SS Wheaton Victory
Victory ship of the United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The SS Wheaton Victory was a class of Victory ship built during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. She was launched by the California Shipbuilding Company on 22 March 1945. The ship was completed and delivered to the wartime operator of all United States oceangoing shipping, the War Shipping Administration (WSA), on 14 April 1945. Wheaton Victory was assigned to Marine Transport Line, under a standard WSA operating agreement at that time. That agreement continued until the ship's sale in 1947. The ship's United States Maritime Commission designation was VC2-S-AP3, hull number 776. Wheaton Victory was converted from a cargo ship to a troopship to bring troops home after the war as part of Operation Magic Carpet.
California Shipbuilding Company | |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | Wheaton Victory |
Namesake | Wheaton College |
Owner | War Shipping Administration |
Operator | Marine Transport Line |
Builder | California Shipbuilding Company, Los Angeles |
Laid down | 27 January 1945 |
Launched | 22 March 1945 |
Completed | 14 April 1945 |
Fate | Wrecked on 26 October 1963 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | VC2-S-AP3 Victory ship |
Tonnage | 7612 GRT, 4,553 NRT |
Displacement | 15,200 tons |
Length | 455 ft (139 m) |
Beam | 62 ft (19 m) |
Draught | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
Installed power | 8,500 shp (6,300 kW) |
Propulsion | HP & LP turbines geared to a single 20.5-foot (6.2 m) propeller, by Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co., Essington |
Speed | 16.5 knots |
Boats & landing craft carried | 4 Lifeboats |
Complement | 62 Merchant Marine and 28 US Naval Armed Guards |
Armament |
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Notes | [1] |
Wheaton Victory was one of the new 10,500-ton class ship to be known as Victory ships. 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 and had a long raised forecastle.[2][3] The ship's namesake is for Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. The SS Wheaton Victory was a Victory ship laid down on 27 January 1945 and one of a series of ships named for American colleges and universities.