 Typical Victory ship | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Operator | Agwilines Inc |
| Builder | Permanente Metals, plantNo. 2 |
| Laid down | January 25, 1945 |
| Launched | March 7, 1945 |
| Completed | March 31, 1945 |
| Identification | IMO.5156220 |
| Fate | Sold several times, scrapped in 1973 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | VC2-S-AP3Victory ship |
| Tonnage | 7,612GRT, 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 (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] |
TheSSSt. Lawrence Victory (MCV-735) was a type VC2-S-AP2Victory-classcargo ship built for the United States duringWorld War II. The ship was built as part of theEmergency Shipbuilding program by Permanente Metals Corporation in Yard 2 of theRichmond Shipyards inRichmond, California.[2]
Launched in March 1945, theSt Lawrence Victory delivered supplies for thePacific War. After the war, it served as a relief ship delivering supplies to Europe under theMarshall Plan. Damaged by a sea mine in 1947, it was salvaged by Yugoslavia then changed hands several times in private use before it was scrapped in 1973.
The SSSt. Lawrence Victory's keel was laid on January 25, 1945, before being christened on March 31, 1945. TheSt. Lawrence Victory was aUS Maritime Administration armed cargo ship, named forSt. Lawrence University inSt. Lawrence County, New York as one of 150 educational institutions which had Victory ships named after them.[3] Constructed for theUS Maritime Commission (MARCOM), this 10,600-ton ship was built at the Oregon Shipbuilding yards in just 65 days. The ship was operated by theAgwilines Inc under theUnited States Merchant Marine act for theWar Shipping Administration.
Victory ships were designed to replace the earlierLiberty ships. Liberty ships were intended to be used solely for World War II. In contrast, Victory ships were built to last longer and serve theUS Navy after the war. The Victory ship differed from a Liberty ship in that they were faster, longer, wider, taller, and had a thinner stack set farther toward thesuperstructure and a long raisedforecastle.
The first mission of theSt. Lawrence Victory was to deliver bombs toSaipan for thePacific War. Loaded with her maximum weight of 10,000 tons ofexplosive material, the ship traversed thePacific Ocean to Saipan, traveling in a zig-zag motion to eludeJapanesesubmarines; the ship journeyed underradio silence and withoutrunning lights at night. After delivering her cargo, she proceeded toSeattle, arriving in July 1945. On August 27 of that year, theSt. Lawrence Victory joined Task Group 30.8, a Sea Logistics Group delivering supplies to troops stationed onGuam.[4]
After the war, the SSSt. Lawrence Victory served as a relief ship as part of theMarshall Plan, carrying supplies to war-torn European nations. The cargo ship continued to serve in this capacity until March 25, 1947, when it hit asea mine off the coast ofDubrovnik,Yugoslavia. With a damaged bow and in danger of sinking, she was deliberatelyrun aground onKorčula Island before being towed to port atSplit, Croatia. Afterwards, she was claimed by Yugoslavia as amarine salvage ship, eventually repaired and put into private use as apassenger ship.[5]
The SSSt. Lawrence Victory was one of only two civilian cargo ships inTokyo Bay during theSurrender Ceremony of Japan on September 2, 1945, the other being theSSWinthrop Victory.[6][7]
In 1948, theSt. Lawrence Victory was initially renamedZagreb and in the following yearHrvatska for private operation as a passenger ship, operated by Jugoslavenska Slobodna Plovidba ofRijeka. The ship was damaged in 1961 after a collision with theItaliantanker,SSFina Italia, 200 miles (320 km) off the east coast ofNew York. In 1967 she was sold to Adab S.A. ofGeneva. TheHrvatska was managed by Dabinovic S.A. of Geneva and operated under the flag ofBurundi.Later in 1967, the ship was sold to Cia. Nav. Adriatica Ltda. ofSan Jose, Costa Rica. In 1968 it was sold to Soc. D'Avances Commerciales S.A. as theSSArmelle registered toSomalia. She was sold once more in 1971 to Soc. de Gerance et de Transports Maritimes, Mogadiscio of Somalia before being scrapped in 1973, inBilbao,Spain.[8][9]
