SS ''Maritime Victory'', hull number 821, VC2-S-AP2/WSAT, renamed USAT ''Pvt. Frederick C. Murphy'', was an American Army

troop transport A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

which saw duty just after

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 ...

. The ''Maritime Victory'' was unusual in that as an AP2 vessel, the cargo holds were converted for troop berthing (though with reduced cargo-carrying ability) and topside cargo handling gear was retained. A total of 97 such VC2-S-AP2 conversions were planned, 84 completed. "In the summer of 1945, eighty-four VC2-S-AP2 Victory ships, including the Maritime Victory, were converted into troopships by MARITIME VICTORY the U.S. Maritime Commission in preparation for an assault on the Japanese home islands. The ship made several crossings of the Atlantic Ocean and was used to repatriate American troops from Europe after World War II. pp. 1-2 On 5 July 1946 the ship was returned to the U.S. Army. On 30 August 1946 it was put into the reserve fleet and renamed USAT ''Pvt. Frederick C. Murphy'' on 10 February 1950 in honor of World War II

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipient

Frederick C. Murphy Frederick C. Murphy (July 27, 1918 – March 19, 1945) was a recipient of the Medal of Honor during World War II while serving as a medic in the US 65th Infantry Division. Background Murphy was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and lived in Quin ...

. As one of the last surviving ships of her kind she received extensive documentation by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

in 2006, which produced the archival record
Private Frederick C. Murphy HAER Report
'.

History

Construction and operation

She was launched at the

Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard The Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard of Baltimore, Maryland, was a shipyard in the United States from 1941 until 1945. Located on the south shore of the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River which serves as the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, Ba ...

s on Tuesday, 22 May 1945, sponsored by J. Buell Snyder, wife of Congressman Snyder.''The Evening Standard'', "The Local Events of Other Years", p. 4, 19 May 1955 Delivered on 18 June 1945, she was transferred to the Army War Department as an Army Transport. She was operated under contract by the

American South African Line Farrell Lines Incorporated was a boat company named in 1948 after James A. Farrell, Jr., and John J. Farrell, sons of James Augustine Farrell, president of US Steel. The company was previously known as American South African Lines (ASAL). It was a ...

.Maritime Victory ship history at US DOT Maritime Administratio

Amer. So. African Line, Inc.

In Army service

The ''Maritime Victory'' was delivered to the USAT as a transport in June 1945. The ship made several crossings carrying troops from the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

, especially between

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

and New York. From Le Havre she often left from the area known as the

Cigarette Camp A Cigarette Camp was one of a number of temporary U.S. Army "tent cities" situated principally around the French ports of Le Havre and Marseilles following their captures by Allied Forces in the wake of the Allied D-Day invasion in June 1944 and ...

s as part of

Operation Magic Carpet Operation Magic Carpet was the post-World War II operation by the War Shipping Administration to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European, Pacific, and Asian theaters. Hundreds of Liberty ships, Victory ships ...

to take US troops home. The ship, having been launched only days after

V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

was primarily designed to transport troops both to and from Europe. While the main use of the ship was to transport troops, the ship was also used for humanitarian efforts in the immediate post-war time period. The ship made several crossings of the Atlantic. Many of the ships used to transport troops to Europe in the early days of the war were lost or functionally worn out. The Victory ship was newer and faster than the Liberty ships. When it was time to bring troops home the net transfer was mostly in moving troops from Europe to America instead of the other way around. Some transportation of food and supplies were made in a role as a cargo ship to provide relief to the war torn countries of Europe, especially Germany.

Ready Reserve Fleet and scrapping

The ship was preserved in mothball status at the

Beaumont Reserve Fleet The Beaumont Reserve Fleet, was established by act of Congress in 1946, as a component of the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF). The fleet is located in Beaumont, Texas. History In 1946, the US Government excavated 24 million cubic yards of s ...

in Beaumont, Texas. It was laid up in 1950. From 1983 to about 1990 the ''Fredrick C. Murphy'' was used as the fleet utility ship at Beaumont Reserve. In this role some offices were maintained aboard the ship. The

Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HAER) visited the ''Private Frederick C. Murphy'' in 2006 to document the ship. , the ship has been removed from inventory of Beaumont Reserve. It is now located at Esco in Brownsville, Texas and awaits scrapping. Scrapping may be complete as soon as September 2006.

Known sailings

References

External links

Photos of ''Maritime Victory'' / ''Pvt. Frederick C Murphy''

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maritime Victory 1945 ships World War II merchant ships of the United States Victory ships Troop ships of the United States Historic American Engineering Record in Texas