 SSLane Victoryat its previous berth by theVincent Thomas Bridge. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | SSLane Victory |
| Namesake | Lane College |
| Builder | California Shipbuilding (Calship) |
| Launched | 1945Los Angeles,California |
| Maiden voyage | June 27, 1945 |
| In service | 1945 |
| Homeport | San Pedro,California |
| Identification | |
| Status | Museum Ship |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | VC2-S-AP2Victory Ship |
| Tonnage | 10,750 long tonsdeadweight (DWT) |
| Length | 455 feet |
| Beam | 62 feet |
| Draft | 28 feet 6 inches |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 17 knots |
| Range | 23,500 miles |
| Capacity | 500,000 cubic feet (approximate) |
| Complement | 62United States Merchant Marine andUnited States Navy Armed Guard |
| Armament | |
| Aircraft carried | none |
| Aviation facilities | none |
Lane Victory | |
    | |
| Location | Berth 52, Port of San Pedro,San Pedro, California |
| Coordinates | 33°43′02″N118°16′24″W / 33.71722°N 118.27333°W /33.71722; -118.27333 |
| Built | 1945 |
| Architect | California Shipbuilding Corporation |
| NRHP reference No. | 90002222 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | 14 December 1990[1] |
| Designated NHL | 14 December 1990[2] |
SSLane Victory is an AmericanVictory-class cargo ship used inWorld War II, theKorean War andVietnam War. The ship was preserved in 1989 to serve as amuseum ship in theSan Pedro area ofLos Angeles,California. As a rare surviving Victory ship, she was designated a U.S.National Historic Landmark.
SSLane Victory was named afterLane College, which was established as a high school for black youths in 1882 atJackson, Tennessee, byIsaac Lane, a bishop of theColored Methodist Episcopal Church in America.
Lane Victory was built in Los Angeles by theCalifornia Shipbuilding Corporation andlaunched on May 31, 1945. On her first voyage, June 27, 1945,Lane Victory carried war supplies in the Pacific. TheWar Shipping Administration gave the operations of the ship to theAmerican President Lines. United States Merchant Mariners operated the ship. The United States Navy Armed Guard, who manned the ship's guns, worked as signalmen and radiomen. She made two Pacific cruises, beginning July 10, 1945, toManus Island, and the second starting August 30, 1945, to Guam, Saipan and Hawaii. The trip to Guam was to bring food to the island. On the wayLane Victory sailed through atyphoon and was tossed around for 14 days. On February 27, 1946, her second voyage ended. With the end of World War II, she started shipping aid. In March 1946 she started delivering goods to Europe under theMarshall Plan. With the end of the aid plan, on May 11, 1948Lane Victory was laid up atSuisun Bay, California.
In 1950Lane Victory was taken out of storage and by October 1950 was back in service. She was then deployed to evacuate Korean civilians andUnited Nations personnel atWonsan, North Korea. During December 1950 she evacuated over 3,800 U.S. troops and 1,100 vehicles fromHungnam while under attack during theBattle of Chosin Reservoir.Lane Victory offloaded troops, vehicles and cargo as thecruiserUSS Saint Paul anddestroyers laid down a covering fire. After unloading she evacuated 7,010 men, women and children, taking them south to safety. When the ship arrived 7,011 passengers disembarked, as a baby had been born during the voyage.[3] On October 10, 1953, she was laid up in Suisun Bay, California, storage.[4] An annual Korean War tribute day is held aboard SSLane Victory in honor of those saved.
In 1966 the ship was restored to duty again for the Vietnam War. She also saw duty during the conflict moving ammunition and supplies to and from the war zone in Vietnam. On April 29, 1970Lane Victory was laid up again at Suisun Bay for storage in theNational Defense Reserve Fleet.
During her three-war career, she traveled through the Far East Pacific, made a few transatlantic crossings and one circumnavigation of the globe.
Because of the ship's excellent condition in storage at Suisun Bay, theMaritime Administration decided to set asideLane Victory for preservation. PresidentRonald Reagan signed into law H.R. 2032 on October 18, 1988, which turned over the ship to the United States Merchant Marine Veterans of World War II. Joe Vernick, John Smith and a group of Merchant Marine veterans had worked for years for the ship to be released from the Reserve Fleet.
Volunteers from the United States Merchant Marine Veterans of World War II worked for three years to restore the ship to working condition after she had sat, slowly deteriorating, in Suisun Bay for nearly two decades. Many upgrades were performed in order to bringLane Victory up toCoast Guard standards. She was drydocked in 1992, and her hull was found to be sound. On September 10, 1992, hersea trials started and proved her seaworthy.[5][6]
In May 1994Lane Victory sailed south along the Baja Peninsula with the intention of joining the Liberty shipSS Jeremiah O'Brien on the 50th Anniversary of D-Day in France. On May 2, 1994, she passed the Sailing Vessel Blythe Spirit about 500 feet off the starboard side according to the day log of S/V Blythe Spirit. This encounter was just north of Cabo San Lucas. Before reaching the Panama Canal theLane Victory had engine problems that prevented it from going across the Atlantic Ocean in time to arrive for the D-Day Anniversary. It was reported on the Maritime Mobile Service Net later in May that the Victory Ship had chosen to return after repairs were completed to a California port to await the return of theJeremiah O'Brien.[7]
In June 1994Lane Victory participated in a mock Normandy invasion in theSanta Barbara Channel in celebration of the 50th anniversary ofD-Day. In September 1994 she escorted the Liberty shipSS Jeremiah O'Brien from San Pedro to San Francisco in celebration ofJeremiah O'Brien's return from hervoyage to Normandy.
On October 9, 2007, SSLane Victory received a Special Heritage Award from the World Ship Trust in San Diego.
She serves as a training facility for theLos Angeles County Fire Department,Los Angeles City Fire Department, local law enforcement agencies, FBI, the U.S. Coast Guard and other United States Armed Forces.
After her 1988 acquisition by the U.S. Merchant Marine Veterans of World War II,Lane Victory was towed to thePort of Los Angeles in San Pedro on June 12, 1989. She was turned into amuseum and work ship again. In 1990Lane Victory was designated aNational Historic Landmark. A volunteer crew maintain and operate the ship and her two onboard museums. On September 13, 2000, Congress passed Resolution 327,[8] recognizing SSLane Victory as a representative of the service and sacrifices of theU.S. Merchant Marine to the nation during times of conflict: "Whereas vessels of the United States merchant marine fleet, such as the S.S. LANE VICTORY, provided critical logistical support to the Armed Forces by carrying equipment, supplies, and personnel necessary to maintain war efforts"[9]
In February 2012 she moved from Berth 94 in Los Angeles Harbor by theVincent Thomas Bridge to Berth 46 in Los Angeles Harbor at the end of Harbor Boulevard-Miner Street, south of the bridge. She was reopened to the public on February 17, 2012.[10][11] She was moved, again, to Berth 49 in early 2013 as Berth 46 was being converted into a future super cruise ship dock.
Lane Victory has been used in a number of movies, TV shows and commercials because of her excellent working condition.[12] The ship's wakes were used in the 1997 blockbuster movieTitanic for thetitular ocean liner's wakes.[13] She also served as the setting for the climax of the comedy filmThe Pest the same year.Other films in which the ship appeared are:Black Ops (Deadwater) (2008),Flags of Our Fathers (2006),GI Jane (1997),Pearl Harbor (2001),The Thin Red Line (1998),U-571 (2000) andTwin Sitters (1994) (note: this is a partial list)
The ship was featured inVisiting... withHuell Howser Episode 406.[14]
Some TV shows she was featured in are:Alias,Baywatch,California Gold,JAG,Mail Call (episode #70),MacGyver,Murder She Wrote, theNational Geographic Channel,NCIS,Port Chicago Mutiny (TV movie),Return of the Pirates (History Channel),Special Ops Mission andUnsolved Mysteries. In theSeason 6King of the Hill episode "Returning Japanese: Part 2" (2002), Cotton is sent back to the U.S. aboardLane Victory. TheHistory Channel seriesMail Call episode 6/04, "Lane Victory", was an hour long episode about the ship and the World War II Merchant Marine,.(note: this is a partial list)
In 1999, the ship was used in aFord Super Duty commercial and Disney's "Golden Dreams" commercial.(note: this is a partial list)
The ship was also used in the official music video of Alemeda & Doechii's song "Beat A B!tch Up".[15]
The engine housed inLane Victory's forward hold exhibit space was used as the engine for the fictitiousgunboat USSSan Pablo inThe Sand Pebbles (1966).[16]
Lane Victory earned one ribbon forWorld War II service, two for Korean War service –United Nations Korea Medal &Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation – and one forVietnam War service.
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