The SS ''Berea Victory'' (MCV-734) was a type VC2-S-AP2 Victory-class

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 ...

built for the United States during World War II. The ship was built as part of the Emergency Shipbuilding program by Permanente Metals Corporation in Yard 2 of the Richmond Shipyards 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.

. Launched on 3 March 1945, the ''Berea Victory'' delivered supplies for 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 ...

. The SS ''Berea Victory'' keel was laid on January 20, 1945, before being christened on March 28, 1945. The ''Berea Victory'' was a

US Maritime Administration The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation. MARAD administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the U.S. Maritime Service and the U.S. Merchant Marine. De ...

armed cargo ship. She was named for Berea College in Berea, Kentucky as one of 150 educational institutions which had Victory ships named after them. Constructed for the

US 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 ...

(MARCOM), this 10,600-ton ship was built at the Oregon Shipbuilding yards in just 67 days. The ship was operated by the

Weyerhaeuser Steamship Company Weyerhaeuser Steamship Company was a was a and cargo Liner company founded in Tacoma, Washington. Weyerhaeuser Steamship Company was founded by Weyerhaeuser Company in 1933. Weyerhaeuser is one of the largest lumber and paper companies in the Un ...

. under the United States Merchant Marine act for the War Shipping Administration. Victory ships were designed to replace the earlier Liberty ships. Liberty ships were intended to be used solely for World War II. In contrast, Victory ships were built to last longer and serve the US Navy after the war. The Victory ship differed from a Liberty ship in that they were faster, longer, wider, taller, and had a thinner stack set farther toward the

superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...

and a long raised forecastle.

World War II

For World War II the ''Berea Victory'' was operated by the Weyerhaeuser SS Company. She had United States Navy Armed Guard to man the deck guns. She took cargo to support troops in the Pacific War. The goods were for 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 ...

operations, that lasted from 1 April until 22 June 1945. The SS ''Berea Victory'' had the dangerous job as being an

ammunition ship An ammunition ship is an auxiliary ship specially configured to carry ammunition, usually for naval ships and aircraft. An ammunition ship's cargo handling systems, designed with extreme safety in mind, include ammunition hoists with airlocks bet ...

for the Battle of Okinawa. 27 May 1945 Berea Victory depart Luzon to

Nakagusuku Bay is a bay on the southern coast of Okinawa Island on the Pacific Ocean in Japan. The bay covers and ranges between to deep. The bay is surrounded by the municipalities of Uruma, Kitanakagusuku, Nakagusuku, Nishihara, Yonabaru, Nanjō, all in ...

, Okinawa with

ammunition 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 weap ...

. The ships: SS Kota Agoeng, SS Cape Constance and SS Greenville Victory were in her convoy. From Nakagusuku Bay she move to Yonabaru as the troops there were low of ammo. The XXIV Corps Ordnance officer unload her 7,200 tons of ammunition with barges, LCMs-

Landing Craft Mechanized The landing craft mechanized (LCM) is a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults. Variants There was no ...

and LCTs- Landing craft tank. The quick amphibian unloading and delivery aided in the completion of the invasion. On April 6, 1945, the ammunition ships SS ''Logan Victory'' and ''

SS Hobbs Victory SS ''Hobbs Victory'' was a cargo Victory ship built for World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. ''Hobbs Victory'', was launched on January 9, 1945 by Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California and completed on January ...

'' sank after kamikaze attack planes hit them. On April 27, 1945, the ammunition ships SS ''Canada Victory'', sank after a kamikaze attack. The loss of the three ammunition Victory ships severely hurt the combat forces. These ships were carrying a total of 24,000 tons (54 million pounds) of ammunition; including most of the 81 mm mortar shells needed for the invasion. SS ''Saginaw Victory'' and the ''Berea Victory'' were the only ammunition ship to survive, ''Saginaw Victory'' was able to unload all her ammunition over 12 days with the help of a Naval Construction Battalion.US Navy, Armed Guard Service
/ref> More ammunition ships were not needed as the war came to an end without the invasion of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, called

Operation Downfall Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, th ...

. Forty-seven ships were sunk by ''kamikaze'' attack during World War II. In 1946 she was operated by the Pan-Atlantic to move post war goods. After the war in 1948 she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Hudson River, and later transferred to

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 ...

Korean War

''Berea Victory'' served as a merchant marine ship supplying ammunition for the Korean War. About 75 percent of the personnel serving in the Korean War were delivered by the merchant marine ships. ''Berea Attorney'' transported goods, mail, and other supplies. About 90 percent of the cargo was moved by merchant marine ships to the war zone. ''Berea Victory'' made trips between 1951 and 1952. At 9am in Suyong, Korea, on 14 August 1951 Colonel Mattis saw smoke rising from #5 hatch of the ''Berea Victory'' as she was being unloaded in the harbor. Colonel Mattis took a small boat and found a lit parachute-flare in the ship's hold. Later it was found that a Korean laborer had put it there. The ship's hold had 575 tons of flares, bombs, and other ammunition. Colonel Mattis went down in the smoke-filled hold and removed the burning flare saving the ship. Following his actions others joined to put out the fire. Later Lieutenant Colonel Mattis was awarded a medal for he actions.

Vietnam War

''Berea Victory'' was removed from the reserve fleet in 1966 and chartered to ferry military equipment to American forces in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

for the Vietnam War. ''Berea Victory'' has the dangerous job of delivering ammunition. It took her 21 days to travel from San Francisco to

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

. She took supplies to Qui Nhơn in central Vietnam. On 25 Oct. 1967, while docked at Qui Nhon, Vietnamese civilians placed bombs in a hold. The explosion and fire killed 12 men in LCM and 5 Army on the ship. 10 Army men and 10 merchant seamen were wounded. U.S. Merchant Marine, Military Sea Transportation Service, and Military Sealift Command in Vietnam
/ref> In 1993 she removed from the

reserve fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

and was

scrapped Scrap consists of recyclable materials, usually metals, left over from product manufacturing and consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has monetary value, especially recovered me ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

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:Berea Victory, SS Victory ships Ships built in Portland, Oregon United States Merchant Marine 1945 ships World War II merchant ships of the United States

World War II

Korean War

Vietnam War

See also

References

Sources