 Typical Victory Ship. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | SSBluefield Victory |
| Namesake | Bluefield, Virginia andBluefield, West Virginia |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration |
| Operator | Mississippi Shipping Company |
| Builder | California Shipbuilding Company,Los Angeles |
| Laid down | March 7, 1944 |
| Launched | May 9, 1944 |
| Completed | June 30, 1944 |
| Fate | Sold, 1951 |
| United States | |
| Name | SSAlaska Bear |
| Owner |
|
| Fate | Sold, 1969 |
| United States | |
| Name | SSColumbia Wolf |
| Owner | Columbia Steamship Company of San Francisco |
| Fate | Scrapped inHong Kong, 1970 |
| 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, by Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co., Essington |
| Speed | 16.5 knots |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 4 Lifeboats |
| Complement | 62 Merchant Marine and 28 US Naval Armed Guards |
| Armament |
|
| Notes | [1] |
TheSSBluefield Victory was the 16thVictory ship built duringWorld War II under theEmergency Shipbuilding program. She was launched by theCalifornia Shipbuilding Company on May 9, 1944, and completed on June 30, 1944. The ship’sUnited States Maritime Commission designation was VC2- S- AP3, hull number 15 (V-15). SSBluefield Victory served in thePacific Ocean during World War II and was operated by theMississippi Shipping Company. The 10,500-ton Victory ships were designed to replace the earlierLiberty Ships. Liberty ships were designed to be used just for World War II. Victory ships were designed to last longer and serve theUS Navy after the war. The Victory ship differed from a Liberty ship in that they were: faster, longer and wider, taller, had a thinner stack set farther toward thesuperstructure, and had a long raisedforecastle.[2]
SSBluefield Victory waschristened by Mrs. Monroe Jackson ofOakland, California. The SSBluefield Victory was launched into the waters ofWilmington, Los Angeles. She was part of a group of 218 Victory Ships were named for American cities.[3][4][5] SSBluefield Victory took part in theBattle of Leyte from June 1944 to January 1945.[6]
SSBluefield Victory steamed into the Pacific to bring supplies to thePacific War troops. On October 20, 1944, the SSBluefield Victory had the dangerous job of deliveringammunition for troops. The ammunition was for theUS Central Philippine Attack Force.Bluefield Victory downed a plane on December 11, 1944 and had a bomb miss her by about 50 feet.[7][8][9] She was in aconvoy of ships that anchored atNaval Base Kossol Roads in October 1944. Because of her dangerous cargo, she stayed in Kossol Roads away from the main fleet until called on to deliver supplies. The convoy included:ammunition ships:Meridian Victory,SS Iran Victory, SS Bluefield Victory andKishwaukee. It was escorted by thedestroyer escorts:Lovelace,Neuendorf,Thomason, under the command of Comcortdiv Thirty-Seven.[10][11]She supplied thedestroyerUSS Fletcher (DD-445) with ammunition on February 20, 1945, atMangarin Bay[12] In March 1945 the SSBluefield Victory anchored at theUlithi atoll and supplied ammunition to a number of ships at theLeyte-Samar Naval Base for theBattle of Leyte and other actions.[13]
In 1948 the SSBluefield Victory was laid up in theNational Defense Reserve Fleet atMobile, Alabama. In 1950 she was reactivated to take supplies toKorea.[14]
SSBluefield Victory (V-4377, ID 246004) served as Merchant Marine Naval ship supplying goods for theKorean War. She made nine trips toKorea. She help move the 140th Medium Tank Battalion. About 75 percent of the personnel taken to Korea for the Korean War came by the Merchant Marine Ships. SSBluefield Victory transported goods, mail, food and other supplies. About 90 percent of the cargo was moved by Merchant Marine Naval to the Korea War Zone. SSBluefield Victory made trips between the US and Korea helping American forces engaged againstCommunist aggression inSouth Korea.[15][16]
In 1951 she was sold to the Pacific Far East Line ofSan Francisco. and was renamed theSSAlaska Bear. In 1957 she was sold to the Trans-Pacific Company ofPhiladelphia and kept her name. On June 7, 1957, the SSAlaska Bear ran aground and was taking on water near the entrance toTokyo Bay. TheUSS Current, arescue and salvage ship came to her aid, and pumped water out of flooded cargo holds. They unload the cargo and then towed theAlaska Bear to deeper water. The USS Current worked on her for days. Then towed her to thePort of Yokosuka atYokohama, Japan on June 21, 1957.[17]In 1960 she was sold and kept her name to the Long Island Tankers Corporation ofWilmington, Delaware In 1962 she was sold back to the Pacific Far East Line of San Francisco and kept her name. In 1969 she was sold to the Columbia Steamship Company of San Francisco and renamed theSSColumbia Wolf. In 1970 she was towed toHong Kong andscrapped.[18]
