Victory ship
SS Red Oak Victory, now a museum ship | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Victory ship |
| Builders | 6 shipyards in the US |
| Operators | War Shipping Administration, United States Navy (attack cargo ships only) U.S. Maritime Commission |
| Preceded by | Liberty ship |
| Subclasses | VC2-S-AP2, Boulder Victory-class cargo ship |
| Cost | US$2,522,800 (1943) (equivalent to US$36.47 million in 2024) per unit |
| Planned | 615 |
| Completed | 534 |
| Canceled | 81 |
| Preserved | 3 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Cargo ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | 15,200 tons (at 28-foot draft) |
| Length | 455 ft (138.7 m) |
| Beam | 62 ft (18.9 m) |
| Draft | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
| Depth of hold | 38 ft (11.6 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 15–17 knots (28–31 km/h; 17–20 mph) |
| Range | 24,000 nm at 13 kn |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 4 x lifeboats |
| Complement | 90 |
The Victory ship is a class of cargo ships produced in large numbers by American shipyards during World War II. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were slightly larger and had more powerful steam turbine engines, giving them higher speed to allow participation in high-speed convoys and make them more difficult targets for German U-boats. A total of 534 Victory ships were built from 1944 to 1946.