Contents

SSNortheastern Victory

Victory ship of the United States

Typical Victory ship.
History
United States
Name	SSNortheastern Victory
Namesake	Northeastern UniversityinBoston
Owner	War Shipping Administration
Operator	American-Hawaiian Steamship Company
Builder	Permanente Metals, plant No. 2
Laid down	March 28, 1945
Launched	May 7, 1945
Completed	June 30, 1945
Fate	Sank December 24, 1946 on Goodwin Sands.
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 &LPturbines 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	1 × 5 inch (127 mm)/38 caliber gun 1 × 3 inch (76 mm)/50 caliber gun 8 × 20 mm Oerlikon
Notes	[1]

The SSNortheastern Victory was a cargo ship built during World War II, under the Emergency Shipbuilding program.^[2] The Northeastern Victory (MCV-735) was a type VC2-S-AP2 Victory ship built by Richmond Shipyards|Permanente Metals Corporation, Yard 2, of Richmond, California. The cargo ship was the 703rd ship built. The ship was laid down on March 28, 1945 and completed on June 30, 1945. SS Northeastern Victory was an armed cargo ship named after a Northeastern University in Boston. She was built at the Oregon Shipbuilding yards in just 96 days. The 10,600-ton ship was constructed for the Maritime Commission. The American-Hawaiian Steamship Company operated her under the United States Merchant Marine act for the War Shipping Administration.^[3]

Northeastern Victory served in the Atlantic Ocean, taking supplies to troops still in Europe after Victory in Europe Day, on 8 May 1945.

Sinking[edit]

In 1946, after the conclusion of the war, Northeastern Victory was carrying supplies to U.S. troops deployed in Europe, to be delivered to Antwerp, Rotterdam and Bremen. Its food cargo comprised ten thousand cases of grapefruit, five thousand tons of flour, and a thousand tons of rice and cotton. During its journey, on Christmas Eve, about five miles from the South Foreland Lighthouse, the ship ran aground on the Goodwin Sands. The ship was travelling at peak velocity, and sustained severe damage to its engines. The South Foreland Lighthouse reportedly sent out warning shots prior to the accident, however, was unable to affect the direction or speed of the ship. Upon hearing the shots, the Walmer Lifeboat Station dispatched lifeboats carrying 36 crew members, which reached the ship at about 10 p.m. The ship's captain, Captain Kohstrohs resolved to stay with the ship, as did many of the crew. The powerful gale, and the damage caused by the running aground, smashed the massive structure into two in merely a few hours, with the seven officers still on board. By Christmas morning, the two parts of the ship lay 100 feet apart. The Walmer lifeboat helped the remaining crew and officers out of the wreck. A salvage team labored to save as much of the cargo as possible. The first rescue team was Risdon Beazley Ltd of Southampton under Commander J. MacPhee, Salvage Officer Lloyds Agents at Dover, they were able to recover 1288 tons of the lead. Later the salvage steamer, Foremost, arrived from Swansea to assist in the salvage operations. The Northeastern Victory wreck was identifiable on the sands until a storm drove its masts under the waters in January 1995.^[4][5][6][7] .^[8][9]

• The SS Luray Victory made the same error and sank on the Goodwin Sands on January 30, 1946.

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

• Sawyer, L.A. and W.H. Mitchell. Victory ships and tankers: The history of the ‘Victory’ type cargo ships and 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: [1]
• Victory Cargo Ships [2] Archived 2005-09-22 at the Wayback Machine