T2 tanker

It was found the steel (that had been successfully used in riveted ship design) was not well suited for the new wartime welding construction.

The high sulfur content made the steel brittle and prone to metal fatigue at lower temperatures.

[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] The T2 design was formalized by the United States Maritime Commission as its medium-sized "National Defense tanker", a ship built for merchant service which could be militarized as a fleet auxiliary in time of war.

Steam turbines driving a single propeller at 12,000 horsepower (8,900 kW) delivered a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).

Six were built for commerce by Bethlehem-Sparrows Point Shipyard in Maryland, only to be taken over by the United States Navy following the Attack on Pearl Harbor as the Kennebec-class oiler.

After Pearl Harbor, the United States Maritime Commission ordered this model built en masse to supply U.S. warships already in accelerated production, and provide for the fuel needs of US forces in Europe and the Pacific, as well as to replace the tanker tonnage being lost at an alarming rate to German U-boats.

Despite the confusing T3 designation, the T3-S-A1s built by Bethlehem Sparrows Point for Standard Oil of New Jersey were identical to the original T2s except for having less powerful engines of 7,700 hp (5,700 kW).

[10][11] In 1966, the US Army reactivated 11 T2 tankers and converted them into floating electrical power generation plants and deployed them to Vietnam.

USNS French Creek was the first to arrive in June 1966, then next was USS Kennebago, both installed in Cam Ranh Bay.