SS ''Navajo Victory'' was 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 List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

built during

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 ...

. It was completed by the

California Shipbuilding Company __NOTOC__ California Shipbuilding Corporation built 467 Liberty and Victory ships during World War II, including ''Haskell''-class attack transports. California Shipbuilding Corporation was often referred to as Calship. History In 1916 the ' ...

on June 30, 1944 and served in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

during

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 ...

class vessels were designed to replace the

Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

class. Victory Ships were designed to last longer and to serve the

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 ...

after the war. The Victory Ships were faster, longer, wider, and taller than the Liberty ships, and they 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 ...

as well as a long raised

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck (ship), deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is t ...

Launch

''Navajo Victory'' was christened by Mrs. Tom Price, wife of the general manager of

Kaiser Shipyards The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the West Coast of the United States, United States west coast during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The ...

; the matron of honor was Mrs. Frank Backman. ''Navajo Victory'' was the 15th Victory Ship built by the California Shipbuilding Corporation, it was one of 218 Victory Ships named after cities in the United States.

World War II

''Navajo Victory'' conducted supply operations in the Pacific Ocean throughout the war under the operation of the Luckenbach Line. On October 18, 1944, it entered

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

with another cargo ship, ''Sea Pike'', escorted by a

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

-based destroyer, , for protection. On November 29, 1944, ''Navajo Victory'' and ''Sea Pike'' delivered troops and supplies from

Ewa Villages, Hawaii Ewa or EWA may refer to: Places ; Ethiopia * Ewa (woreda) ; Nauru * Ewa District, Nauru ; United States * Eastern Washington, the portion of the state of Washington east of the Cascade Range * ʻEwa Beach, Hawaii, a census-designated place * E ...

, to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323. ''Navajo Victory'' also delivered supplies for the

liberation of The Philippines Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

, and for the , an American

tank landing ship 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 docks or piers. The shallow d ...

. On December 29, 1944, it supplied fleet ships at

Seeadler Harbor Seeadler Harbor, also known as Port Seeadler, is located on Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea and played an important role in World War II. In German, "Seeadler" means sea eagle, pointing to German New Guinea, German colonial activi ...

Manus Island Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...

. On January 16, 1945, it unloaded troop rations at

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

for the troops stationed there. It prepared for

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 invasion of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, from June 26 to August 15, 1945, with exercises at

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

. The training exercises were halted after the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

on August 15.

Postwar

From 1946 to 1949, ''Navajo Victory'' was a relief ship, a fleet supply ship and as part of the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of Ship, ships of the United States, mostly Merchant ship, merchant vessels, that have been Reserve fleet, mothballed but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during nationa ...

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a Port, port city in and the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the ...

Korean War

''Navajo Victory'' served as a

United States Merchant Marine The United States Merchant Marine is an organization composed of United States civilian sailor, mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of ...

vessel during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. It made nine trips to

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

between November 18, 1950 and December 23, 1952 transporting mail, food, and other supplies, and assisted in the transport of the 140th Tank Battalion. Merchant marine ships transported roughly 75% of all personnel to Korea.

''Menestheus'' rescue

On April 16, 1953, ''Navajo Victory'' received a distress call from the

motor ship A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by th ...

, a 7,800-ton British freighter. ''Menestheus'' had left

Balboa, Panama Balboa is a district of Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. It was the capital of the Panama Canal Zone under American administration. History The town of Balboa, founded by the United States during the constru ...

, on April 5 en route to

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

with a cargo of rice. When ''Menestheus'' was about 90 miles northwest of

Magdalena Bay Magdalena Bay () is a long bay in Comondú Municipality along the western coast of the Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Baja California Sur. It is protected from the Pacific Ocean by the unpopulated sandy barrier islands of Isla Magda ...

and 130 miles west of

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

, an auxiliary generator exploded in her engine room, starting a fire that forced the crew to abandon ship. The crew of 81 was in the lifeboats by the time ''Navajo Victory'' arrived. ''Navajo Victory'' rescued them and took them to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. ''Navajo Victory'' towed ''Menestheus'' for nearly 500 miles, but was eventually forced to abandon her. ''Navajo Victory'' lay idle in Astoria, Oregon until 1966.

Vietnam War

In 1966 ''Navajo Victory'' was reactivated for the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. It was operated by the

American Mail Line American Mail Line of Seattle, Washington was a commercial steamship service with routes to and from Seattle, Washington and the Far East. American Mail Line was founded in 1920, by Pacific Steamship Company also with a $500,000 investment from ...

. After the war in 1973, it was laid up 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 e ...

as part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet as part of the

Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet The Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet colloquially known as the mothball fleet, is located on the northwest side of Suisun Bay (the northern portion of the greater San Francisco Bay estuary) in Benicia, California. The fleet is within a regulated navig ...

. It was

scrapped Scrap consists of recyclable Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on i ...

at Kaohsiung,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, in 1985.Mariners, The Website Of The Mariners Mailing List. Victory Ships
/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:Navajo Victory, SS Victory ships Ships built in Los Angeles United States Merchant Marine 1944 ships World War II merchant ships of the United States