SS Saginaw Victory

The SS Saginaw Victory was a Victory ship built during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. It was laid down and launched by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, and completed on February 9, 1945. The ship's United States Maritime Commission designation was VC2-S-AP3 and hull number 152. The Maritime Commission turned it over for merchant navy operation to a civilian contractor, the Pacific-Atlantic SS Company under the United States Merchant Marine act for the War Shipping Administration.[2] She was named after Saginaw, Michigan. Victory ships were designed to supersede the earlier Liberty ships. Unlike Liberty ships, Victory ships were designed to serve the US Navy after the war and to last longer.[3] Compared to Liberty ships, Victory ships were faster, longer, wider, taller, and had a thinner stack which was set further forward on the superstructure. They also had a long, raised forecastle.

Typical Victory ship
History
United States
Name: SS Saginaw Victory
Namesake: Saginaw, Michigan
Owner: War Shipping Administration
Operator: Pacific-Atlantic SS Company
Builder: Oregon Shipbuilding Company
Laid down: Nov. 7, 1944
Launched: December 12, 1944
Completed: February 9, 1945
Fate: 1976 scrapped in Kaohsiung
General characteristics
Class and type: VC2-S-AP3 Victory ship
Tonnage: 7612 GRT, 4,553 NRT
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 & LP turbines 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]

World War II

For World War II the Saginaw Victory was operated by Pacific-Atlantic SS Company, and had United States Navy Armed Guard to man the deck guns. The Saginaw Victory was used for the dangerous job of being an ammunition ship. She was loaded up with 6,000 pounds of ammunition at the Beaver ammunition dump near Clatskanie, Oregon on the Columbia River. She depart the states and arrived at Okinawa on April 12, 1945 in a fleet of merchant ships serving in the Pacific War. The ship was a supplier of ammunition for operations in the Battle of Okinawa lasting from the April 1 until June 22, 1945. On April 6, 1945 the ammunition ships SS Logan Victory and SS Hobbs Victory sank after kamikaze attack planes hit them. On April 27, 1945 the ammunition ships SS Canada Victory, sank after a kamikaze attack. The loss of the three ammunition Victory ships severely hurt the combat forces. These ships were carrying a total of 24,000 tons (54 million pounds) of ammunition; including most of the 81 mm mortar shells needed for the invasion. Saginaw Victory was the only ammunition ship to survive, she was able to unload all her ammunition over 12 days with the help of a Naval Construction Battalion. DUKW amphibious truck, Landing Ship, Tank (LST), an Landing craft tank (LCT) and Landing Craft Mechanizeds (LCMs) were used to unload the ammunition. Saginaw Victory survived thirty-two air raids over the 12 days. The Saginaw Victory was credited with the destruction of one enemy plane on April 12 and another on April 15. The Saginaw Victory was anchored near the Battleship USS Texas (BB-35) that helped in her protection.[4][5][6][7] More ammunition ships were not needed as the war came to an end without the invasion of Japan, called Operation Downfall.[5] Canada Victory was one of forty-seven ships sunk by kamikaze attack during World War II.[8][7] After the battle heading home, on 12 May 1945 at night in fog the SS Cuba Victory, about a 100 miles from the remote US Navy base at Ulithi, collided with the Saginaw Victory. The damage to both ships was substantial. The two ships went to the Truk Island (now called Chuuk Lagoon) to have the damages checked. An escort ship took the two ships back to Ulithi. The Saginaw Victory was repaired at Admiralty Islands, near New Guinea and put back into service. Saginaw Victory received honors defending herself and other ship from attack on the 10 April 1945 and 26 April 1945 at Okinawa.[9][10]

War relief and Seacowboys
Main article: Seagoing cowboys

In 1946, after World War II, Saginaw Victory was temporarily converted to a livestock ship, also called a cowboy ship. From 1945 to 1947, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and the Brethren Service Committee of the Church of the Brethren sent livestock to war-torn countries. These "seagoing cowboys" made about 360 trips on 73 different ships. The Heifers for Relief project was started by the Church of the Brethren in 1942; in 1953, this became Heifer International.[11] Saginaw Victory made trips moving horses, heifers, and mules, as well as a some chicks, rabbits, and goats. Saginaw Victory made four trips to Poland and one trip to Czechoslovakia with war relief livestock. Four departures were from Newport News, Virginia and one was from Montreal.[12][13][14][15]

In 1948 she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, at Mobile, Alabama.

Private use
  • After the war relief in 1949, she was sold to the Pope & Talbot Inc of San Francisco and renamed SS P.& T. Builder in 1951.
  • In 1962 she was sold to Sumner A. Long of New York and renamed SS Smith Builder,.
  • In 1965 she was sold to Russell L. Steamship Corporation of New York and renamed SS U.S. Builder.
  • In 1967 she was sold to A. E. C. Shipping Corporation of New York.
  • In 1969 she was sold to Transpacific Container Services of Liberia and renamed SS Oriental Express. Transpacific Container converted her to a 7,456 gross ton container ship. R Duncan & Co. Ltd. of Port Glasgow construction on the conversion.[16][17][18]

The Saginaw Victory was scrapped in 1976 at Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

See also

References
  1. Babcock & Wilcox (April 1944). "Victory Ships". Marine Engineering and Shipping Review.
  2. shipbuildinghistory.com Merchant ships Victory ships
  3. "Liberty Ships and Victory Ships --Setting the Stage". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  4. US Navy, Action at Okinawa
  5. US Navy, Armed Guard Service
  6. "kamikaze Attacks".
  7. "47 Ships Sunk by Kamikaze Aircraft".
  8. "kamikaze Attackes".
  9. Biography of John Stokes, Sailor, Hatchman and Winchman Detail, Armed Guard, SS Saginaw Victory, SS Louis Weule, Okinawa, USN, WWII
  10. Honor Flight Houston, Veteran Carl Jolibois, Seaman First Class, United States Navy, World War II from 1944 to 1946.
  11. Heifer International
  12. Sea going cowboys
  13. seagoingcowboys, In Memorium [sic], Posted on April 1, 2017
  14. Seagoing cowboys report
  15. Sea going cowboys, SS Saginaw Victory to Poland, December 31, 1946.
  16. Mariners, Victory Ships - S
  17. shipsnostalgia.com, Saginaw Victory
  18. Photo of the Oriental Express

Sources
  • Sawyer, L.A. and W.H. Mitchell. Victory ships and tankers: The history of the ‘Victory type" cargo ships and of the tankers built in the United States of America during World War II, Cornell Maritime Press, 1974, 0-87033-182-5.
  • United States Maritime Commission:
  • Victory Cargo Ships
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