USSLakewood Victory (AK-236) at anchor, probably when she returned toSan Francisco, in March 1946, after a postwar voyage to the Western Pacific. Her armament had been removed, probably during repair work atPuget Sound, in October and November 1945.
History
United States
Name	Lakewood Victory
Namesake	Lakewood, California, Lakewood, Colorado, Lakewood, New Jersey, Lakewood, New York, and Lakewood, Ohio
Ordered	as type (VC2-S-AP2) hull,MCV hull 545
Builder	Permanente Metals Corporation,Richmond, California
Yard number	545[1]
Laid down	16 September 1944
Launched	17 November 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. Edward A. Fitzgerald
Commissioned	11 December 1944
Decommissioned	16 May 1946
Stricken	5 June 1946
Identification	Hull symbol: AK-236 IMO number: 5202718
Honors and awards	twobattle stars duringWorld War II
Fate	Sold for scrapping, 9 August 1993, to California Import Export Inc., for $368,512
General characteristics[2]
Class & type	Boulder Victory-classcargo ship
Displacement	4,480 long tons (4,550 t) (standard) 15,580 long tons (15,830 t) (full load)
Length	455 ft (139 m)
Beam	62 ft (19 m)
Draft	29 ft 2 in (8.89 m)
Installed power	6,000 shp (4,500 kW)
Propulsion	1 × Westinghouse turbine 2 ×Foster Wheeler header-type boilers, 525psi 750° double Westinghouse Main Reduction Gears 1 ×shaft
Speed	15.5 kn (17.8 mph; 28.7 km/h)
Complement	99 officers and enlisted
Armament	1 ×5 in (130 mm)/38-caliberdual-purpose gun 1 ×3 in (76 mm)/50-caliber dual-purpose gun 8 ×20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons anti-aircraft gun mounts

USSLakewood Victory (AK-236) was aBoulder Victory-classcargo ship acquired by theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II. She served in thePacific Ocean theatre of operations through the end of the war, earning twobattle stars, and then returned to theUnited States for disposal.

Lakewood Victory (AK-236) was laid down 16 September 1944, byPermanente Metals Corporation,Richmond, California, under aU.S. Maritime Commission contract; launched 17 November; sponsored by Mrs. Edward A. Fitzgerald; and commissioned 11 December.

Aftershakedown,Lakewood Victory departedSan Francisco, California, 18 January 1945 loaded with a cargo of ammunition, booms, and aircraft. Steaming viaPearl Harbor andEniwetok, she reached theMariana Islands inconvoy 19 February and supplied combat ships with shells and powder.

DepartingSaipan the 26th, she headed forIwo Jima withTask Group 50.8. While the battle for Iwo Jima raged, she arrived the 28th and began supplying cruisers, destroyers, and landing craft with ammunition. She continued discharging her cargo until 8 March; then she sailed for the westernCaroline Islands, arrivingUlithi the 11th.

On 3 AprilLakewood Victory cleared Ulithi for logistics support operations offOkinawa. After reachingKerama Retto 13 April, she supplied waiting destroyers, LSTs, and smaller landing craft with explosive cargo. She was the target of multiple Japanese Zero kamikaze attacks which war thwarted when American Destroyers and Battleships shot them out of the sky before they reached their targets. Her crew worked under cover of protective smoke to transfer ammunition before sailing 23 April for Ulithi, where she arrived the 28th.

Lakewood Victory sailed 20 May for theNew Hebrides. Steaming viaManus,Admiralty Islands, she reachedEspiritu Santo 28 May; loaded ammunition andfog oil; and departed 19 June forLeyte. She arrivedSan Pedro Bay the 28th and operated off Leyte for more than 2 months. After theJapanese surrender, she returned to the United States via theMariana Islands andPearl Harbor, arrivingPuget Sound,Washington, 8 October.

After unloading her cargo, she sailed for the western Pacific Ocean 18 November. From 6 December to 2 March 1946 she loaded ammunition atGuam andSaipan.

Returning to San Francisco 15 March,Lakewood Victory decommissioned 16 May and was turned over to theWar Shipping Administration (WSA). Final disposition, sold for scrapping, 9 August 1993, to California Import Export Inc., for $368,512, removed from the Reserve Fleet anchorage, 25 September 1993.

Lakewood Victory received twobattle stars forWorld War II service.Lakewood Victoryalso earned theAmerican Campaign Medal,Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal,World War II Victory Medal and thePhilippines Liberation Medal.

•  This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
• Photo gallery of USSLakewood Victory at NavSource Naval History

• Boulder Victory-class cargo ships
• Ships built in Richmond, California
• 1944 ships
• Ammunition ships of the United States Navy
• World War II auxiliary ships of the United States
• James River Reserve Fleet
• Hudson River Reserve Fleet
• Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet

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