SS William and Mary Victory

Career (USA)
Builder: Bethlehem Steel
Fairfield Shipyard, Inc.
Launched: 1945-04-20
Christened: 1945-04-20
General characteristics

The SS William and Mary was a Victory ship built during World War II.

Service life

William and Mary Victory was part of the series of Victory ships named after educational institutions, in this case the College of William and Mary. Her design type was VC2-S-AP2/WSAT. Her Maritime Commission (MCV) hull number was 652 and her shipyard number was 1597.[1]

She was lanched and christened on 20 May 1945. Her sponsor was Eleanor Harvey, the retiring president of the Women Students' Cooperative Government Association at the College of William and Mary and a member of the class of 1945. U.S. Naval Air Corps Lieutenant Robert Eastman, an alumnus of the College, pushed the button that released the ship into the water. Edie Harwood, president of the Women Students' Cooperative Government Association, was Harvey's maid of honor.[2]

Artifacts

The christening bottle for the SS William and Mary Victory is in the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) in Swem Library at the College of William and Mary.[3] An American flag that was flown on the ship is also available in the SCRC. The flag was a gift of Captain James Hassell on May 2, 1946.

References

  1. ^ "Victory Ships by shipyard". http://www.usmm.org/victoryard.html. Retrieved 2006-08-10. 
  2. ^ "Harvey Christens W-M Victory Ship". (April 25, 1945). The Flat Hat, Volume XXXIV, No. 22, pp. 2. PDF Scan
  3. ^ Christening bottle, 8 August 2007, Gift of Mrs. Eleanor Rennie, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary JPEG image.