USNS ''Victoria'' (T-AK-281) was a ''Norwalk''-class fleet ballistic missile cargo ship, which was launched as a World War II commercial Victory

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

SS ''Ethiopia Victory'' under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. The ''Ethiopia Victory'' was acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1963.

Victory ship built in California

SS ''Ethiopia Victory'' was laid down under

U.S. 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 ...

contract at

Permanente Metals Corporation Permanente Metals Corporation (PMC) is best known for having managed the Richmond Shipyards in Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorpor ...

, of

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a Richmond, California City Council, city council.

on 20 April 1944; launched 20 April 1944 at

Kaiser Richmond No. 2 Yard The four Richmond Shipyards, in the city of Richmond, California, United States, were run by Permanente Metals and part of the Kaiser Shipyards. In World War II, Richmond built more ships than any other shipyard, turning out as many as three ship ...

; and delivered to her operator, Waterman Steamship Corporation on 17 July 1944. In 1963 she was renamed the USNS ''Victoria''. ''Ethiopia Victory'' was one of many new 10,500-ton ships to be known as a Victory ship, designed to replace the earlier Liberty ships. Liberty ships were designed to be used solely for World War II, whereas Victory ships were designed to last longer and to serve the US Navy after the war. Victory ships differed from Liberty ships in that they were faster, longer, wider, taller, and had a thinner stack set farther toward the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

. In addition, they had a long raised forecastle.

World War II service

''Ethiopia Victory'' was owned by the Maritime Commission, she served on the merchant sealanes under the control of the War Shipping Administration during the World War II work. She was operated by the

Agwilines Inc Agwilines Inc was a passenger and cargo shipping company of New York City. Agwilines is short for Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Steamship Inc. AGWI Lines group operated four main lines in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s: *Ward Line *Clyde Steamship Co ...

. She took part in 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 ...

. At Okinawa, the ''Ethiopia Victory'' used its deck guns to defend herself and the ships around her. On 12 May 1945 she helped down a kamikaze plane which crashed into the battleship . ''Ethiopia Victory'' was taken out of service on 10 August 1948. With the war over and her post-war work completed, on 28 July 1950 she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Korean War

On 24 August 1950 ''Ethiopia Victory'' was removed from the

Reserve Fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

and serviced to return her to active duty for the Korean War. ''Ethiopia Victory'' served as merchant marine ship, by the American President Lines, supplying goods for the Korean War. About 75 percent of the personnel taking to Korea for the Korean War came by the merchant marine ships. Her next chartered operator was the Marine Navigation Company. On 4 September 1952 she was put in a Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Washington. On 26 March 1953 she was put back in operation with the

Olympic Steamship Company Victory ship Olympic Steamship Company was founded in Seattle, Washington on August 22, 1925 by John Ambler, Charles A. Wallace and William W. Shorthill. Olympic Steamship Company had routes that served the Pacific Northwest. Olympic Steamship ...

. With the war over, on 6 October 1953 she was put in

Hudson River Reserve Fleet The Hudson River Reserve Fleet, formally the Hudson River National Defense Reserve Fleet and popularly the Mothball Fleet, was established by act of Congress in 1946 as a component of the National Defense Reserve Fleet. It was first located off T ...

. On 6 February 1957, she was reactivated and chartered by American Export Lines. On 25 September 1957, she was returned to the Hudson River Reserve Fleet.

US Navy

On 18 August 1964 ''Ethiopia Victory'' was refitted to be a fleet ballistic missile cargo ship at the American Ship Building Company of Toledo, Ohio, to support fleet ballistic missile (FBM) submarine tender. ''Ethiopia Victory'' was renamed USNS ''Victoria'' on 22 May 1965. She was put into service in October 1965 as a fleet ballistic missile cargo ship, she transported torpedoes, Poseidon missiles, packaged petroleum, and spare parts to deployed to the submarine tender. She was placed into service with

Military Sealift Command Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...

(MSC) as USNS ''Victoria'' (T-AK-281) on 30 December 1963. ''Victoria'' Her regular assignment remains into 1970 the transportation of missile components and ship's stores from

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

to submarine tenders at Holy Loch as an U.S. Navy auxiliary ship.

Inactivation

''Victoria'' was taken out of service in 1984 and laid up in the Maritime Administration (MARAD) National Defense Reserve Fleet at the James River Reserve Fleet. She was struck from the Navy List on 31 March 1986. She was sold for scrapping on 15 October 1987 to An-hsiung-Iron Steel Company in

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...

, Taiwan.

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 Ships alphabetical list War II
*Victory Cargo Ship

{{DEFAULTSORT:Victoria (T-AK-281) Victory ships 1944 ships World War II merchant ships of the United States Ships built in Richmond, California Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States