File:TankerSchenectady.jpg

Summary

"The Design and Methods of Constructionof Welded Steel Merchant Vessels" U.S. GPO (1947)

At 11pm on the 16 January 1943, a few days after completing sea trials, the 152m long T2 tanker 'Schenectady' broke in two amidships while lying at the outfitting dock in the constructors yard in Portland, Oregon, USA. The temperature of the harbour water was about 4°C and the conditions were still. The air temperature was approximately -3°C and the winds were light. The failure was sudden and accompanied by a report that was heard a mile away.

The Schenectady was built by the Kaiser Company, the Schenectady was the first catastrophic failure, made all the more impressive by the still conditions under which it occurred. The failure of the Schenectady initiated on the deck between two bulkheads. A defective weld was present in a region of stress concentration arising at a design detail. Poor welding procedures were cited by the committee investigating the failure as contributory, however, at the time, the problems were not fully understood.

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