_Fo208849.jpg) Attleboro Victory | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Attleboro Victory |
| Namesake | Attleboro, Massachusetts |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration |
| Operator | Stockard Steamship Corporation |
| Builder | Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard Corp.Baltimore, Maryland |
| Yard number | V-642 |
| Laid down | 26 January 1945 |
| Launched | 16 March 1945 |
| Completed | 10 April 1945 |
| Homeport | New York |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Scrapped in 1976 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | VC2-S-AP3 Victory ship |
| Tonnage | 7612GRT, 4,553NRT |
| Displacement | 15,200 tons |
| Length | 455 ft (139 m) |
| Beam | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Draught | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
| Installed power | 8,500 shp (6,300 kW) |
| Propulsion | HP & LPturbines geared to a single 20.5-foot (6.2 m) propeller |
| Speed | 16.5 knots |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 4 Lifeboats |
| Complement | 62 Merchant Marine and 28 US Naval Armed Guards |
| Armament | |
| Notes | [1] |
SSAttleboro Victory was aVictory ship built for theWar Shipping Administration late inWorld War II under theEmergency Shipbuilding program. It saw service in theEuropean Theater of Operations in the Atlantic Ocean during 1945, and in the immediate post-war period.Attleboro Victory was part of the series of Victory ships named after famous cities. This particular ship was named after the city ofAttleboro, Massachusetts. It was a typeVC2-S-AP2/WSAT cargo ship with theUnited States Maritime Commission(MCV) -"Victory"; hull number 642, shipyard number 1597 and built byBethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation inBaltimore, Maryland.[2][3] Phyllis O'Neil of Attleboro, Massachusetts christenedAttleboro Victory with a champagne bottle.[4]
Attleboro Victory was one of many new 10,500-ton class ships to be known asVictory ships, designed to replace the earlierLiberty Ships. Liberty ships were designed to be used solely for World War II, whereas Victory ships were designed to last longer and to serve the US Navy after the war. Victory ships differed from Liberty ships in that they were faster, longer, wider, taller, and had a thinner stack set farther toward thesuperstructure. In addition, they had a long raisedforecastle.
Attleboro Victory was operated by theStockard Steamship Corporation for the duration of World War II. On June 14, 1945 at midnight,Attleboro Victory hit a mine in theBlack Sea. She was traveling fromOdessa Russia toConstanța Romania. The mine made 16 by 16 foot hole in the port side and flooded cargo hold #2. The ship was not in danger of sinking, so she continued to port. The ship was later repaired and put back in service. There were no injuries in the explosion.[5][6]
In 1946, after World War II,Attleboro Victory was converted to alivestock ship, also called a cowboy ship. From 1945 to 1947, theUnited Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and the Brethren Service Committee of theChurch of the Brethren sent livestock to war-torn countries. These "seagoing cowboys" made about 360 trips on 73 different ships. TheHeifers for Relief project was started by the Church of the Brethren in 1942; in 1953, this becameHeifer International.[7]Attleboro Victory made five trips moving horses, heifers, and mules, as well as a some chicks, rabbits, and goats. Her trips were toGreece,Crete,Poland andCzechoslovakia.[8][9][10][11]
After the war relief in 1948, she was sold to theUnited States Lines of New York and renamedSSAmerican Attorney.
American Attorney served as a merchant marine ship supplying goods for the Korean War. About 75 percent of the personnel serving in the Korean War were delivered by the merchant marine ships.American Attorney transported goods, mail, food, and other supplies. About 90 percent of the cargo was moved by merchant marine ships to the war zone.American Attorney made trips between 1951 and 1952.American Attorney serviced in the Inchon-Seoul Operation, App E, Task Organization of Joint Task Force Seven.[12]
After the Korean War, in 1956, she was sold to Transyork Shipping Corporation in New York and renamedSSTransyork.
In 1957, she was sold to Cia Naviera Continental of Monrovia,Liberia.
In 1959, she was sold toPrudential Steamship Corporation of New York and given her original nameSSAttleboro Victory.
In 1968, theUnited States Department of Commerce in New York leased her back to Prudential.
In 1970, she was laid up in theJames River as part of theNational Defense Reserve Fleet. She was scrapped atBrownsville, Texas six years later.[13]
