 A typical Victory ship | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Fordham Victory |
| Namesake | Fordham University |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration |
| Operator | Weyerhaeuser Steamship Company |
| Ordered | as aType VC2-S-AP2 hull,MCV hull 732[1] |
| Builder | Permanente Metals Corporation,Richmond, CaliforniaKaiser Richmond No. 2 Yard |
| Laid down | 13 January 1945 |
| Launched | 24 February 1945 |
| Commissioned | 21 March 1945 |
| Identification | Official number: 247467 |
| Fate | Scrapped July 1963 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Victory ship |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 455 ft (139 m) |
| Beam | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Draft | 29 ft 2 in (8.89 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 15.5 kn (17.8 mph; 28.7 km/h) |
| Capacity |
|
| Complement | 62 Merchant Marine and 28 US Naval Armed Guards |
| Armament |
|
SSFordham Victory was built and operated asVictorycargo ship which operated as a cargo carrier inWorld War II. For the war she was operated by theWeyerhaeuser Steamship Company undercharter with theMaritime Commission andWar Shipping Administration.
Fordham Victory was laid down underU.S. Maritime Commission contract byPermanente Metals Corporation,Richmond, California,Kaiser Richmond No. 2 Yard, on 13 January 1945, under theEmergency Shipbuilding program.[1] She was launched on 24 February 1945[1] and was delivered to theWar Shipping Administration (WSA) on 21 March 1945 .[2][3] She is named afterFordham University inNew York City. Early Victoryships were named afterAllied nations, then 218 American cities were picked for names. Next Kaiser and the Navy department picked 150 names to honor American colleges.[4]
The SSFordham Victory was used near the end ofWorld War II. The ship'sUnited States Maritime Commission designation was VC2-S-AP3, hull number P No. 2 (732), Victory #732. The Maritime Commission turned her over to a civilian contractor for operation.[5] 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 the US Navy after the war. The Victory ship differed from a Liberty ship in that they were: faster, longer and wider, taller, with a thinner stack set farther toward thesuperstructure and had a long raisedforecastle.[5][6]
During World War IIFordham Victory operated as a merchantman and was chartered toWeyerhaeuser Steamship Company of San Francisco. With a civilian crew andUnited States Navy Armed Guard to man theship guns. SSFordham Victory served in thePacific Ocean in World War II as part of thePacific War.
In 1948 theFordham Victory was sold by the War Shipping Administration to theUnited States Lines of New York and renamed theSSAmerican Defender. A common trip for theAmerican Defender wasAntwerp toBoston and other transatlantic shipping runs. In 1956 she was sold to the Olympia S.S. Corporation and renamed back to theFordham Victory. In 1957 she was sold to the Marine Bulk Carriers Inc of New York and renamed theSSWang Archer. TheWang Archer ran aground offGrand Bahama on 9 May 1959 and sank. She was refloated and her badly damaged bottom was repaired. In 1959 she was sold to the Marine Bulk Carriers Inc of New York and renamed theSSGolden Sail. In 1960 she was laid up in theColumbia River after being taken over by theUnited States Marshals Service due to a Masters Liens on the ship. The United States Marshals Service sold her in 1960 to Intercontinental Victories Inc of New York and she was renamedSSVivian. In 1962 she was sold to the Intercontinental Transportation Company of New York. On 28 April 1963 in theIndian Ocean at10°29′N95°29′E / 10.48°N 95.48°E /10.48; 95.48, off theAndaman Islands in theAndaman Sea, she was damaged beyond repair after her speed governor failed, causing an explosion. Thesteam turbine blew up, thepropeller and its shaft were lost. She was towed toSingapore and later scrapped inHong Kong in July 1963.[7][8]
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1959 | |
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| Shipwrecks |
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| Other incidents |
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