 Typical Victory ship | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | SSBozeman Victory |
| Namesake | Bozeman, Montana |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration |
| Operator | Alaska SS Company 1945 |
| Builder | Oregon Shipbuilding Company |
| Laid down | November 3, 1944 |
| Launched | December 9, 1944 |
| Completed | February 17, 1945 |
| Fate | Sold to private 1946, scrapped 1972 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | VC2-S-AP3 Victory ship |
| Tonnage | 7,612 GRT, 4,553 NRT |
| Displacement | 15,200 tons |
| Length | 455 ft (139 m) |
| Beam | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Draft | 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 (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 4 lifeboats |
| Complement | 62 Merchant Marine and 28 US Naval Armed Guards |
| Armament | |
| Notes | [1] |
SSBozeman Victory was aVictory ship built duringWorld War II under theEmergency Shipbuilding program. It was built and launched by theOregon Shipbuilding Corporation on December 9, 1944, and completed on February 17, 1945. The ship'sUnited States Maritime Commission designation was VC2-S-AP3 and hull number 151 (1205). She was built in just 106 days. The Maritime Commission turned it over forMerchant navy operation to a civilian contractor, theAlaska SS Company under theUnited States Merchant Marine act for theWar Shipping Administration.[2] She was named after the city ofBozeman, Montana.
Victory ships were designed to supersede the earlierLiberty ships. Unlike Liberty ships, Victory ships were designed to serve theUS Navy after the war[3] and also last longer. The Victory ship differed from a Liberty ship in that they were: faster, longer and wider, taller, and had a thinner stack set farther toward thesuperstructure. They also had a long raisedforecastle.
Bozeman, Montana City Commission and the War Committee of the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce asked Alice Dahl to christen the SS Bozeman Victory in Portland, Oregon. Alice had helped the war effort by selling bonds, working with the Red Cross and USO. Alice Dahl christened the Bozeman Victory in Portland on December 9, 1944. Alice Dahl was agold star mom, a mom who had lost sons or daughters in military service during the war.[4][5][6]
Bozeman Victory served as anammunition ship in thePacific War.Bozeman Victory departedMukilteo, Washington withammunition to supply troops atOkinawa for theBattle of Okinawa. The Battle of Okinawa was 82 days, lasted from April 1 until June 22, 1945. On April 28, 1945, a Japanese assault demolition boat causes extensive damage toBozeman Victory. US Navy gunboats were credited with keeping the ships at the bay off Okinawa safe. But a Japanese explosive speedboat slipped through.Bozeman Victory was hit at 2:10 am while at anchor.Bozeman Victory's hull plates were badly damaged nearcargo hold #4. Six crew members were injured in the attack. Some of propeller shaft bearings were cracked in the hit, these immobilized the ship. This damage was bad, but none of the ships cargo, 6,000 tons of ammunition was damaged. The explosive speedboat may have been akaiten, or a midget submarine.[7][8]
On the same daykamikazes damaged four destroyers,Wadsworth,Daly,Twiggs andBennion; alsoBennion was damaged by aerial attack. Also on April 28, the hospital shipsPinkney andComfort were hit by kamikazes.[9]
Three Victoryammunition ships sank in action at Okinawa after kamikaze attacks:Canada Victory on April 27, 1945,Logan Victory on April 6, 1945, andHobbs Victory on April 6, 1945. The loss of the three Victory ships severely hurt the combat forces. The three ships were carrying a total of 24,000 tons (54 million pounds) of ammunition; including most of the81 mm mortar shells needed for the invasion of Okinawa.
The ammunition shipSaginaw Victory arrived April 12, 1945, at Okinawa to replace the ammunition lost on the three ships.Bozeman Victory andSaginaw Victory became the main ammunition ships in the Pacific War. More ammunition ships were not needed as the war came to an end without the invasion ofJapan, calledOperation Downfall.[10] Forty-seven ships were sunk bykamikaze attack during World War II.[11][12]
In 1946Bozeman Victory was sold toCompañía Argentina de Navegación Dodero,Buenos Aires,Argentina and renamed SSCampero. In 1949 she was sold to Flota Argentina de Navegación de Ultramar, Buenos Aires. In 1961 she was sold toEmpresa Líneas Marítimas Argentinas, Buenos Aires. In 1972 she was scrapped atCampana, Argentina.[13]
