Engineering:SS Brown Victory
 Typical Victory Ship.
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Name: | SS Brown Victory |
| Namesake: | Brown University |
| Owner: | War Shipping Administration |
| Operator: | Alaska Packers Company |
| Builder: | Oregon Shipbuilding Company Portland, Oregon |
| Laid down: | January 12, 1945 |
| Launched: | February 23, 1945 |
| Acquired: | March 27, 1945 |
| Fate: | sold 1947 |
| History | |
| United States
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| Name: | SS Mormacpine 1947 |
| Owner: | Moore-McCormack Lines of New York |
| Fate: | 1970 scrapped in Taiwan |
| 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 |
| 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] |
The SS Brown Victory was a Victory-class cargo ship built during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. The SS Brown Victory (MCV-712), was a type VC2-S-AP2 victory ship built by Oregon Shipbuilding Company Portland, Oregon . The Maritime Administration cargo ship was the 171th ship built. Its keel was laid on February 25, 1945. The ship was christened on May 2, 1945. The SS Brown Victory was an armed cargo ship, named for Brown University one of 150 educational institutions that had Victory ships named after them. She was commissioned February 23, 1945 at the Oregon Shipbuilding yards. The 10,600 ton ship was the 171th Victory type ship constructed for the Maritime Commission. She was operated by the Alaska Packers Company under the United States Merchant Marine act for the War Shipping Administration.[2][3]
Victory ships were designed to replace the earlier Liberty Ships. Liberty ships were designed to be used just for WW2. 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, a thinner stack set farther toward the superstructure and had a long raised forecastle.
World War II
SS Brown Victory served in the Pacific War during World War II. Brown Victory took supplies to the Battle of Okinawa operations that lasted from 1 April until 22 June 1945.
Kamikaze attack
On May 28, 1945 at Iejima, near Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands a kamikaze plane hit the SS Brown Victory. The USS Tekesta (AT-93) and the USS Spectacle (AM-305) under tow by the Tekesta shot down the kamikaze plane, but the plane hit the Brown Victory on its way down in the attack. Two of the 27 United States Navy Armed Guards are killed instantly in the attack. In the attack 18 crew members were injured. One of the merchant crew and one of the Armed Guards died of their wounds later. The Navy tug Tekesta came to the aid of the Brown Victory, helping the crew put out the fire and gave medical aid to the wounded. SS Brown Victory was damaged, but managed to survive the attack and was able to take her cargo to Saipan before steaming home to Oregon for repairs.
Honors
SS Brown Victory was awarded Battle Stars for the assault and occupation of Okinawa from 19 May 1945 to 6 June 1945. She used her deck guns to defend herself and other ships from attacks.[7]
Post War - SS Mormacpine
In 1947 she was sold to the Moore-McCormack lines of New York, New York and renamed SS Mormacpine.[8][9] SS Mormacpine many a few trip to help with the Korean War between 17 Sept. and 2 August 1953.[10] On September 27, 1959 in fog after departing San Pedro the SS Mormacpine bow rammed the boat Jane off Cape Flattery, off Olympic Peninsula. The Jane was a 49 feet wood fishing boat, the SS Mormacpine. had no damage to her bow. The Jane was hit port side and at about 3 or 4 knots by the SS Mormacpine. The Jane sank in about 3 minutes with the loss of two crew members, 3 crew members survived. It was ruled that the cause was twofold, the Mormacpine was going too fast for the fog and the Jane had no forward lookouts at the time of the crash. The fog limited visibility to 500 to 1,000 yards. The Jane did not show up on the Mormacpine radar due to her small size and wood hull. The Mormacpine crew spotted the Jane 1,000 yards off her starboard bow and put her engines into full reverse that slowed her to about 3 to 4 knots. No fines were made due to the accident.[11][12][13][14]
On March 28, 1964 one of the Mormacpine's holds caught fire. She was steaming from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil to New York City , New York with a load of sisal fibre and cocoa beans. A Coast Guard plane saw the fire from the air and depatched the Coast Guard cutter Half Moon to help. With no engines, she was towed to St. George's, Bermuda and arrived after midnight. None of the 47 crew members were harmed due to the fire. In St. George's harbor her cargo hold fire was put out.
In July 1970 she was scrapped at Kaoshung, Taiwan.[15]
See also
- List of Victory ships
- Liberty ship
- Type C1 ship
- Type C2 ship
- Type C3 ship
References
- ↑ Babcock & Wilcox (April 1944). "Victory Ships". Marine Engineering and Shipping Review.
- ↑ brown.edu, SS Brown Victory
- ↑ Models of the SS Brown Victory
- ↑ USS Tekesta - The ship that Uncle George serve on during WW II, 6 August 2013
- ↑ The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II--1945, Chapter VII: 1945 January to September.
- ↑ Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Volume 3 edited by James L. Mooney
- ↑ usmm.org/, Battle Stars for the assault and occupation of Okinawa
- ↑ moore-mccormack.com, SS Mormacpine
- ↑ shipspotting.com SS Mormacpine
- ↑ Small United States and United Nations Warships in the Korean War, page 187, By Paul M. Edwards
- ↑ Collision and sinking of the JANE, off Cape Flattery U.S. Coast Guard
- ↑ Coast Guard , Report on Jane
- ↑ 1959 Jane survivor, 1959 Press Photo Darvin Hoel, 1 Of 3 Survivors Of Mormacpine Ship Collision
- ↑ A Guide to the Collision Avoidance Rules, page 24, By A. N. Cockcroft, J. N. F. Lameije
- ↑ MARINERS, THE WEBSITE OF THE MARINERS MAILING LIST., VICTORY SHIPS
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