SS Bessemer Victory in MARAD hands circa the mid-1960s.
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Class: HAVERFORD (T-AG 179, VC2-S-AP2)
Design: MC VC2-S-AP2
Displacement (tons): 4,442 light, 15,200 full
Dimensions (feet): 455' oa, 444' wl x 62' e/wl x 28'
Armament: none
Accommodations: (for T-AG 172) 48 officers, 161 unlicensed
Speed (kts.): 15
Propulsion (HP): 6,000
Machinery: Geared steam turbines, 2 boilers (465psi/750deg), 1 screw
Construction:
| AG | Name | Acq | Builder | Keel | Launch | Svc |
| 179 | HAVERFORD | -- | Permanente Metals #1 | 26 Jan 1945 | 14 Mar 1945 | -- |
| 180 | ANTIOCH | -- | Permanente Metals #2 | 28 Feb 1945 | 11 Apr 1945 | -- |
| 181 | ADELPHI | -- | Permanente Metals #2 | 22 Apr 1945 | 2 Jun 1945 | -- |
| 182 | LYNN | -- | Bethlehem-Fairfield | 25 Jun 1945 | 15 Aug 1945 | -- |
| 183 | CLARKSBURG | -- | California SB | 9 Jul 1945 | 15 Sep 1945 | -- |
| 184 | CLEMSON | -- | Permanente Metals #2 | 12 May 1945 | 23 Jun 1945 | -- |
| 185 | CARTHAGE | -- | California SB | 30 Mar 1945 | 24 May 1945 | -- |
| 186 | BESSEMER | -- | California SB | 28 May 1945 | 26 Jul 1945 | -- |
| 187 | MILFORD | -- | Permanente Metals #2 | 24 May 1945 | 4 Jul 1945 | -- |
| 188 | RADCLIFFE | -- | Permanente Metals #1 | 31 Dec 1944 | 19 Feb 1945 | -- |
| 189 | ROLLINS | -- | Bethlehem-Fairfield | 10 Jul 1945 | 6 Sep 1945 | -- |
| 190 | WEBSTER | -- | Permanente Metals #1 | 20 Apr 1945 | 25 May 1945 | -- |
Disposition:
| AG | Name | T | Inact | Strike | Disposal | Fate | MA Sale |
| 179 | HAVERFORD | T | -- | -- | 31 Oct 1968 | Canc | 3 Mar 1988 |
| 180 | ANTIOCH | T | -- | -- | 31 Oct 1968 | Canc | 3 Mar 1988 |
| 181 | ADELPHI | T | -- | -- | 31 Oct 1968 | Canc | 30 Apr 1993 |
| 182 | LYNN | T | -- | -- | 31 Oct 1968 | Canc | 18 Jun 1993 |
| 183 | CLARKSBURG | T | -- | -- | 31 Oct 1968 | Canc | 30 May 1984 |
| 184 | CLEMSON | T | -- | -- | 31 Oct 1968 | Canc | 1 Dec 1993 |
| 185 | CARTHAGE | T | -- | -- | 31 Oct 1968 | Canc | -- |
| 186 | BESSEMER | T | -- | -- | 31 Oct 1968 | Canc | 28 Sep 1989 |
| 187 | MILFORD | T | -- | -- | 31 Oct 1968 | Canc | 13 Apr 1988 |
| 188 | RADCLIFFE | T | -- | -- | 31 Oct 1968 | Canc | 1 Dec 1988 |
| 189 | ROLLINS | T | -- | -- | 31 Oct 1968 | Canc | 18 Jun 1993 |
| 190 | WEBSTER | T | -- | -- | 31 Oct 1968 | Canc | 13 Aug 1992 |
Class Notes:
On 1 July 1965 MARAD was advised of a MSTS plan to activate 16 Victory ships during 1966 for employment in the Forward Floating Depot (FFD) project, which was to provide preloaded Army equipment in a forward area. As of September 1965 three prototypes of the concept, AG 172-174 (q.v.), were based at Subic Bay. They had been acquired in late 1962 and tested in Exercise "Quick Release" in Okinawa in January-April 1964. A revised list of 16 ships was forwarded to MARAD on 3 November 1965. On 12 November 1965 MSTS asked CNO and SECNAV to approve the acquisition of 12 MARAD ships (the ones listed in the tables) for the Army Forward Floating Depot (FFD) project. MSTS also recommended new names for the ships. MARAD agreed to the transfers on 16 December 1965, noting that the withdrawals were to begin about 1 March 1966 at the rate of two at a time about a month apart (in the order shown in the tables) and alternating between Pacific and Atlantic/Gulf sites. SECNAV approved the classifications and names of the ships on 24 January 1966 effective 1 February 1966. Transfers were then scheduled from March 1966 (AG 179-180) to 31 Oct 1966 (AG 190).
However the authority to acquire these ships was never approved. As the Vietnam War intensified in 1965-66 the need for military vehicles in-country became more acute and the three existing Forward Floating Depot ships (AG 172-174) delivered their loads in 1965-66 to Vietnam and became general point-to-point freighters within the Far East area. The proposed additional FFD ships were instead reactivated under their Victory ship names in June-August 1966 for commercial operation for MSTS in support of forces ashore. Their acquisition as FFD ships was formally cancelled for record purposes on 31 Oct 1968. The ships were inactivated in 1969-70 and all were later scrapped, with the notable exception of AMERICAN VICTORY (proposed MSTS name CARTHAGE) which became an operating museum ship at Tampa, Fla. The FFD program was also cancelled because of the acceleration of the Fast Deployment Logistics Ship (FDL) program. The FDL was a modified ro-ro ship, four of which were added to the FY 1966 budget at the end of 1964 as a maritime counter-balance to the Air Force's C5 aircraft program. Both were intended to support Army mobility, but only the C5 aircraft was proceeded with. The prepositioning concept then lay dormant for about a decade until reviving on a large scale beginning with the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) of 1979 and ultimately the Maritime Prepositioning Squadrons (MPS) of the 1980s.
Ship Notes:
| AG | Name | MCV | Notes |
| 179 | HAVERFORD | 591 | (ex-MERCER VICTORY, compl. 11 Apr 1945). From NDRF 9 Jun 1966 for commercial operation for MSTS, to NDRF 19 Jan 1970. MA exchange sale 3 Mar 1988. |
| 180 | ANTIOCH | 745 | (ex-ALFRED VICTORY, compl. 7 May 1945). From NDRF 1 Aug 1966 for commercial operation, to NDRF 10 Dec 1969. MA exchange sale 3 Mar 1988. |
| 181 | ADELPHI | 760 | (ex-ADELPHI VICTORY, compl. 27 Jun 1945). From NDRF 24 Jul 1966 for commercial operation for MSTS, to NDRF 18 Sep 1969. MA exchange sale 30 Apr 1993, to buyer 23 Jun 1993. |
| 182 | LYNN | 847 | (ex-LYNN VICTORY, compl. 20 Sep 1945). From NDRF 22 Jul 1966 for commercial operation for MSTS, to NDRF 19 Jan 1970. MA exchange sale 18 Jun 1993, to buyer 4 Aug 1993. |
| 183 | CLARKSBURG | 888 | (ex-CLARKSBURG VICTORY, compl. 15 Oct 1945). From NDRF 9 Jun 1966 for commercial operation for MSTS, to NDRF 13 Feb 1970. MA exchange sale 30 May 1984, to buyer 6 Jun 1984. |
| 184 | CLEMSON | 766 | (ex-LINDENWOOD VICTORY, compl. 25 Jul 1945). From NDRF 7 Jun 1966 for commercial operation for MSTS, to NDRF 19 Jan 1970. MA exchange sale 1 Dec 1993, to buyer 22 Feb 1994. |
| 185 | CARTHAGE | 792 | (ex-AMERICAN VICTORY, compl. 20 Jun 1945). From NDRF 19 Jul 1966 for commercial operation for MSTS, to NDRF 19 Jan 1970. Reactivated 13 Mar to 24 Jun 1985 under the Victory Ship Validation Program. From JRRF 8 Sep 1999 to become an operating museum ship at Tampa, Fla. AMERICAN VICTORY is one of three Victory ships preserved as of 2021 as museums, the others being LANE VICTORY at Los Angeles and RED OAK VICTORY at Richmond, Calif. |
| 186 | BESSEMER | 806 | (ex-BESSEMER VICTORY, compl. 30 Aug 1945). From NDRF 19 Jul 1966 for commercial operation for MSTS, to NDRF 19 Jan 1970. MA exchange sale 28 Sep 1989, to buyer 19 Oct 1989. |
| 187 | MILFORD | 714 | (ex-GREELEY VICTORY, compl. 8 Aug 1945). From NDRF 9 Jun 1966 for commercial operation for MSTS, to NDRF 19 Jan 1970. MA exchange sale 13 Apr 1988, to buyer Jun 1988. |
| 188 | RADCLIFFE | 587 | (ex-PRINCETON VICTORY, compl. 14 Mar 1945). From NDRF 24 Aug 1966 for commercial operation for MSTS, to NDRF 17 Mar 1970. MA exchange sale 1 Dec 1988. |
| 189 | ROLLINS | 851 | (ex-HIGH POINT VICTORY, compl. 28 Sep 1945). From NDRF 15 Jul 1966 for commercial operation for MSTS, to NDRF 5 Dec 1969. MA exchange sale 18 Jun 1993, to buyer 1 Oct 1993. |
| 190 | WEBSTER | 705 | (ex-HOBART VICTORY, compl. 24 Jul 1945). From NDRF 1 Aug 1966 for commercial operation for MSTS, to NDRF 19 Jan 1970. MA exchange sale 13 Aug 1992, to buyer 9 Oct 1992. |
Page Notes:
Compiled: 18 Oct 2021
© Stephen S. Roberts, 2021