Emergencies and World Disasters
When a Liberty Ship Vanished: The John Burke's Silent Explosion
23 min•24 juli 2026
Om avsnittet
When a Liberty Ship Vanished: The John Burke's Silent Explosion
The sea swallowed a Liberty ship whole in less time than a breath: the SS John Burke went from present to nonexistent, leaving no large wreckage and no bodies from sixty-eight men in 1,500-foot-deep water - so how did an entire ship simply cease to exist? With eyewitnesses misidentifying a torpedo and no survivor testimony, the single unresolved question is what actually tore her apart that morning.
In this episode, we lay out the documented sequence: the John Burke’s rapid construction and service life, her loaded cargo for the Mindoro invasion, the convoy’s arrival at Leyte on December 27, 1944, and the weather and radar conditions on the morning she vanished - could the missing voice of those aboard change what the records tell us?
Person: John Burke (namesake), born February 25, 1859, died May 14, 1937
Date: December 28, 1944
Location: Leyte Gulf, Philippines (coordinates recorded in the record)
Event: Disappearance/explosion of SS John Burke with 68 men aboard
Convoy: Task group TG 77.11, formation "Uncle Plus Thirteen" of roughly 100 ships
- Keel laid November 20, 1942; launched 23 days later; delivered 10 days after launch - 33 days from keel to commissioned vessel.
- Hull number 609, class EC2-S-C1, one of 2,710 Liberty ships built for the war effort.
- Propulsion: single 2,500-horsepower vertical triple-expansion steam engine, one propeller at ~76 RPM, speed ~11 knots.
- Onboard complement: 40 merchant mariners and 28-29 armed guards, total counted as 68 men; no individual names survive in accessible records.
- Depth of loss: ship and all aboard lost in approximately 1,500 feet of water with no recoverable large wreckage and no bodies.
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© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
The sea swallowed a Liberty ship whole in less time than a breath: the SS John Burke went from present to nonexistent, leaving no large wreckage and no bodies from sixty-eight men in 1,500-foot-deep water - so how did an entire ship simply cease to exist? With eyewitnesses misidentifying a torpedo and no survivor testimony, the single unresolved question is what actually tore her apart that morning.
In this episode, we lay out the documented sequence: the John Burke’s rapid construction and service life, her loaded cargo for the Mindoro invasion, the convoy’s arrival at Leyte on December 27, 1944, and the weather and radar conditions on the morning she vanished - could the missing voice of those aboard change what the records tell us?
Person: John Burke (namesake), born February 25, 1859, died May 14, 1937
Date: December 28, 1944
Location: Leyte Gulf, Philippines (coordinates recorded in the record)
Event: Disappearance/explosion of SS John Burke with 68 men aboard
Convoy: Task group TG 77.11, formation "Uncle Plus Thirteen" of roughly 100 ships
- Keel laid November 20, 1942; launched 23 days later; delivered 10 days after launch - 33 days from keel to commissioned vessel.
- Hull number 609, class EC2-S-C1, one of 2,710 Liberty ships built for the war effort.
- Propulsion: single 2,500-horsepower vertical triple-expansion steam engine, one propeller at ~76 RPM, speed ~11 knots.
- Onboard complement: 40 merchant mariners and 28-29 armed guards, total counted as 68 men; no individual names survive in accessible records.
- Depth of loss: ship and all aboard lost in approximately 1,500 feet of water with no recoverable large wreckage and no bodies.
To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.
© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
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