T2 Tanker Page

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do you have any Crew Lists? I want to find out if my grandfather served on a particular ship.

Please consider this before you email me: I am not in possession of any crew lists for any of these vessels. I have researched only a very small amount of the history of these ships and do not have the time or resources to try to find crew lists for them. I can provide a limited amount of additional information on the history and fate of some of these ships, but I cannot provide crew information. For ships that served in WWII, some information may be gleaned from Armed Guard reports at the National Archives (http://www.nara.gov), but mostly these list the Navy Armed Guard personnel only. If you are looking for Armed Guard members, you may also have some luck finding records online at the Armed Guard Website (http://www.armed-guard.com/). In most cases, crew lists will have to be obtained from the company which owned or managed the ship. You can usually find out who managed the ship during the period you are interested in by looking up the ship in a copy of Lloyd's Register of Ships or in the American Bureau of Shipping register for those years. You can usually find these in the storage stacks at a major library, or at a maritime center or museum. Then of course, you'll have to look up the company whose name you found, and figure out how to get in contact. Not easy in many cases, but it can be done with patience. See FAQ #4 below for more on research.

2. Do you have any Drawings or Plans? I want to build a detailed model of my ship.

Also, please note that I do not have any drawings or plans for these or any other ships. My best suggestion is to contact the National Archives to request plans or drawings.

3. Do you have any Photographs I could purchase? I'd like a picture of my ship.

The only photos I have are the ones on the website. I obtained them by scanning them from library books, from searching the web for pictures, and from kind people who scanned their photos and emailed them to me. All that I have are displayed on this site. I have seen photos of many ships in my visits to the Mariners Museum Library (http://www.mariner.org) and the National Archives. The Steamship Historical Society (http://www.sshsa.net) is also a major source of old ship photos. If you know the name of the ship and the date (approximate years) you are interested in, the Mariners Museum and the Steamship Historical Society can probably help you find a photo if they have it.
Another wonderful source of ship photos is the V. H. Young & L. A. Sawyer Black and White Ship Negative Collection ( http://www.ship-photos.dynamic-site.net/). Mr. Young is very courteous, and provides copies of photos in several sizes for a very reasonable price, including shipping and handling.

4. Where can I find more information about a ship I am researching?

There are many online resources, but the best advice I can provide is to go to this excellent page put together by Theron Snell a few years ago: He describes how he found more information about a ship he was interested in, suggesting various resources and data repositories, including the National Archives, U. S. Coast Guard records, museums and research libraries. Also, records kept by shipping companies are often detailed enough to provide you with crew information.

5. Where did you get the information you have on this site?

Most of the basic information came from the Victory Ships and Tankers book listed below. However, the information here is an aggregation of data from many other sources, both online and in books and magazines. As I discover something new, I try to take notes and add it to the body of knowledge here. I hope to have a feedback and input page on here soon so I can collect information from all of you who visit. I have received many emails over the years with great tips and personal recollections. I will try to add all of them to the database as I get them so that others may benefit from them. I will also solicit visitors to share any photos they may have to be added to the database for others to view here. At any rate, here is a partial listing of sources I have used:

I will continue to try to add to this page and others that accompany it, listing the ships and their builders. Please feel free to contact me, giving your suggestions, sea stories, and comments. I also will continue to try to answer requests for information on ships you or others served on, based on my limited resources. Since, as I mentioned before, I do this in my spare time, please be patient in waiting for a response. I will endeavor to eventually respond to all who write.