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Typical Victory Ship.
History
United States
Name	SS Chanute Victory
Namesake	Octave Chanute
Owner	War Shipping Administration
Operator	American-Hawaiian Steamship Company
Builder	California Shipbuilding Company, Los Angeles
Laid down	November 29, 1944
Launched	January 19, 1945
Completed	February 20, 1945
Fate	Sold in 1947
Netherlands
Name	SS Alphacca in 1947
Operator	N.V.Van Nievelt, Goudriaan & Co, Rotterdam.
Fate	Sold in 1964
Taiwan
Name	SS Hai-Fu 1964
Acquired	China Merchants S.N.Co, Port of Keelung
Fate	Sold in 1973
Taiwan
Name	SS Kai-Ming 1973
Acquired	Yang Ming Marine Transport Co, Taipei
Renamed	SS Ming Cathay in 1977
Identification	IMO number: 5012448
Fate	Scrapped in 1978 at Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
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)
Draught	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	1 × 5 inch (127 mm)/38 caliber gun 1 × 3 inch (76 mm)/50 caliber gun 8 × 20 mm Oerlikon
Notes

The SS Chanute Victory was a Victory ship built during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. She was launched by the California Shipbuilding Company on January 19, 1945, and completed on February 20, 1945. The ship's United States Maritime Commission designation was VC2- S- AP3, hull number 79 (V44).

World War II

SS Chanute Victory served as a troop ship in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans during World War II. She was operated by the American-Hawaiian SS Company. Just before the end of the war, the Chanute Victory's Captain Larz Neilson steamed out of New York City to take new troops to Europe. But, three day out she was told to turn around and go home, back up the East River, as the war was nearing an end in Europe. She served as a troop ship again, but as part of Operation Magic Carpet to bring troops home. SS Chanute Victory and 96 other Victory ships were converted to troop ships to bring the US soldiers home at the end of World War II. Some of her noted trips: Chanute Victory returned 1,403 Army veterans to San Francisco from Yokohama, Japan on Jan. 24, 1946. On May 17, 1946 she arrived in New York City returning Army veterans to the States. December 1946 she sailed from Piraeus, Greece to Genoa, Italy, then to Lisbon, Portugal picking up troops and returning them to New York. Chanute Victory, returned 1061 troops from Bremen, Germany on June 25, 1946 . In December 1945 she returned troop home from Le Havre, France.

Post war

After the war in 1947 she was sold to N.V.Van Nievelt, Goudriaan & Co, of Rotterdam, Netherlands and renamed SS Alphacca. In 1964 she was sold to China Merchants S.N.Co, in Port of Keelung, Taiwan and renamed SS Hai-Fu . In 1973 she was sold to Yang Ming Marine Transport Company in Taipei, Taiwan and renamed SS Kai Ming. In 1977 Yang Ming Marine Transport Company renamed her the SS Ming Cathay. In 1978 she was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

See also

• List of Victory ships
• Liberty ship
• Type C1 ship
• Type C2 ship
• Type C3 ship

References

1. Babcock & Wilcox (April 1944). "Victory Ships". Marine Engineering and Shipping Review.
2. Home News, Capt. Neilson’s 100th birthday, June 24, 2011, By LARZ F. NEILSON and PETER A. NEILSON
3. ww2troopships.com crossings in 1945
4. "Troop Ship of World War II, April 1947, Page 356-357" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2016-12-26.
5. 69th infantry division, newsletter, 1986
6. The Kane Republican from Kane, Pennsylvania, February 11, 1946 Page 6
7. The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana, Page 24, May 18, 1946
8. [The Pittsburgh Press from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 25, 1946
9. skylighters, Going Home
10. Binghamton NY Press Grayscale 1945 - Fulton History, Oct. 15, 1945
11. ww2troopships.com crossings in 1945
12. "Troop Ship of World War II, April 1947, Page 356-357" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-12-22. Retrieved 2016-12-26.
13. Our Troop Ships
14. Troop Crossings, 1946
15. Photo Chanute Victory and crew
16. Photo Chanute Victory
17. Mariners, The Website Of The Mariners Mailing List., Victory Ships
18. shipbuildinghistory.com, List of Victory ships

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 Archived 2018-11-10 at the Wayback Machine

• Victory ships
• Ships built in Los Angeles
• United States Merchant Marine
• 1945 ships
• World War II merchant ships of the United States
• Cargo liners
• Troop ships of the United States