SS ''Hobbs Victory'' was a cargo

Victory ship The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by American shipyards during World War II. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were slightly larger and had more powerful steam turbine engin ...

built for

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

under the

Emergency Shipbuilding program The Emergency Shipbuilding Program (late 1940 – September 1945) was a United States government effort to quickly build simple cargo ships to carry troops and materiel to allies and foreign theatres during World War II. Run by the U.S. Maritim ...

. ''Hobbs Victory'', was launched on January 9, 1945 by

Permanente Metals Corporation Permanente Metals Corporation (PMC) is best known for having managed the Richmond Shipyards in Richmond, California, owned by one of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser, Henry J. Kaiser's many corporations, and also engaged in related corporate activit ...

Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 3, 1905, and has a Richmond, California, City Council, city council.

and completed on January 9, 1945. She was built in just 87 days. She was operated by the Sudden & Christenson for the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission 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, 1950. The co ...

Service history

SS ''Hobbs Victory'' steamed from

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in 1945 to join the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

, stopping at

Ulithi Atoll Ulithi (, , or ; pronounced roughly as YOU-li-thee) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap, within Yap State. Name The name of the island goes back to Proto-Chuukic ''*úlú-diwo''. Overview U ...

on her way to

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

. ''Hobbs Victory'' had the job of delivering 6,000 pounds of

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

for troops in the Pacific during World War II.

Okinawa, kamikaze strike

''Hobbs Victory'' loaded with 6,000 pounds of ammunition and steamed to Okinawa for the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

, from 1 to 6 April 1945. On April 6, 1945, she was anchored off Kuba Island, just off

Tokashiki Island is the largest of the Kerama Islands, a group of Japanese islands southwest of Okinawa Island, Okinawa in the Pacific Ocean. The island is administered from the village of Tokashiki, Okinawa, Tokashiki in Shimajiri District, Okinawa, Shimajiri D ...

and

Aka Island is an island in the Pacific Ocean and is part of the Kerama Islands group in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The island is commonly known as Aka or Aka-shima and is located some 15 miles to the southwest of Okinawa Island. It has a subtropical climat ...

near Okinawa, part of

Naval Base Okinawa Naval Base Okinawa, now Naval Facility Okinawa, encompasses a number of bases built after the Battle of Okinawa by United States Navy on Okinawa Island, Japan. The naval bases were built to support the landings on Okinawa on April 1, 1945, and the ...

. , that was near ''Hobbs Victory'', also loaded with 6,000 pounds of ammunition, was hit and sunk by a

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

that struck her

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 ...

. ''Hobbs Victory'' steamed away from ''Logan Victory,'' at 15 knots. A second kamikaze struck ''Hobbs Victory'' at 6:50 pm, port side near #4 lifeboat on the boat deck. It spread flames that exploded the port boiler, stopping the engine. Some

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

were lowered into the sea and the order to abandon ship was given. Due to the flames, some jumped overboard into the sea.

Ammunition explodes in cargo hold

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

fireboat A fireboat or Fire-float Pyronaut, fire-float is a specialized watercraft with pumps and nozzles designed for fighting shoreline and shipboard fires. The first fireboats, dating to the late 18th century, were tugboats, retrofitted with ...

fought the flames, but the next morning there was a large ammunition explosion in her cargo and she sank at . In the plane attack and fire 12 of the crew were killed, 11 of the civilian crew and one armed guard. The US Navy

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

rescued the survivors of ''Hobbs Victory'' and later transferred them to the attack transport . In an earlier attack off Kuba Island the

Landing Ship, Tank A Landing Ship, Tank (LST) is a ship first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto a low-slope beach with no dock (maritime), docks or pier ...

also sank. was able to shoot down one plane and move away from the burning ships. All these

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 ...

s: ''Hobbs Victory'', ''Logan Victory'', ''Pierre Victory'' and ''LST-447'' were firing their

deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose w ...

s and were able to stop some of the kamikaze planes attacking. The Victory ships used their 3"/50 caliber guns, 20 mm Oerlikon cannons, and at longer range, 5 inch guns. The LST also had 20 mm Oerlikon cannons to use against the attackers. These ships with over 18,000 pounds of ammunition were anchored off Kuba Island, so they would not be anchored next to the other fleet ships at Okinawa. They were called in as needed to resupply the fleet and shore troops with ammunition. SS ''Canada Victory'' also sank at Okinawa on April 27, 1945. The loss of the three Victory ships ''Logan Victory'', ''Hobbs Victory'' and ''Canada Victory'', each sunk by kamikaze attacks during the invasion of Okinawa, severely hurt the combat forces during the invasion of Okinawa. The Victory ships were carrying a total of 24,000 tons (54 million pounds) of ammunition. This including most of the 81 mm mortar shells needed for the invasion. The ammunition ship arrived April 12, 1945 at Okinawa to replace the ammunition lost on ''Hobbs Victory'', ''Logan Victory'' and ''Canada Victory''. More ammunition ships were not needed, as the war came to an end without the invasion of Japan, 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 ...

. The other ammunition ship at Okinawa was the SS ''Berea Victory''. ''Hobbs Victory'' was one of forty-seven ships sunk by kamikaze attack during World War II.

Honors

Crew of naval armed guard on SS ''Hobbs Victory'' earned "

Battle Stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star 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 service period. T ...

" in World War II for war action during the assault occupation of Okinawa on 6 April 1945. She used her deck guns to defend herself and other ships."Battle Stars" in World War II.
/ref>

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:Hobbs Victory, SS Victory ships Ships built in Richmond, California 1945 ships World War II merchant ships of the United States Ships sunk by kamikaze attack Ammunition ships of the United States Navy

Service history

Okinawa, kamikaze strike

Ammunition explodes in cargo hold

Honors

See also

References

Sources