Victory ship
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The Victory ship was a type of cargo ship produced in large numbers by American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines.
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 — EC2 - Emergency Cargo, 2 = large ship (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 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 auxilary equipment rather than steam powered. Unlike their predecessors 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 many 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.
They 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 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 continued to use Fort and Park respectively as they had for Liberty ships. 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.
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:
- 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
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. In addition to the American construction, some ships were also built in British and Canadian yards.
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 Aeronautic 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.
Several are now museum ships:
References
- SS American Victory website (http://www.americanvictory.org)
- U-Boat net (http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/types.html?class=Victory)
- United States National Park Service document on historical significance of SS Red Oak Victory (http://www.nps.gov/pwro/rori_library/ROVNHLsig.doc)