USS ''Alcor'', AK-259, was a in service with the

United States 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 ...

from 1952 to 1968. She was originally built in 1944 as SS ''Rockland Victory'', a

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 ...

era

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 ...

. She was sold for scrap in 1970.

History

She was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract (MCV hull 101) on 28 February 1944 at

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 ...

, by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp. She was launched on 29 April as SS ''Rockland Victory'', sponsored by Mrs. Thomas M. Jones, a citizen of Portland. She was operated for the Maritime Commission by

Waterman Steamship Company Waterman is an American deep sea ocean carrier, specializing in liner services and time charter contracts. It is owned by SEACOR Holdings. History Waterman was founded in 1919 in Mobile, Alabama by John Barnett Waterman, Henry Crawford Slaton, ...

and a succession of contractors between 1944 and 1950 as a

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 ...

, acquired by the Navy on 10 July 1951, converted for naval service by Ira S. Bushy and Sons, Inc., of

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and commissioned on 1 March 1952.

World War II

She served in the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, participated 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 ...

from 16 April 1945 to 5 May 1945.

War Relief and Seacowboys

In 1946 after World War II the ''Rockland Victory'' was converted to a

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

ship, also called a cowboy ship. From 1945 to 1947 the

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in November 1943, it was dissolved in September 1948. it became part o ...

and the Brethren Service Committee of the

Church of the Brethren The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren (german: link=no, Schwarzenauer Neutäufer "Schwarzenau New Baptists") tradition that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Germa ...

sent livestock to war-torn countries. These "

seagoing cowboys Seagoing cowboys is a term used for men and ships used from 1945 to 1947 for United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and the Brethren Service Committee of the Church of the Brethren that sent livestock to war-torn countries ...

" made about 360 trips on 73 different ships. The ''Heifers for Relief project'' was started by the Church of the Brethren in 1942; in 1953 this became ''Heifer International''. The SS ''Rockland Victory'' was one of these ships, known as

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

ships, as she moved livestock across the Atlantic Ocean. ''Rockland Victory'' made 7 trips she took 780 horses, several thousand baby chicks and hay bales to on each trip. ''Rockland Victory'' moved horses, heifers, and mules as well as a some chicks, rabbits, and goats. In 1947 with her war and relief work done she was laid up in at

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...

and later the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

as part of the

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 ...

Post World War II

The cargo ship was assigned to the Service Force, Atlantic Fleet, and homeported in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. Between 1952 and August 1960, she made 19 deployments to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

to replenish the ships of the

Sixth Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in ...

. In addition to these voyages, the vessel made eight short cruises to the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

for replenishment of bases and units there as well as for training and liberty.

Missiles support

Between August and November 1960, ''Alcor'' underwent two restricted availabilities at the

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

which altered the cargo ship to enable her to transport, monitor, and handle Polaris missiles and their parts. ''Alcor'' was designated resupply ship for fleet

ballistic missile submarines A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. The United States Navy's hull classification symbols for ballistic missile submarines are SSB and SSBN – t ...

and tenders deployed overseas. Tests of her new capability were successfully conducted with training missiles alongside anchored five miles off

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 ...

in November 1960 and with the actual weapons alongside Proteus and at

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

, in February 1961. In March, ''Alcor'' got underway for her first of 15 resupply voyages to

Holy Loch The Holy Loch ( gd, An Loch Sianta/Seunta) is a sea loch, a part of the Cowal peninsula coast of the Firth of Clyde, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The "Holy Loch" name is believed to date from the 6th century, when Saint Munn landed there afte ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, during the next four years in support of fleet ballistic missile operations. In 1962, her home port was changed to

, to facilitate the loading of provisions and Polaris missiles for the tender deployed at Holy Loch. In April 1964, when the second overseas FBM resupply site was activated in

Rota, Spain The town of Rota is a Spanish municipality located in the Province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Its surface area is 84 km2 and is bordered by the towns of Chipiona, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María. It is located near the city of ...

, she began operations replenishing the newly commissioned tender based there and made six round trips during the first year. From 1965 until 1968, ''Alcor'' continued to deploy to Rota and Holy Loch in support of the Polaris missile program. The cargo ship also delivered supplies where needed to units of the 2d and 6th Fleets and provided exercise and training services during Fleet operations in the Atlantic and Caribbean.

Decommissioning and fate

On 30 December 1968, ''Alcor'' was decommissioned at Charleston; and her name was struck from the Navy list on the following day. The cargo ship was sold to Lotti S.P.A. of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, in January 1970 and scrapped.

Honors

Crew of Naval Armed Guard on the SS ''Rockland 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 occupation of Okinawa from 16 April 1945 to 5 May 1945. She used her deck guns to defend herself and other ships in action."Battle Stars" in World War II.
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References

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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive USS Alcor (AK-259)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alcor (AK-259) 1944 ships Victory ships Ships built in Portland, Oregon Cargo ships of the United States Navy World War II merchant ships of the United States Greenville Victory-class cargo ships Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States