SS ''Logan Victory'' was a cargo

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 sli ...

built for

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 opposing ...

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 ...

. The ''Logan Victory'' was launched January 16, 1945, by

Permanente Metals Corporation Permanente Metals Corporation (PMC) is best known for having managed the Richmond Shipyards in Richmond, California, owned by one of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser's many corporations, and also engaged in related corporate activities. These four ...

, Richmond, California and completed on February 6, 1945. She was operated by the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company under the

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 ...

World War II

SS ''Logan Victory'' steamed from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

on February 18, 1945, to join the Pacific War efforts. ''Logan Victory'' had the job of delivering of ammunition for troops in the Pacific during World War II to

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 ...

. The ship steamed 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 ...

for the Battle of Okinawa that lasted from April 1 to 6, 1945. On April 6, 1945, she was anchored off Kuba Island, just off

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. Okina ...

and

Aka Island is an island in the Pacific Ocean and is part of the Kerama Islands group in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The island is commonly known as Aka or Aka-shima and is located some 15 miles to the southwest of Okinawa Island. It has a subtropical climat ...

near Okinawa. shot down 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 t ...

attack plane coming at the fleet. Although the plane was hit with gunfire and caught on fire, it banked and hit the superstructure of ''Logan Victory'' at 4:47PM. The ship burst into flames and the fire grew. All of her

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

were lowered into the sea and the order was given to abandon ship 10 minutes after the kamikaze hit. Her cargo caught fire and the ammunition caused a large explosion. She sank quickly at . In the explosion twelve of her civilian crew and three of her armed guards were killed, including the ship's captain, Edson Baxter Cates. In the same attack the

landing ship tank Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto shore wi ...

sank. Just after this attack , also loaded with 6,000 pounds of ammunition was hit and sank. was able to shoot down one plane and move away from the burning ships. All these ammunition ships: SS ''Logan Victory'', SS ''Hobbs Victory'', SS ''Pierre Victory'' and USS ''LST-447'' used their

deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...

s and were able to stop some of the kamikaze planes from attacking. The Victory ships used their 50 caliber guns, 20 mm Oerlikon cannons and at longer ranges the larger 5-inch guns. The LST also had 20 mm Oerlikon cannon to use against the attackers. These ships with over 18,000 pounds of ammunition were sent to an anchorage off Kuba Island, so they would not be anchored next to the other fleet ships. They were to be called in as needed to resupply the fleet and shore troops. ''Logan Victory'', one of three Victory ships lost to kamikazes during the invasion of Okinawa, diminished the supplies of the invasion fleet. The three Victory ships were carrying a total of 24,000 tons (54 million pounds) of ammunition. This 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 Victory ships. More ammunition ships were not needed as the war came to an end without the invasion of Japan, called Operation Downfall.US Navy, Armed Guard Service
/ref> ''Logan Victory'' was one of forty-seven ships sunk by kamikaze attack during World War II. The other ammunition ship at Okinawa was the SS ''Berea Victory''

Honors

Crew of the Naval Armed Guard on SS ''Logan 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 May 8, 1945. She used her deck guns to defend herself and other ship in action."Battle Stars" in World War II.
/ref>

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:Logan Victory, SS Victory ships Ships built in Richmond, California 1945 ships World War II merchant ships of the United States Ships sunk by kamikaze attack Ammunition ships of the United States Navy

World War II

Honors

See also

References

Sources