The SS ''Alamo Victory'' was the 42nd
Victory ship built during
World War II under the
Emergency Shipbuilding program. She was launched by the
California Shipbuilding Company on July 13, 1944, and completed on August 18, 1944. The ship’s
United States Maritime Commission designation was VC2- S- AP3, hull number 42 (V-32), she worked as
merchant marine for all of her career. SS ''Alamo Victory'' served in the
Pacific Ocean during World War II and was operated by the
Isthmian Steamship Company. The 10,500-ton Victory ships were designed to replace the earlier
Liberty Ships. Liberty ships were designed to be used just for World War II. Victory ships were designed 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 and wider, taller, 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 had a long raised
forecastle.
World War II
SS ''Alamo Victory'' steamed into the Pacific to bring supplies to 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 ...
troops. After World War II
the war victory the ''Alamo Victory'' took supplies to
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 ...
. Her home port was
San Francisco, California. In 1949 the SS ''Alamo Victory'' was laid up in the
National Defense Reserve Fleet at
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 ...
. In 1950 she was reactivated to take supplies to
Korea.
Korean War
SS ''Alamo Victory'' served as Merchant Marine Naval ship supplying goods for the
Korean War and operated by the
States Marine Lines
States Marine Lines was the passenger and cargo of the States Marine Corporation founded by Henry Mercer in 1930 in New York City. In 1931 Cornelius S. Walsh became an investor and the company Secretary. At the started by chartering foreign shi ...
. She made trips to and from
Korea. About 75 percent of the personnel taken to Korea for the Korean War came by the Merchant Marine Ships. SS ''Alamo Victory'' transported goods, mail, food and other supplies. About 90 percent of the cargo was moved by Merchant Marine Naval to the Korea War Zone. SS ''Alamo Victory'' made trips between the US and Korea 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. In 1951 she was put back into the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay.
Vietnam War
In 1965 she was reactivated for
Vietnam War. ''Alamo Victory'' served as Merchant Marine Naval ship supplying goods for the
Vietnam. On August 18, 1969, she ran aground and wad wrecked in
Hurricane Camille at
Gulfport, Mississippi in the
Gulf of Mexico. She was refloated and laid up 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 ...
National Defense Reserve in
Texas. In 1971 she 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 ...
in
New Orleans.
See also
*
List of Victory ships
This is a list of Victory ships. Victory ships were a type of cargo ship which were mass-produced in the United States during World War II.
List
In the following list, ''Keel'' refers to the date of the keel laying, ''Launch'' to the launch da ...
*
Liberty ship
*
Type C1 ship
Type C1 was a designation for small cargo ships built for the United States Maritime Commission before and during World War II. Total production was 493 ships built from 1940 to 1945. The first C1 types were the smallest of the three original M ...
*
Type C2 ship
*
Type C3 ship
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 Ships alphabetical list War II*Victory Cargo Ship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alamo Victory, SS
Victory ships
Ships built in Los Angeles
Merchant ships of the United States
1944 ships
World War II merchant ships of the United States