SS Bluefield Victory

SS Bluefield Victory was christened by Mrs. Monroe Jackson of Oakland, California. The matron of honor was Mrs. Scott Niclsonand of Oakland. The SS Bluefield Victory was launched into the waters of Wilmington, Los Angeles. She was part of a group of 218 Victory Ships were named for American cities.[3] [4][5] SS Bluefield Victory took part in the Battle of Leyte from June 1944 to January 1945.[6]

SS Bluefield Victory steamed into the Pacific to bring supplies to the Pacific War troops. On October 20, 1944, the SS Bluefield Victory had the dangerous job of delivering ammunition for troops. The ammunition was for the US Central Philippine Attack Force. Bluefield Victory downed a plane on December 11, 1944 and had a bomb miss her by about 50 feet.[7][8][9] She was in a convoy of ships that anchored at Naval Base Kossol Roads in October 1944. Because of her dangerous cargo, she stayed in Kossol Roads away from the main fleet until called on to deliver supplies. The convoy included: ammunition ships: Meridian Victory, SS Iran Victory, SS Bluefield Victory and Kishwaukee. It was escorted by the destroyer escorts: Lovelace, Neuendorf, Thomason, under the command of Comcortdiv Thirty-Seven.[10][11] She supplied the destroyer USS Fletcher (DD-445) with ammunition on February 20, 1945, at Mangarin Bay[12] In March 1945 the SS Bluefield Victory anchored at the Ulithi atoll and supplied ammunition to a number of ships at the Leyte-Samar Naval Base for the Battle of Leyte and other actions.[13]

In 1948 the SS Bluefield Victory was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Mobile, Alabama. In 1950 she was reactivated to take supplies to Korea.[14]

SS Bluefield Victory (V-4377, ID 246004) served as Merchant Marine Naval ship supplying goods for the Korean War. She made nine trips to Korea. She help move the 140th Medium Tank Battalion. About 75 percent of the personnel taken to Korea for the Korean War came by the Merchant Marine Ships. SS Bluefield Victory transported goods, mail, food and other supplies. About 90 percent of the cargo was moved by Merchant Marine Naval to the Korea War Zone. SS Bluefield Victory made trips between the US and Korea helping American forces engaged against Communist aggression in South Korea.[15][16]

In 1951 she was sold to the Pacific Far East Line of San Francisco. and was renamed the SS Alaska Bear. In 1957 she was sold to the Trans-Pacific Company of Philadelphia and kept her name. On June 7, 1957, the SS Alaska Bear ran aground and was taking on water near the entrance to Tokyo Bay. The USS Current, a rescue and salvage ship came to her aid, and pumped water out of flooded cargo holds. They unload the cargo and then towed the Alaska Bear to deeper water. The USS Current worked on her for days. Then towed her to the Port of Yokosuka at Yokohama, Japan on June 21, 1957.[17] In 1960 she was sold and kept her name to the Long Island Tankers Corporation of Wilmington, Delaware In 1962 she was sold back to the Pacific Far East Line of San Francisco and kept her name. In 1969 she was sold to the Columbia Steamship Company of San Francisco and renamed the SS Columbia Wolf. In 1970 she was towed to Hong Kong and scrapped.[18]

• List of Victory ships
• Liberty ship
• Type C1 ship
• Type C2 ship
• Type C3 ship

• 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.
• United States Maritime Commission:
• Victory Cargo Ships