USNS ''Perseus'' (T-AF-64) was a ''Denebola''-class

stores ship Combat stores ships, or storeships, are ships used to store naval supplies. They are used to deliver supplies such as provisions and fuel to combat ships on extended deployments. The United States Navy operated the and es and the Royal Navy oper ...

acquired by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

. Her task was to carry stores, refrigerated items, and equipment to ships in the fleet, and to remote stations and staging areas. ''Perseus'' was laid down as SS ''Union Victory'' a

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 ...

, (MCV hull 683) by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corp.,

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, 30 March 1945; launched 11 May 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Claude F. Palmer; and delivered to the

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 c ...

, 8 June 1945. For cargo transport 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 ...

SS ''Union Victory'' operations under contract

Operated on contract from the Maritime Commission, SS ''Union Victory'' carried military cargoes during the last months of World War II in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, 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 ...

; the initial year of the European Occupation; and, four years later, 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 ...

. After

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 ...

she returned to commercial transport, then entered the

Maritime Administration Maritime administrations, or flag state administrations, are the executive arms/state bodies of each government responsible for carrying out the shipping responsibilities of the state, and are tasked to administer national shipping and boating issu ...

’s

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 ...

. ''Union Victory'' was delivered to the Maritime Commission, 8 June 1945 transferred under a General Agency Agreement to Alaska Transportation Company On 28 June 1946 transferred for operation to

Black Diamond Steamship Company Black Diamond Steamship Company (BDSC) operated passenger and cargo liners from New York City to Rotterdam and Antwerp. It was founded by J.E. Dockendorff in 1919, and named the American Diamond Line by the United States Shipping Board. The compa ...

. Operation transferred to the South Atlantic SS Company on 21 October 1948. She was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in Beaumont Texas on 12 November 1948. On 27 July 1950 she was put back into service and transferred to the

Mississippi Shipping Company The Mississippi Shipping Company also known as Delta Line, was a passenger and cargo steamship company founded in 1919 in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1961, the company officially changed its name to Delta Line. The Mississippi Shipping Company ...

. Transferred operation to

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 ...

on 19 April 1952. She was laid up again into the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, WA. on 26 May 1952. She was put back in service and transferred back to the American Mail Line Ltd. on 25 September 1952. On 14 October 1952 she again was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, WA. On SS 7 November 1961 the SS ''Union Victory'' ownership was transferred to the US Navy. SS ''Union Victory'' served as merchant marine naval ship supplying goods for the

. About 75 percent of the personnel going to Korea for the Korean War came by the merchant marine. SS ''Union Victory'' transported goods, mail, food and other supplies. About 90 percent of the cargo was moved by merchant marine naval ships to the war zone. ''Union Victory'' made trip between 18 November 1950 and 23 December 1952 helping American forces engaged against

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

aggression in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

.Small United States and United Nations Warships in the Korean War, By Paul M. Edwards

Operations under the MSTS

In late 1961 she was transferred to MSTS for conversion to a

refrigeration ship A reefer ship is a refrigerated cargo ship typically used to transport perishable cargo, which require air conditioning, temperature-controlled handling, such as fruits, meat, vegetables, dairy products, and similar items. Description ''Types ...

. Renamed and designated ''Perseus'' (AF–64), 4 December 1961, she was converted by the

Willamette Iron and Steel Willamette Iron Works (also known as Willamette Iron and Steel Company or WISCO) was a general foundry and machine business established in 1865 in Portland, Oregon, originally specializing in the manufacture of steamboat boilers and engines. In ...

Co.,

, and in September 1962 was placed in service as ''USNS Perseus'' (T-AF-64) and was crewed by the Civil Service. Since that time, into 1970, she has operated under

ComMSTSPac The 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 U ...

and has carried fresh and frozen foods from the

U.S. West Coast The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S. states of Cali ...

to Pacific and

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

ports.

End-of-service

''Perseus'' was placed out of service (date unknown) and struck from the

Naval Register A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

, 15 June 1973. She was returned to

MARAD Marad (Sumerian: Marda, modern Tell Wannat es-Sadum or Tell as-Sadoum (also Wana-Sedoum), Iraq) was an ancient Near Eastern city. Marad was situated on the west bank of the then western branch of the Upper Euphrates River west of Nippur in moder ...

for lay up in the

. It was sold on 31 August 1973, and scrapped at

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

in 1974.

Military awards and honors

''Perseus’'' crew was eligible for the following medals: *

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...

References

External links