USNS ''Perseus'' (T-AF-64) was a ''Denebola''-class

stores ship Store may refer to: Enterprises * Retail store, a shop where merchandise is sold, usually products and usually on a retail basis, and where wares are often kept ** App store, an online retail store where apps are sold, included in many mobile op ...

acquired by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

. Her task was to carry stores, refrigerated items, and equipment to ships in the fleet, and to remote stations and staging areas. ''Perseus'' was laid down as SS ''Union Victory'' a

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 ...

, (MCV hull 683) by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.,

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, 30 March 1945; launched 11 May 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Claude F. Palmer; and delivered to the

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 ...

, 8 June 1945. For cargo transport 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 ...

SS ''Union Victory'' operations under contract

Operated on contract from the Maritime Commission, SS ''Union Victory'' carried military cargoes during the last months of World War II in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

; the initial year of the European Occupation; and, four years later, the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. After

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

she returned to commercial transport, then entered the

Maritime Administration Maritime administrations, or flag state administrations, are the executive arms/state bodies of each government responsible for carrying out the shipping responsibilities of the state, and are tasked to administer national shipping and boating issue ...

’s

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

. ''Union Victory'' was delivered to the Maritime Commission, 8 June 1945 transferred under a General Agency Agreement to Alaska Transportation Company On 28 June 1946 transferred for operation to

Black Diamond Steamship Company Black Diamond Steamship Company (BDSC) operated passenger and cargo liners from New York City to Rotterdam and Antwerp. It was founded by J.E. Dockendorff in 1919, and named the American Diamond Line by the United States Shipping Board. The compa ...

. Operation transferred to the South Atlantic SS Company on 21 October 1948. She was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in Beaumont Texas on 12 November 1948. On 27 July 1950 she was put back into service and transferred to the

Mississippi Shipping Company Mississippi Shipping Company (also called Delta Line) of New Orleans, Louisiana was a passenger and cargo steamship company founded in 1919. In 1961 officially changed its name to the Delta Line. The Mississippi Shipping Co. serviced port from t ...

. Transferred operation to

American Mail Line American Mail Line of Seattle, Washington was a commercial steamship service with routes to and from Seattle, Washington and the Far East. American Mail Line was founded in 1920, by Pacific Steamship Company also with a $500,000 investment from ...

on 19 April 1952. She was laid up again into the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, WA. on 26 May 1952. She was put back in service and transferred back to the American Mail Line Ltd. on 25 September 1952. On 14 October 1952 she again was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, WA. On SS 7 November 1961 the SS ''Union Victory'' ownership was transferred to the US Navy. SS ''Union Victory'' served as merchant marine naval ship supplying goods for the

. About 75 percent of the personnel going to Korea for the Korean War came by the merchant marine. SS ''Union Victory'' transported goods, mail, food and other supplies. About 90 percent of the cargo was moved by merchant marine naval ships to the war zone. ''Union Victory'' made trip between 18 November 1950 and 23 December 1952 helping American forces engaged against

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

aggression in South Korea.Small United States and United Nations Warships in the Korean War, By Paul M. Edwards

Operations under the MSTS

In late 1961 she was transferred to MSTS for conversion to a

refrigeration ship A reefer ship is a refrigerated cargo ship typically used to transport perishable cargo, which require temperature-controlled handling, such as fruits, meat, vegetables, dairy products, and similar items. Description ''Types of reefers:'' Re ...

. Renamed and designated ''Perseus'' (AF–64), 4 December 1961, she was converted by the Willamette Iron and Steel Co.,

, and in September 1962 was placed in service as ''USNS Perseus'' (T-AF-64) and was manned by a Civil Service crew. Since that time, into 1970, she has operated under

ComMSTSPac 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 ...

and has carried fresh and frozen foods from the U.S. West Coast to Pacific and Far East ports.

End-of-service

''Perseus'' was placed out of service (date unknown) and struck from the

Naval Register A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

, 15 June 1973. She was returned to

MARAD Marad (Sumerian: Marda, modern Tell Wannat es-Sadum or Tell as-Sadoum, Iraq) was an ancient Near Eastern city. Marad was situated on the west bank of the then western branch of the Upper Euphrates River west of Nippur in modern-day Iraq and roug ...

for lay up in the

. It was sold on 31 August 1973, and scrapped at

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 ...

in 1974.

Military awards and honors

''Perseus’'' crew was eligible for the following medals: * National Defense Service Medal

References

External links