The Canada Victory was used as a cargo ship in World War II. She was sent to Okinawa to supply ammunition for the Battle of Okinawa on April 27, 1945; while unloading the ammunition at Naval Base Okinawa, she was hit by a kamikaze attack airplane in cargo hold five. A large explosion blew out the side of the ship, and she sank in seven minutes at 26.23N 127.41E, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west of Tokashiki Island. Two armed guards and one merchant mariner were killed, and twelve crew members were wounded in the attack.[3][4] The USS Pakana, a fleet ocean tug, picked up survivors of the Canada Victory.
The SS Logan Victory and SS Hobbs Victory were also hit by kamikaze planes at Okinawa. The Logan Victory and Hobbs Victory sank as fires on them grew. The SS Pierre Victory was able to shoot down one plane and move away from the burning ships.[5]Canada Victory was one of three Victory ships,[6] and one of forty-seven ships sunk by kamikaze attack during World War II.[7]
The loss of the three Victory ships, each sunk by kamikaze attacks during the invasion of Okinawa, severely hurt the combat forces. The ships were carrying a total of 24,000 tons (54 million pounds) of ammunition; including most of the 81 mm mortar shells needed for the invasion.
The ammunition ship SS Saginaw Victory arrived April 12, 1945, at Okinawa to replace the ammunition lost on the ships. More ammunition ships were not needed, as the war came to an end without the invasion of Japan, called Operation Downfall.[5] The other ammunition ship at Okinawa was the SS Berea Victory.[8][7][9]
HonorsEdit
The crew of Naval Armed Guards on the Canada Victory' earned Battle Stars in World War II for war action during the assault and occupation of Okinawa from April 26 to 27, 1945.[10]
Sawyer, L.A. and W.H. Mitchell. 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.
canada, victory, victory, ships, built, during, world, under, emergency, shipbuilding, program, launched, oregon, shipbuilding, corporation, january, 1944, completed, february, 1944, ship, united, states, maritime, commission, designation, hull, number, 1009, . The SS Canada Victory was one of 531 Victory ships built during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program She was launched by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation on January 12 1944 and was completed on February 28 1944 The ship s United States Maritime Commission designation was VC2 S AP3 hull number 93 1009 The Maritime Commission turned her over to a civilian contractor the Alaska SS Company for operation 2 Typical Victory shipHistoryUnited StatesNameCanada VictoryOwnerWar Shipping AdministrationOperatorAlaska SS CompanyBuilderOregon Shipbuilding CompanyLaid downJanuary 22 1944LaunchedMarch 20 1944CompletedApril 19 1944FateSank in action April 27 1945 at Okinawa with loss of 3 crew membersGeneral characteristicsTypeVC2 S AP3 Victory shipTonnage7 612 GRT 4 553 NRTDisplacement15 200 tonsLength455 ft 139 m Beam62 ft 19 m Draft28 ft 8 5 m Installed power8 500 shp 6 300 kW PropulsionHP amp LP turbines geared to a single 20 5 foot 6 2 m propellerSpeed16 5 knots 30 6 km h 19 0 mph Boats amp landing craft carried4 LifeboatsComplement62 Merchant Marine and 28 US Naval Armed GuardsArmament1 5 inch 127 mm 38 caliber gun 1 3 inch 76 mm 50 caliber gun 8 20 mm OerlikonNotes 1 Contents 1 World War II 2 Honors 3 References 4 SourcesWorld War II EditThe Canada Victory was used as a cargo ship in World War II She was sent to Okinawa to supply ammunition for the Battle of Okinawa on April 27 1945 while unloading the ammunition at Naval Base Okinawa she was hit by a kamikaze attack airplane in cargo hold five A large explosion blew out the side of the ship and she sank in seven minutes at 26 23N 127 41E 2 5 miles 4 0 km west of Tokashiki Island Two armed guards and one merchant mariner were killed and twelve crew members were wounded in the attack 3 4 The USS Pakana a fleet ocean tug picked up survivors of the Canada Victory The SS Logan Victory and SS Hobbs Victory were also hit by kamikaze planes at Okinawa The Logan Victory and Hobbs Victory sank as fires on them grew The SS Pierre Victory was able to shoot down one plane and move away from the burning ships 5 Canada Victory was one of three Victory ships 6 and one of forty seven ships sunk by kamikaze attack during World War II 7 The loss of the three Victory ships each sunk by kamikaze attacks during the invasion of Okinawa severely hurt the combat forces The ships were carrying a total of 24 000 tons 54 million pounds of ammunition including most of the 81 mm mortar shells needed for the invasion The ammunition ship SS Saginaw Victory arrived April 12 1945 at Okinawa to replace the ammunition lost on the ships More ammunition ships were not needed as the war came to an end without the invasion of Japan called Operation Downfall 5 The other ammunition ship at Okinawa was the SS Berea Victory 8 7 9 Honors EditThe crew of Naval Armed Guards on the Canada Victory earned Battle Stars in World War II for war action during the assault and occupation of Okinawa from April 26 to 27 1945 10 References Edit Babcock amp Wilcox April 1944 Victory Ships Marine Engineering and Shipping Review shipbuildinghistory com Merchant ships Victory ships Chronological List of U S Ships Sunk or Damaged during 1945 Ships sunk or damaged during 1945 182 ships Mariners The Website Of The Mariners Mailing List Victory Ships C a b US Navy Armed Guard Service kamikaze Attacks Archived from the original on 2010 07 02 Retrieved 2016 12 27 a b 47 Ships Sunk by Kamikaze Aircraft Archived from the original on 2010 07 02 Retrieved 2016 12 27 kamikaze Attacks Archived from the original on 2010 07 02 Retrieved 2016 12 27 A Cargo Doomed to Boom by John Laughton usmm org Battle Stars in World War II Sources EditSawyer L A and W H Mitchell 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 United States Maritime Commission 1 Victory Cargo Ships 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title SS Canada Victory amp oldid 1175078135, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
