Victory ship
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The Victory ship was a type of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North American shipyards during World War II to replace shipping losses caused by German submarines. Together with an earlier design, the Liberty ship, about 2400 were built in the United States and over 300 were built in Canada.
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[edit] VC2 design
One of the first acts of the United States War Shipping Administration when it was formed in February 1942 was to commission the design of the class, initially designated EC2-S-AP1, where EC2 = Emergency Cargo, type 2, S = steam propulsion with one propeller (EC2-S-C1 had been the designation of the Liberty ship design). It was changed to VC2-S-AP1, and the title Victory Ship officially adopted on 28 April 1944.
They were an enhancement of the previous Liberty ship design that were produced in much greater numbers, in particular they had a higher speed of 15 to 17 knots (28 to 31 km/h) compared to 11 knots (20 km/h) and longer range. The higher speed was particularly important because it made them less easy prey to U-boats, and was achieved by using improved engines over the Liberty's triple expansion reciprocating steam engine — Lenz type reciprocating steam engines, steam turbines or diesel engines with a power output between 6000 and 8500 horsepower (4.5 and 6 MW). It also had electrically powered auxiliary equipment rather than steam powered. They were oil fired, although some Canadian vessels were completed with both bunkers and oil tanks so that they could use coal or oil.
They were also strengthened hulls compared to Liberty ships since a few of the latter had suffered fractured hulls. To improve the hull flexibility (to reduce stresses), the frames were 36 inches (914 mm) apart as opposed to 30 inches (762 mm). Victory ships were slightly larger than Liberty ships, at 455 feet (139 m) long and 62 feet (19 m) wide with 25 feet (7.6 m) draft. With a fine raked bow and a 'cruiser' stern, to help achieve the higher speed, they had a quite different appearance to Liberty ships.
The VC2-S-AP2,VC2-S-AP3, and VC2-M-AP4 were armed with a 5 inch (127 mm) stern gun for use against submarines, a bow-mounted 3 inch (76 mm) anti-aircraft gun and eight 20 mm cannon, also for use against aircraft. These weapons were manned by United States Naval Armed Guard personnel, members of the United States Navy. The VC2-S-AP5 Haskell-class attack transports were armed with the 5 inch (127 mm) stern gun, one quad 40mm Bofors cannon, four dual 40mm Bofors cannon, and ten single 20mm cannon. The Haskells were operated and crewed exclusively by US Navy personnel.
[edit] Construction
The first vessel was SS United Victory launched at Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation on 12 January 1944 and completed on 28 February 1944, and had her maiden voyage a month later. American vessels frequently had a name incorporting the word "Victory". The British and Canadians used Fort and Park respectively. After United Victory, the next 34 vessels were named after allied countries, the following 218 after American cities, the next 150 after educational institutions and the remainder given miscellaneous names. The AP5 type attack transports were named after US Counties, without "Victory" in their name, with the exception of USS Marvin H. McIntyre (APA-129), which was named after President Roosevelt's late personal secretary.
Although initial deliveries were slow — only 15 had been delivered by May 1944, by the end of the war 531 had been constructed. The Commission cancelled orders for a further 132 vessels, although 3 were completed in 1946 for the Alcoa Steamship Company, making a total built in the United States of 534, made up of:
| Quantity Built |
Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 272 | VC2-S-AP2 | 6,000 hp (4.5 MW) general cargo vessels |
| 141 | VC2-S-AP3 | 8,500 hp (6.3 MW) vessels |
| 1 | VC2-M-AP4 | Diesel |
| 117 | VC2-S-AP5 | Haskell-class attack transports |
| 3 | VC2-S-AP7 | Post War Completion |
Of the wartime construction, 414 of these were of the standard cargo variant and 117 were attack transports. Because the Atlantic battle had been won by the time that the first ships appeared, only two were sunk by U-boats. These were Fort Bellingham and Fort St. Nicholas. Three more were sunk by Japanese Kamikaze attack in April 1945, Logan Victory, Hobbs Victory and Canada Victory.
Many saw postwar conversion and various uses for years afterward. Starting in 1959, several were removed from the reserve fleet and refitted for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. One such ship was the SS Kingsport Victory, which was renamed USNS Kingsport and converted into the world's first satellite communications ship. Another was the former Haiti Victory, which recovered the first man-made object to return from space, the nose cone of Discoverer 13, on 11 August 1960.
In the 1960s two Victory ships were reactivated and converted to technical research ships by the U.S. Navy with the hull type AGTR. SS Iran Victory became the USS Belmont (AGTR-4) and SS Simmons Victory became the USS Liberty (AGTR-5). The Liberty was attacked and severely damaged by Israeli forces in June 1967 and subsequently decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Register. The Belmont was decommissioned and stricken in 1970.
[edit] Shipyards
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The Victory ship were constructed in six west coast and Baltimore emergency shipyards that sprang up in World War II to build Liberty, Victory, and other ships. In addition to the American construction, some ships were also built in British and Canadian yards.
| Shipyard | Location | Quantity Yard |
Type | Quantity Type |
MCV Hull Numbers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem Fairfield | Baltimore, Maryland | 94 | VC2-S-AP2 | 93 | 602-653, 816-856 | 23 more cancelled |
| VC2-M-AP4 | 1 | 654 | Diesel engine variant | |||
| California Shipbuilding | Wilmington, California | 131 | VC2-S-AP3 | 32 | 1-24, 27, 29, 31-33, 37, 41, 42 | |
| VC2-S-AP5 | 30 | 25, 26, 28, 30, 34-36, 38-40, 43-62 | 63-66 Transferred to Vancouver as 812-815 | |||
| VC2-S-AP2 | 69 | 67-84, 767-811, 885-890 | 10 more cancelled | |||
| Kaiser Shipbuilding | Vancouver, Washington | 31 | VC2-S-AP5 | 31 | 655-681, 812-815 | 17 more cancelled |
| Oregon Shipbuilding | Portland, Oregon | 136 | VC2-S-AP3 | 99 | 85-116, 147-189, 682-701, 872-875 | 19 more cancelled |
| VC2-S-AP5 | 34 | 117-146, 860-863 | 12 more cancelled | |||
| VC2-S-AP7 | 1 | 866 | Originally AP5 | |||
| VC2-S1-AP7 | 2 | 876, 877 | Originally AP3 | |||
| Permanente/Kaiser Yard #1 | Richmond, California | 53 | VC2-S-AP3 | 10 | 525-534 | |
| VC2-S-AP2 | 43 | 535-550, 581-596, 702-711 | ||||
| Permanente/Kaiser Yard #2 | 89 | VC2-S-AP5 | 22 | 552-573 | ||
| VC2-S-AP2 | 67 | 574-580, 597-601, 712-766 |
[edit] Status of remaining Victory ships
Several are now museum ships:
A few are laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet.
- USS Dutton (AGS-22) - Hull Number 682, type VC2-S-AP2, status Disposal (former SS Tuskegee Victory)
- SS Hattiesburg Victory - Hull Number 809, type VC2-S-AP2, status Stripping
At James River Reserve Fleet:
- USS Gage (APA-168) - Hull Number 134, type VC2-S-AP5, status Historic Hold
- USS Range Sentinel (AGM-22) - Hull Number 553, type VC2-S-AP5, status Historic Review (former USS Sherburne (APA-205))
At Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet:
- SS Earlham Victory - Hull Number 763, type VC2-S-AP2, status Disposal
- SS Occidental Victory - Hull Number 748 (possibly 68), type VC2-S-AP2, status Disposal
- SS Pan American Victory - Hull Number 746, type VC2-S-AP2, status Disposal
- SS Queens Victory - Hull Number 789, type VC2-S-AP2, status Disposal
- SS Rider Victory - Hull Number 777, type VC2-S-AP2, status Disposal
- SS Winthrop Victory - Hull Number 790, type VC2-S-AP2, status Disposal
- SS Barnard Victory - Hull Number 742, type VC2-S-AP2, status Disposal
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
See Liberty Ships and Victory Ships, America's Lifeline in War for a lesson on Liberty ships and Victory ships from the National Park Service's Teaching with Historic Places.
[edit] References
- SS American Victory website
- U-Boat net
- United States National Park Service document on historical significance of SS Red Oak Victory
- Ships for Victory: A History of Shipbuilding under the U.S. Maritime Commission in World War II, by Frederic C. Lane. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8018-6752-5
- Victory Ships and Tankers; the history of the "Victory" type cargo ships and of the tankers built in the United States of America during World War II, by L. A. Sawyer and W. H. Mitchell. Cambridge, Maryland: Cornell Maritime Press, 1974
