Maritime Victory at Brownsville, Texas, June 2006 | |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name |
|
Builder | Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore |
Launched | May 1945 |
Acquired | 18 June 1945 |
Renamed | USAT Pvt. Frederick C. Murphy , 1950 |
Identification | IMO number: 8636049 |
Fate | Scrapped 25 May 2006 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Victory ship |
Displacement | 7,607 long tons (7,729 t) |
Length | 455 ft (139 m) |
Beam | 62 ft (19 m) |
Draft | 28 ft 6 in (8.69 m) |
Propulsion | Allis-Chalmers cross-compound steam turbine with double reduction gears, 6,000 hp (4,474 kW) at 100 rpm |
Speed | 17 kn (31 km/h; 20 mph) |
Range | 23,500 mi (37,800 km) |
Capacity | 500,000 cu ft (14,000 m3) (approx.) |
Complement | 62 Merchant Marine and Navy Armed Guard |
Armament |
SS Maritime Victory, hull number 821, VC2-S-AP2/WSAT, renamed USAT Pvt. Frederick C. Murphy, was an American Army troop transport which saw duty just after World War II.
The Maritime Victory was unusual in that as an AP2 vessel, the cargo holds were converted for troop berthing (though with reduced cargo-carrying ability) and topside cargo handling gear was retained. A total of 97 such VC2-S-AP2 conversions were planned, 84 completed. [1]
On 5 July 1946 the ship was returned to the U.S. Army. On 30 August 1946 it was put into the reserve fleet and renamed USAT Pvt. Frederick C. Murphy on 10 February 1950 in honor of World War II Medal of Honor recipient Frederick C. Murphy. [2]
As one of the last surviving ships of her kind she received extensive documentation by the National Park Service in 2006, which produced the archival record Private Frederick C. Murphy HAER Report .
She was launched at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards on Tuesday, 22 May 1945, sponsored by J. Buell Snyder, wife of Congressman Snyder. [3] Delivered on 18 June 1945, she was transferred to the Army War Department as an Army Transport. She was operated under contract by the American South African Line. [2]
The Maritime Victory was delivered to the USAT as a transport in June 1945. The ship made several crossings carrying troops from the European Theater of Operations, especially between Le Havre and New York. From Le Havre she often left from the area known as the Cigarette Camps as part of Operation Magic Carpet to take US troops home.
The ship, having been launched only days after V-E Day was primarily designed to transport troops both to and from Europe. While the main use of the ship was to transport troops, the ship was also used for humanitarian efforts in the immediate post-war time period. The ship made several crossings of the Atlantic. Many of the ships used to transport troops to Europe in the early days of the war were lost or functionally worn out. The Victory ship was newer and faster than the Liberty ships. When it was time to bring troops home the net transfer was mostly in moving troops from Europe to America instead of the other way around.
Some transportation of food and supplies were made in a role as a cargo ship to provide relief to the war torn countries of Europe, especially Germany.
The ship was preserved in mothball status at the Beaumont Reserve Fleet in Beaumont, Texas. It was laid up in 1950. From 1983 to about 1990 the Fredrick C. Murphy was used as the fleet utility ship at Beaumont Reserve. [2] In this role some offices were maintained aboard the ship.
The National Park Service's Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) visited the Private Frederick C. Murphy in 2006 to document the ship. [1]
As of 2006 [update] , the ship has been removed from inventory of Beaumont Reserve. It is now located at Esco in Brownsville, Texas and awaits scrapping. Scrapping may be complete as soon as September 2006.[ needs update ]
Date | From - To | Purpose |
---|---|---|
? October 1945 – 26 October 1945 | Marseille, France–New York City | Transport 1,969 troops. [4] |
? November 1945 – 24 November 1945 | Marseille–New York | Transport 1,648 troops [5] |
3 December 1945 – 18 December 1945 | Le Havre–Newport News, Virginia | Transport 1,436 troops, including 2877th Military Police Battalion. [6] |
? ? 1946 – 7 January 1946 | New York–Le Havre, France | Arrived to pick up troops. [7] |
7–19 January 1946 | Le Havre–New York | Transport approximately 1,500 members of the 84th Infantry Division (some elements). [7] |
? ? 1946 – 15 February 1946 | Le Havre–New York | Transport 1,014 troops, including 23rd Base Post Office, 45th Field Hospital, three nurses and five civilians. [8] |
? ? 1946 – 22 March 1946 | Southampton, England–New York | Transport 989 troops, including 1196th Engineer Base Depot, 3231st Quartermaster Service Co., 813th Ordnance Base Depot Co., 713th Engineer Depot Co. [9] |
? ? 1946 – 18 April 1946 | Le Havre–New York | Transport 879 troops, including 123rd Armored Ordnance Maintenance Battalion, 345th Quartermaster Co. [10] |
17–26 May 1946 | Bremerhaven, Germany–New York | Transport 102nd Infantry Division (Ozarks), 405th Infantry Regiment. |
17 June 1946 – 25 June 1946 | Le Havre–New York | Transport 1,363 troops. [11] |
26 July 1946 – 4 August 1946 | Bremerhaven–New York | Transport of 1,317 troops. [12] |
15 August 1946 – ? ? 1946 | New York–?, ? | German war prisoners. [13] |
? September 1946 – 10 September 1946 | Bremerhaven–New York | Transport 1,237 US soldiers back to United States. [14] |
? October 1946 – 14 October 1946 | Bremerhaven–New York | Transport 1,388 US soldiers back to United States. [15] |
22 October 1946 – ? October/November 1946 | New York–Livorno, Italy | Transport US Occupation troops to Europe. [16] |
? November 1946 – 18 November 1946 | Livorno–New York | Transport 1,244 troops. [17] |
5 December 1946 – ? December 1946 | New York–Bremerhaven | Transport troops. [18] |
23 December 1946 – 2 January 1947 | Bremerhaven–New York | Transport US soldiers back to United States (some US Army Occupation troops). |
20 January 1947 – ? January/February 1947 | New York–Bremerhaven | Sailing to Europe. [19] |
? ? 1947 – 21 February 1947 | Bremerhaven–New York | Transport 832 troops. [20] |
10–12 March 1947 | New York–Portland, Maine | To arrive at Portland for loading Maine seed potatoes for shipment to Germany for planting in the American and British Occupied Zones. Sailing was to take place a few days later. [21] |
27 March 1947 – ? March 1947 | Portland–Germany | Transport of 4,000 tons of Maine seed potatoes. [22] |
The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were slightly larger and had more powerful steam turbine engines, giving higher speed to allow participation in high-speed convoys and make them more difficult targets for German U-boats. A total of 531 Victory ships were built in between 1944 and 1946.
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typically loading and unloading at a seaport or onto smaller vessels, either tenders or barges.
Frederick C. Murphy was a recipient of the Medal of Honor during World War II while serving as a medic in the US 65th Infantry Division.
SS American Victory is a Victory ship which saw brief service in the Pacific Theater of Operations during the final months of World War II, the Korean War from 1951–1954, and the Vietnam War from 1966–1969. Built in June 1945, she carried ammunition and other cargo from Los Angeles to Southeast Asia, then ferried cargo, equipment and troops back to the U.S. after the war ended. She survived two typhoons and one hurricane.
The SS M. I. T. Victory was a Victory ship built during World War II and used as a troop transport. She was later named USAT MIT Victory and finally USAT Lt. Alexander R. Nininger. Note: In 1944 there was a different transport ship named Alexander R. Nininger, Jr..
USNS Aiken Victory (T-AP-188) was a Victory ship-based troop transport that served with the United States Army Transport Service during both World War II and the Korean War. She was one of a class of 84 dedicated troop transports.
USNS Sgt. Sylvester Antolak (AP-192/T-AP-192) was a Boulder Victory-class cargo ship that served as a United States Army Transport, and in the United States Navy's Military Sea Transportation Service, in the post-World War II period.
The SS Lindenwood Victory was a Victory-class cargo ship built during World War II. The Lindenwood Victory was a type VC2-S-AP2 victory ship built by Permanente Metals Corporation, Yard 2, of Richmond, California. The Maritime Administration cargo ship was the 766th ship built. Her keel was laid on May 12, 1945. SS Lindenwood Victory was an armed cargo ship She was built in just 70 days, under the Emergency Shipbuilding program for World War II. SS Lindenwood Victory was an armed cargo ship, named for Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, one of 150 educational institutions that had Victory ships named after them. The 10,600-ton ship was constructed for the Maritime Commission.
USS Admiral C. F. Hughes (AP-124) was a Admiral W. S. Benson-class transport named in honor of Charles Frederick Hughes, an admiral in the United States Navy who served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1927 to 1930. It was later renamed the ship USAT General Edwin D. Patrick after Edwin D. Patrick, an Army general who died in World War II.
SS Claymont Victory was a type Victory ship-based VC2-S-AP2 troop transport built for the U.S. Army Transportation Corps late in World War II. Launched in November 1944, it saw service in the European Theater of Operations during 1945 and in the immediate post-war period repatriating U.S. troops.
SS Hagerstown Victory was a Victory ship-based troop transport built for the U.S. Army Transportation Corps (USAT) late in World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. It saw service in the European Theater of Operations during 1945 and in the immediate post-war period repatriating U.S. troops. Hagerstown Victory was one of 97 cargo Victory ships converted to a troopship.
SS Rushville Victory was a Victory ship-based troop transport built for the US Army Transportation Corps (USAT) late in World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. It saw service in the European Theater of Operations in 1945, 1946 and in the immediate post-war period repatriating US troops.
SS New Bern Victory was a cargo Victory ship built during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. The New Bern Victory (MCV-639) was a type VC2-S-AP2 Victory ship built by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards. The Maritime Administration cargo ship was the 639 ship built. Her keel was laid on January 15, 1945. She was launched on March 8, 1945 and completed on March 31, 1945. The 10,600-ton ship was constructed for the Maritime Commission. The American Export Line and later the Isthmian Steamship Company operated her under the United States Merchant Marine act for the War Shipping Administration. Named for the city of New Bern, North Carolina.
The SS Bucknell Victory was a Victory-class cargo ship built during World War II. The Bucknell Victory was a type VC2-S-AP2 victory ship built by Permanente Metals Corporation, Yard 2, of Richmond, California. The Maritime Administration cargo ship was the 728th ship built. Her keel was laid on December 27, 1944. SS Bucknell Victory was an armed cargo ship, named for Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, one of 150 educational institutions that had Victory ships named after them. She was built in just 70 days, under the Emergency Shipbuilding program for World War II. The 10,600-ton ship was constructed for the Maritime Commission.
SS Attleboro Victory was a Victory ship built for the War Shipping Administration late in World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. It saw service in the European Theater of Operations in the Atlantic Ocean during 1945, and in the immediate post-war period. Attleboro Victory was part of the series of Victory ships named after famous cities. This particular ship was named after the city of Attleboro, Massachusetts. It was a type VC2-S-AP2/WSAT cargo ship with the United States Maritime Commission (MCV) -"Victory"; hull number 642, shipyard number 1597 and built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in Baltimore, Maryland. Phyllis O'Neil of Attleboro, Massachusetts christened Attleboro Victory with a champagne bottle.
SS N. Y. U. Victory was a Type C2 Victory ship-based VC2-S-AP2 troop transport built for the U.S. Army Transportation Corps late in World War II. Launched in May 1945, it saw service in the European Theater of Operations in the immediate post-war period repatriating U.S. troops.
SS Cuba Victory was built and operated as Victory ship class cargo ship which operated as a cargo carrier in World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War.
SS Whittier Victory was a Victory ship which saw brief service in the Pacific Theater of Operations during the waning months of World War II and Vietnam War from 1966–1969. Built in June 1945, she carried ammunition and other cargo from U.S. West Coast ports to Southeast Asia, then ferried cargo, equipment and troops back to the U.S. after the war ended. She survived one hurricane. Whittier Victory spent time between 1946 and 1966 chartered to commercial carriers and the two times in U.S. reserve fleets. From 1966 to 1969 she delivered cargo to Southeast Asia in the Vietnam War.
The SS Berea Victory (MCV-734) was a type VC2-S-AP2 Victory-class cargo ship built for the United States during World War II. The ship was built as part of the Emergency Shipbuilding program by Permanente Metals Corporation in Yard 2 of the Richmond Shipyards in Richmond, California. Launched on 3 March 1945, the Berea Victory delivered supplies for the Pacific War.
USNS Pvt. Joseph F. Merrell (T-AK-275),, was a Victory ship and the second ship of the Lt. James E. Robinson-class cargo ship built in 1944. The ship is named after Private Joseph F. Merrell, an American soldier who was awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II.