The SS ''Canada Victory'' was one of 531

Victory ship The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by North 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 slight ...

s built during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

under the

Emergency Shipbuilding program The Emergency Shipbuilding Program (late 1940 – September 1945) was a United States government effort to quickly build simple cargo ships to carry troops and materiel to allies and foreign theatres during World War II. Run by the U.S. Maritime ...

. She was launched by the

Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation was a World War II emergency shipyard located along the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. The shipyard built nearly 600 Liberty and Victory ships between 1941 and 1945 under the Emergency Shipb ...

on January 12, 1944, and was completed on February 28, 1944. The ship’s

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

designation was VC2-S-AP3, hull number 93 (1009). The Maritime Commission turned her over to a civilian contractor, the Alaska SS Company, for operation.

World War II

The ''Canada Victory'' was used as a cargo ship in World War II. She was sent to

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

to supply

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

for the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

on April 27, 1945; while unloading the ammunition at

Naval Base Okinawa Naval Base Okinawa, now Naval Facility Okinawa, was and is a number of bases built after the Battle of Okinawa by United States Navy on the Okinawa Island of Japan. The naval bases were built to support the landings on Okinawa on April 1, 1945, an ...

, she was hit by a ''

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

'' attack

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...

in cargo hold five. A large explosion blew out the side of the ship, and she sank in seven minutes at 26.23N 127.41E, west of

Tokashiki Island is the largest of the Kerama Islands, a group of Japanese islands southwest of Okinawa in the Pacific Ocean. The island is administered as the village of Tokashiki in Shimajiri District, Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa ...

. Two armed guards and one merchant mariner were killed, and twelve crew members were wounded in the attack. The , a

fleet ocean tug A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

, picked up survivors of the ''Canada Victory''. The and were also hit by ''kamikaze'' planes at Okinawa. The ''Logan Victory'' and ''Hobbs Victory'' sank as fires on them grew. The was able to shoot down one plane and move away from the burning ships.US Navy, Armed Guard Service
/ref> ''Canada Victory'' was one of three Victory ships, and one of forty-seven ships sunk by ''kamikaze'' attack during World War II. The loss of the three Victory ships, each sunk by ''kamikaze'' attacks during the invasion of Okinawa, severely hurt the combat forces. The 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. The ammunition ship arrived April 12, 1945, at Okinawa to replace the ammunition lost on the ships. More ammunition ships were not needed, as the war came to an end without the invasion of Japan, called

Operation Downfall Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, th ...

. The other ammunition ship at Okinawa was the .

Honors

The crew of Naval Armed Guards on the ''Canada Victory earned

Battle Stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

in World War II for war action during the assault and occupation of Okinawa from April 26 to 27, 1945.

References

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 Ship

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canada Victory, SS Victory ships Ships built in Portland, Oregon Merchant ships of the United States 1944 ships World War II merchant ships of the United States Ships sunk by kamikaze attack Ammunition ships of the United States Navy