SS John P. Gaines

SS John P. Gaines was a Liberty ship built during World War II, and named for politician John P. Gaines.

History
United States
Name	John P. Gaines
Namesake	John P. Gaines
Operator	War Shipping Administration
Builder	Northland Transportation Company, Seattle
Laid down	21 June 1943
Launched	11 July 1943
Fate	Sank on 24 November 1943
General characteristics
Displacement	14,245 long tons (14,474 t)
Length	422.8 ft
Beam	57 ft
Draught	27 ft 9.25 in
Propulsion	Two oil-fired boilers, triple expansion steam engine, single screw, 2500 horsepower (1.9 MW)
Speed	11 to 11.5 knots (20 to 21 km/h)
Capacity	10,856 t (10,685 long tons) deadweight (DWT)

On 24 November 1943 she broke in two and sank with the loss of 10 lives off the Aleutian Islands.[1] It was later determined that the welded construction combined with the grade of steel used had caused embrittlement that caused a sudden break, as demonstrated by metallurgist Constance Tipper. A number of other Liberty ships suffered similar problems, with three sinking.[2]