 Rutland Victory and sister ships at the Oregon Shipbuilding Company in Portland, Oregon | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | SSRutland Victory |
| Namesake | Rutland, Vermont |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration |
| Operator | United States Lines |
| Builder | Oregon Shipbuilding Company |
| Laid down | March 20, 1944 |
| Launched | May 9, 1944 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Ada May Brannon |
| Christened | May 19, 1944 |
| Completed | May 29, 1944 |
| Fate | Sold to private use, sank in 1976 |
| 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) |
| 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 |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 4 Lifeboats |
| Complement | 62 Merchant Marine and 28 US Naval Armed Guards |
| Armament | |
| Notes | [1] |
TheSSRutland Victory was aVictory ship built duringWorld War II under theEmergency Shipbuilding program. It was built and launched by theOregon Shipbuilding Corporation on May 9, 1944, and completed on May 29, 1944. The ship'sUnited States Maritime Commission designation was VC2-S-AP3 and hull number 104 (1020). The ship was Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation's 20th victory ship. The Maritime Commission turned it over forMerchant navy operation to a civilian contractor, theUnited States Lines.[2]
Mrs. Ada May Brannor, ofLa Grande, Oregon, christened the SSRutland Victory. She worked at the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation yard on the swing shift. Mrs. Brannor was given a gold jewel case with her name and the ship engraved on it.[3][4]
In 1944, for the vessel's first mission, theRutland Victory tookammunition fromWashington, D.C., toPearl Harbor.[5]
On August 29, 1944, theRutland Victory transferred cargo to and from theUSS Massachusetts (BB-59) atEnewetak Atoll. Task force 38 was at the Enewetak Atoll in August 1944 and theRutland Victory delivered cargo and goods to the Task force.[6][7]In May 1945, she traveled fromCalifornia toIwo Jima with 82 days-worth of supplies for the American troops stationed at Iwo Jima for the purpose of preparing them for theBattle of Okinawa, lasting from April 1 to June 22, 1945. After the war she moved to ports where supplies were required.
Rutland Victory earnedBattle Stars for combat action from June 17, 1945, to June 30, 1945, at theBattle of Okinawa atOkinawa in the Pacific Ocean. On those days, theRutland Victory used itsdeck guns to defend itself and other ships fromJapaneseKamikaze plane attacks.[8]
A short film about thePanama Canal featured theRushville Victory crossing was made entitled "Ocean to Ocean: Panama Canal"; it shows the crossing of theRushville Victory through the Panama canal to demonstrate how the canal worked. The film is now part of aDVD titled"USN Oil Tankers Supply and Cargo Ships" by Campbell films, with a running time of 8:10 min.
In 1948, the SSRutland Victory was sold to theAmerican President Lines ofSan Francisco and renamed theSSPresident Fillmore. In 1962, the boat was sold to Victory Shipping Enterprises Inc. fromWilmington, Delaware and renamedSSSmith Victory. In 1965, Victory Shipping Enterprises renamed it theSSUS Victory. The vessel was later sold to Transpacific Container Services ofLiberia in 1969 and renamed theSSOriental Arrow. In 1969, Transpacific Container Services converted it to a 7,511 g.t.container ship and in 1972, it was sold to Universal Enterprise Inc. ofMonrovia, Liberia, and renamed theSSOriental Ace.
In 1976, theOriental Ace sank. The SSOriental Ace, operating as a Liberian container ship, started to leak in rough seas on its way fromSeattle toKobe,Japan. The crew abandoned ship into thelifeboats and it sank on February 13, 1976 at 32.05N 152.43E, 600 miles East ofTokyo, Japan.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1976 | |
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