SS ''Red Oak Victory'' is a U.S.
Victory ship of the used in the
Second World War. She was preserved to serve as a
museum ship
A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...
in
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
,
California, and is located within the
. She was one of 534 Victories built during
World War II, but one of only a few of these ships to be transferred from the
Merchant Marine to the
United States Navy. She was named after
Red Oak, Iowa, which suffered disproportionate casualties in early World War II battles.
[
] (Montgomery County ranked third among Iowa counties in World War II casualties per capita).
The ship was active during
World War II, the
Korean War, and the
Vietnam War.
History
''Red Oak Victory'' was built by the
Permanente Metals Corporation's Richmond Number 1 Yard in
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. and launched on 9 November 1944. Victory ships were not intended to be long-lasting, but the welds of the ''Red Oak Victory'' remained intact after 76 years. The ship is in length, and armed with one
five-inch/38 caliber gun; one
three-inch/50 caliber gun, and eight 20 mm guns.
The ship was acquired by the
United States Navy on December 5, 1944, and commissioned the same day as USS ''Red Oak Victory'' (AK-235). Following a fitting-out period, ''Red Oak Victory'' was loaded with cargo and departed San Francisco for
Pearl Harbor on 10 January 1945. ''Red Oak Victory'' departed Hawaii on 10 February loaded with
munition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weapo ...
s needed in the
Marshall and
Caroline
Caroline may refer to:
People
* Caroline (given name), a feminine given name
* J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player
* Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player
Places Antarctica
* ...
islands. Sent onward from
Enewetak
Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...
, she arrived in
Ulithi on 28 February and then began operating under
Commander Service Squadron Ten
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
. Operating out of the
Philippines, she issued cargo and ammunition to various fleet ships through the war's end in August 1945. During a hazardous tour of duty in the Pacific, ''Red Oak Victory'' handled many tons of ammunition, supplying the fleet without a single casualty.
''Red Oak Victory'' was decommissioned in 1946 and returned to the
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 ...
. ''Red Oak Victory'' was used by the
Luckenbach Steamship Company
Luckenbach is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a community belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
The village lies northeast of Koblenz in the valley of the Kleine Nister. Luckenbach be ...
from 1947 through the 1950s, when the vessel went to Japan, Korea, Cuba, Pakistan, India, Singapore, and Japan again. ''Red Oak Victory'' was operated by
American Mail Lines for the
Military Sea Transport Service
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 ...
from 1966 to 1968, making a dozen voyages to Vietnam, Japan, and the Philippines carrying military supplies loaded at West Coast ports. From 1968 until 1998, she was laid up in the
National Defense Reserve Fleet in
Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a shallow tidal estuary (a northeastern extension of the San Francisco Bay) in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the ent ...
.
Destined to be scrapped, ''Red Oak Victory'' came to the attention of the Richmond Museum Association in 1993. In 1996
Congress passed legislation authorizing the ship's conveyance to the Museum Association. ''Red Oak Victory'' was turned over to the Richmond Museum of History and returned to a new home in Richmond on 20 September 1998. She is being restored and operated by the Richmond Museum of History and is part of the
.
See also
*
References
*
*
**
External links
http://www.redoakvictory.usSS ''Red Oak Victory'' website
Historic Naval Ships Association
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Oak Victory
Victory ships
Boulder Victory-class cargo ships
Ships built in Richmond, California
1944 ships
Ammunition ships of the United States Navy
World War II auxiliary ships of the United States
Museum ships in California
Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in California
National Register of Historic Places in Richmond, California
Military and war museums in California
Museums in Contra Costa County, California
Naval museums in the United States
History of Contra Costa County, California
Tourist attractions in Richmond, California
Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park
Historic American Engineering Record in California
World War II on the National Register of Historic Places in California
James River Reserve Fleet
Astoria Reserve Fleet
Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet