SS Luray Victory
 Typical Victory Ship.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | SS Luray Victory |
| Namesake | Luray, Virginia |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration |
| Operator | Black Diamond Steamship Company |
| Builder | California Shipbuilding Company, Los Angeles |
| Laid down | March 11, 1944 |
| Launched | May 11, 1944 |
| Completed | June 30, 1944 |
| Fate | Wrecked on Goodwin Sands, 30 January 1946 |
| 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 |
|
| Notes | [1] |
The SS Luray Victory was the seventeenth
Design
Victory ships were designed to replace the outdated
Christening
The SS Luray Victory was named after the city of Luray, Virginia, one of the 218 Victory ships named after an American city. She was launched at the yards of the California Shipbuilding Corporation in Wilmington, Los Angeles on May 11, 1944. The ship was the seventeenth in a long line of Victory ships, many of which were built at the California Shipbuilding Corporation ("Calship") yard.[4] Her engines were built by the Joshua Hendy iron works in California.[5]
World War II
During
Shipwreck
In January of 1946, the SS Luray Victory departed
On the morning of January 31, 1946, the rescue tugs, HMS Lady Bassey and Persia tried to free the ship but the attempt was abandoned due to gale force winds. At 4:00 p.m., the coast guard returned to find the SS Luray Victory breaking up and realised salvage was impossible. The forty-nine crew abandoned the ship, moved to shore by Freddie Upton, the lifeboat captain.
The top part of the shipwreck was visible for fifty years at 51º-ll'-04N, 001º-31'-62E.[6] [7] [8][9][10] [11]
On December 24, 1946, the SS Northeastern Victory was also wrecked on the Goodwin Sands.
See also
- List of Victory ships
- Liberty ship
- Type C1 ship
- Type C2 ship
- Type C3 ship
References
- ^ Victory Ships in Marine engineering and shipping review Babcock & Wilcox April 1944.
- ^ Jay, Michalsky (July 27, 2004). "Liberty Ships and Victory Ships, America's Lifeline in War". National Park Service. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
- ^ Victory Ships National Park Service website
- ^ Victory Ships Shipbuilding history website
- ^ Long Beach Independent Long Beach, California p22 May 12, 1944.
- ^ Dover, MS Lady Bassey Dover ferry photos forums website.
- ^ Mariners the Website, Victory Ships Mariners' mailing list]
- ^ SS Luray Victory Wrecksite.eu website
- ^ Chamberlain D. The Luray Victory, Goodwinsands Walmer Lifeboat website
- ^ White M. D. The Port of Los Angelesm p79.
- ^ Luray Victory Getty Images website
Sources
- Sawyer L. A. and Mitchell W. H. 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.
- Victory Ships United States Maritime Commission.
- Victory Ships Archived 2005-09-22 at the Wayback Machine Armed guard website.
