the three-deck structure. The fuel for the boiler was carried in several tanks located throughout the ship. Ship's storage was located at the bow and above the machinery space. Gun crew quarters and the ship's hospital were in the stern structure. When the ship was armed, the gun 'tubs' were located at the bow, stern and above the bridge. These could be any mixture of [5-inch/38-caliber gun|] caliber gun, [4-inch/50-caliber gun|], [3-inch/50-caliber gun|], [Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|], [Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|] and/or caliber guns.The ship's steering was by a contrabalanced rudder, with its associated steering gear located in a compartment above the rudder and below the aft structure. Steam-powered generators provided electric power for radios, navigation equipment, refrigeration compressors, pumps, lighting, and degaussing. An evaporator produced fresh water for the boilers and for the crew.
Large hatches above the cargo holds allowed steam winches and booms rigged to three centerline masts to quickly load or unload cargo.