SS John Burke SS " John Burke " ( MC hull number 609 ) was an American Liberty Ship built during World War II , one of the 2 , 710 type ' EC2 - S - C1 ' ships that carried all kinds and types of dry cargo during the war . The ship was named for John Burke ( February 25 , 1859 – May 14 , 1937 ) , the 10th Governor of North Dakota . " Burke " was built at Kaiser Shipbuilding Company ' s Oregon Shipbuilding yard in Portland , Oregon . " Burke ' s " keel was laid November 20 , 1942 and 33 days later , on December 13 , the hull was launched . After fitting - out over the following ten days , " Burke " was delivered to the US Navy December 23 . The Navy placed " Burke " under charter to Northland Transportation Company in early 1944 . On December 28 , 1944 , while transporting ammunition to Mindoro , Philippines , " Burke " was hit by a Japanese kamikaze aircraft , and disintegrated in a tremendous explosion . " John Burke " was one of three Liberty Ships and one of forty - seven ships sunk by kamikaze attack during World War II . Construction and design . " John Burke " was powered by two oil - fired boilers and a single vertical type , triple - expansion reciprocating steam engine . The machinery space ( dark blue in the picture ) was located at the middle of the ship ( see the color - coded image at the left ) . The single propeller was driven through a long propeller shaft that ran through a tunnel ( lower green area in the picture ) 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 ( light blue in the picture ) , three ahead of the machinery space and two aft . Crew accommodations were provided in a large three - deck structure located in the middle of the ship ( medium blue in the picture ) directly above the machinery space , and in a small structure ( medium blue in the picture ) located at the stern . The bridge , radio room and Captain ' s quarters were located on the top deck ( yellow in the picture ) of the three - deck structure . The fuel for the boiler was carried in several tanks ( red in the picture ) located throughout the ship . Ship ' s storage ( light green in the picture ) was located at the bow and above the machinery space . Gun crew quarters and the ship ' s hospital were located in the stern structure . When the ship was armed , the gun ' tubs ' ( white in the picture ) were located at the bow , stern and above the bridge . These could be any mixture of , , , , and / or caliber guns . The ship ' s steering was by a contrabalanced rudder ( black , at left in the picture ) , with its associated steering gear located in a compartment ( green in the picture ) 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 . History . Liberty ships were an expedient solution to a pressing problem , and it was never intended that they last more than five years . It is remarkable that two ( SS " John W . Brown " and SS " Jeremiah O ' Brien " ) have not only survived seventy plus years of service , but that they are in ' like - new ' condition , and are open to the public as museums . The British needed a way to replace the ships lost to German U - boats , but did not have the resources to build them . In 1939 they asked the United States to help solve the problem , bringing a ship design that they wanted built . The design was modified to fit American production methods , and five new shipyards were built to give the shipbuilding industry capacity . These ships were called Ocean ship s with each ship ' s name starting with Ocean . The United States needed more ships as war approached . The ' Ocean ' design was revised and simplified to allow mass production . This new design was the basis for the Liberty ship . On December 7 , 1941 Japan attacked the military bases at Hawaii , Guam , and a few days later , the Philippines . Liberty ships carried weapons , ammunition , food , tools , hardware , vehicles , and other things for the war effort . They could also be equipped to carry a large number of troops by rigging bunks in the holds similar to those used by the armed guard . Liberty ships began taking troops and materials wherever they were needed , crossing both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans . Like other Liberty Ships , " John Burke " transported war materials between the United States and the rear areas of the Pacific War , often calling at Pearl Harbor , Australia , Guadalcanal , Hollandia and Manaus . On what would be her final trip , " Burke " departed Seattle , Washington for Guam , where she spent several days loading munitions for the invasion force on the island of Mindoro . " Burke " then departed with the 100 - ship " Uncle Plus 13 " convoy , bound for Leyte in the Philippines . The convoy arrived at Leyte the night of December 27 . Japanese forces were alerted to the convoy ' s arrival shortly before daybreak on December 28 . A flight of six Japanese kamikaze fighter / bombers was sent up from Cebu Island shortly after dawn . If the convoy was destroyed , the U . S . forces on Mindoro would be cut off from their supply line . That morning " Burke " and the other ships in the Mindoro - bound TG 77 . 11 ( under the command of Captain George F . Mentz ) were at general quarters shortly after receiving the dawn weather report that reported that air cover would not launch until the poor weather cleared . The crews began their wait for the inevitable arrival of Japanese aircraft . The attack . At about 0815 hrs , the first kamikaze appeared on the American ship ' s radar , and orders were immediately given for the convoy to begin evasive maneuvering . Through holes in the clouds , the Japanese pilots sighted the large American force as it steamed through calm seas South of Cebu and Bohol Islands . Finding the convoy without air cover , a group of six Japanese planes began their attack . One of the pilots , flying an Aichi D3A " Val " , chose " John Burke " as his target . Diving through heavy anti - aircraft fire , the Japanese pilot had no intention of pulling out of his steep dive . At 1020 , despite the damage to his aircraft , he crashed between " Burke " ' s # 2 and # 3 cargo holds . A brief flash of fire was visible to most of the ships in the convoy , and for several seconds , only smoke could be seen bellowing from her hold . A few seconds later , a huge pillar of fire shot out of " Burke ' s " cargo hold , followed by an immense cloud of white smoke . Within seconds all eyes were drawn to " Burke " where an enormous fireball erupted as her entire cargo of munitions detonated , instantly disintegrating the ship and her crew of 40 Merchant Marine sailors and 28 or 29 armed guards . For several seconds , " Burke " was not visible under an enormous mushroom cloud of smoke , fire and explosions . Several ships nearby were damaged by the force of the blast and flying fragments . The shock wave rocked the entire convoy , and several ships reported that they had been torpedoed . A US Army " FS " type ship just aft of " Burke " was severely damaged by the blast , sinking before it could be identified . As the cloud of smoke cleared , nearby ships closed on " Burke " ' s former position to search for survivors . It was soon clear that " Burke " , and all 68 men aboard her , were gone . The Combat Air Patrol arrived at 1213 after the weather cleared , providing air cover for the next three hours . The Japanese attack that morning was just the beginning of a two - day series of attacks on the convoy , costing several more ships and hundreds of lives . In spite of the near - constant attacks , the force reached its destination at 0648 December 30 with much - needed material for the Mindoro invasion . Today , SS " John Burke ' s " fragments lie below the surface , in the vicinity of 9°1 ' 11 " N 123°26 ' 50 " E , the location the ship was last seen , in the strait between Negros , Siquijor Islands and Dapitan , Zamboanga del Norte , Mindanao , Philippines .