SS William and Mary Victory

	A Typical Victory Ship.
History
United States
Name	SS William and Mary
Namesake	College of William & Mary
Owner	War Shipping Administration
Operator	International Freighting Company
Builder	Bethlehem Steel *Fairfield Shipyard, Inc.
Laid down	1945-3-6
Launched	1945-04-20
Christened	1945-04-20
Completed	1945-5-15
Commissioned	Troopship
Fate	Sold in 1947
History
Argentina
Name	SS Mendoza 1947
Owner	Compana Argentina de Nav.Dodero,
Operator	Compana Argentina de Nav.Dodero,
Reclassified	Commercial Cargo Ship
Fate	Sold in 1947
History
Argentina
Name	SS Mendoza 1947
Owner	Flota Argentina se Nav. de Ultramar
Operator	Flota Argentina se Nav. de Ultramar
Recommissioned	1952 as Commercial passenger ship
Fate	Sold in 1949
History
Argentina
Name	SS Mendoza 1949
Owner	Empresa Lineas Maritimas Argentinas
Operator	Empresa Lineas Maritimas ArgentinasUltramar
Recommissioned	Commercial Cargo Ship 1961
Fate	Scrapped at Campana, Buenos Aires, Argentina 1972
General characteristics
Displacement	7725 tons (light displacement)
Length	139 m (456 ft)
Beam	18.9 m (62 ft)
Draft	7 m (23 ft)
Propulsion	Westinghouse steam turbines, single shaft, 8500 horsepower (6.3 MW)
Speed	17.5 knots (32.4 km/h) maximum sustained, 21 knots emergency
Range	12,500 nm at 12 knots
Complement	62 Merchant Marine and 28 US Naval Armed Guards as Victory ship. *358 officers and men
Armament	1 × 5 inch (127 mm)/38 caliber gun as As Victory Ship ; 1 × 3 inch (76 mm)/50 caliber gun; 8 × 20 mm Oerlikon;
Aircraft carried	none
Aviation facilities	none
Notes

The SS William and Mary was a Victory ship built during World War II.

Service life

SS William and Mary Victory was part of the series of Victory ships named after educational institutions, in this case, the College of William and Mary. Her design type was VC2-S-AP2/WSAT. Her Maritime Commission (MCV) hull number was 652 and her shipyard number was 1597. She was built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation in Baltimore, Maryland.^[2]

She was launched and christened on 20 April 1945. Her sponsor was Eleanor Harvey, the retiring president of the Women Students' Cooperative Government Association at the College of William and Mary and a member of the class of 1945. U.S. Naval Air Corps Lieutenant Robert Eastman, an alumnus of the college, pushed the button that released the ship into the water. Edie Harwood, president of the Women Students' Cooperative Government Association, was Harvey's maid of honor.^[3]

SS William and Mary Victory served in the Atlantic Ocean in World War II operated by the International Freighting Company. She served as a troop ship take troop to Europe. On April 17, 1946, she departed Le Havre, France for New Jersey, bring home troops. On January 25, 1946, she streamed into New York to bring troops home.^[4] SS William and Mary Victory arrived in New York from Antwerp on February 26, 1946, with 1.457 troops, including 381st Engineer Combat Battalion and 34Sth Engineer Combat Battalion.^[5]^[6]^[7] SS William and Mary Victory and 96 other Victory ships were converted to troop ships to bring the US soldiers home as part of Operation Magic Carpet.^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]

After WW2 in 1946, she was laid up in the James River. In 1947 she was sold to Compana Argentina de Nav.Dodero, in Buenos Aires, Argentina and renamed Mendoza. In 1949 she was sold to Flota Argentina se Nav. de Ultramar in Buenos Aires. In 1952 she was rebuilt as a passenger ship with accommodation. In 1961 she was sold to Empresa Líneas Marítimas Argentinas, in Buenos Aires, converted back to a cargo ship. In 1972 she was scrapped at Campana, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Artifacts

The christening bottle for the SS William and Mary Victory is in the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) in Swem Library at the College of William and Mary.^[13] An American flag that was flown on the ship is also available in the SCRC. The flag was a gift of Captain James Hassell on May 2, 1946.

References

^ Babcock & Wilcox (April 1944). "Victory Ships". Marine Engineering and Shipping Review.
^ "Victory Ships by shipyard". Retrieved 2006-08-10.
^ "Harvey Christens W-M Victory Ship". (April 25, 1945). The Flat Hat, Volume XXXIV, No. 22, pp. 2. PDF Scan
^ Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York · Page 22, January 26, 1946
^ The Daily Notes from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania · Page 2, February 26, 1946. Many of the troops were taken to Camp Shanks or Fort Hamilton or Camp Kilmer to be processed for discharge.
^ Interesting Times: An Encounter With the 20th Century 1924, By George Mandler
^ Armed-guard, troop ships
^ ww2troopships.com crossings in 1945
^ "Troop Ship of World War II, April 1947, Page 356-357" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2017-01-03.
^ Our Troop Ships
^ Milford W. Crumplar, Corporal
^ Lud Lekson Collection
^ Christening bottle, 8 August 2007, Gift of Mrs. Eleanor Rennie, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary JPEG image.