Misplaced Pages

Typical Liberty Ship at sea.
History
United States
Name	SS Colgate Victory
Namesake	Colgate University
Owner	War Shipping Administration
Operator	Pacific-Atlantic Steamship Company
Builder	Oregon Shipbuilding Company Portland
Laid down	January 9, 1945
Launched	February 20, 1945
Completed	March 21, 1945
Fate	Sold
History
United States
Name	SS Hong Kong Transport 1948
Operator	Pacific Transport Lines
Fate	Sold
History
United States
Name	SS Illinois 1957
Operator	Pacific Transport Lines
Fate	Sold
History
United States
Name	SS Illinois 1957
Operator	Pacific Transport Lines
Fate	Sold
History
United States
Name	SS Illinois 1958
Operator	States Steamship Co, San Francisco.
Fate	Sold
History
United States
Name	SS Oregon Victory 1962
Operator	West Coast SS Company in Portland, Ore.
Fate	Sold
History
United States
Name	SS Ridgefield Victory 1964
Operator	Saxis SS Co
Fate	Sold
History
United States
Name	SS Ridgefield Victory 1966
Operator	Standard Steamship Corp, of Wilmington, Del.
Fate	Sold
History
United States
Name	SS Ridgefield Victory 1968
Operator	U.S. Maritime Administration in laid up
Fate	scrapped in 1969 in Bilbao, Spain.
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 Colgate Victory was the Second of 153 Victory ships built during World War II. She was launched by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation on December 15, 1944, completed on January 12, 1945. The ship's United States Maritime Commission designation was VC2-S-AP3, hull number 170 (1224) (MCV-170). The Maritime Commission turned her over to a civilian contractor, Pacific-Atlantic SS Company, for operation.

World War II

The SS Colgate Victory was used as cargo ship in World War II operated by the Pacific-Atlantic Steamship Company under charter with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration. Colgate Victory was 170 of the new 10,500-ton class ship known as Victory ships. Victory ships were designed to replace the earlier Liberty Ships. Liberty ships were designed to be used just for WW2. Victory ships were designed to last longer and serve the US Navy after the war. The Victory ship differed from a Liberty ship in that they were: faster, longer and wider, taller, a thinner stack set farther toward the superstructure and had a long raised forecastle.

SS Colgate Victory was loaded full with 6,000 pounds of blockbuster bomb 500 lb. bombs and sent to help with the Battle of Okinawa and the planned invasion of Japan. She delivered the bombs to Marshall Islands at Enewetak Atoll base and then some bombs to the Caroline Island base. The Ulithi Atoll in the Caroline Islands was used as a staging base for the invasion of Okinawa. She was close enough to see the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945. She survived the October 1945 Louise typhoon. June 19, 1945 the SS Tate sent a Medical Officers to help a crew member of Colgate Victory, just as they pass the International Date Line in the Pacific. In 1947 she helped in the rescue of a ship that hit a reef near Iwo Jima, all 39 persons aboard the wrecked cargo freighter were moved to small boat and transferred to the SS Colgate Victory. She returned them to Los Angeles Colgate Victory arrived to San Francisco from Manila on March 2, 1947.

Post war use

She was sold on May 25, 1948 to Pacific Transport Lines of San Francisco and renamed SS Hong Kong Transport for $996,160.37. In 1957 sold to the Pacific Transport Lines renamed her SS Illinois. In 1958 she was sold to the States Steamship Co, San Francisco. In 1961 she was sold to the US Department of Commerce and laid up in San Francisco. In 1962 she was sold to the West Coast SS Company in Portland, Ore. renamed SS Oregon Victory used as a Merchant Mariner ship again. In 1964 she was sold to Saxis SS Co and renamed the SS Ridgefield Victory used as a Merchant Mariner ship. In 1966 she was sold Standard Steamship Corp, Wilmington, Del. kept name Ridgefield Victory used as a Merchant Mariner ship. Ridgefield Victory was on Bangkok, Thailand, on January 12, 1967 when one of the Merchant Mariner seaman deserted she, court case came to be due to this action. In 1968 she was transfer back to the U.S. Maritime Administration and laid up. She was scrapped in Dec. of 1969 in Bilbao, Spain.

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. shipbuildinghistory.com Merchantships Victory ships
3. shipbuildinghistory.com, Victory Ships list
4. Salute to Veterans - News Progress, November 10, 2015
5. Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois on November 11, 2008
6. November 11, 2008, Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois · Page 18
7. Combat Loaded: Across the Pacific on the USS Tate, By Thomas E. Crew
9. The Daily Notes from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania · Page 5, March 5, 1947
10. The Shanghai evening post and mercury, AUGUST 2, 1946.
11. SS Hong Kong Transport
12. IN THE MATTER OF MERCHANT MARINER'S DOCUMENT NO. Z-1135501 AND ALL OTHER SEAMAN'S DOCUMENTS, Issued to: HARVEY L. GLOTZER, DECISION OF THE COMMANDANT UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

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 2005-09-22 at the Wayback Machine

• Victory ships
• Ships built in Portland, Oregon
• United States Merchant Marine
• 1945 ships
• World War II merchant ships of the United States