SS Maritime Victory, hull number 821, VC2-S-AP2/WSAT was an American Army transport which was saw duty just after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The ship was launched on Tuesday, 22 May 1945. The sponsor was J. Buell Snyder, wife of Congressman Snyder

J. Buell Snyder

John Buell Snyder was a Democratic Party member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.J. Buell Snyder was born on a farm in Upper Turkeyfoot Township, Pennsylvania. He attended summer sessions of Harvard University, and Columbia University in New York City...

. She was launched from the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards and later delivered on 18 June 1945 then transferred to the Army War Department as an Army Transport. The Maritime Victory was unusual in that as an AP2 vessel the cargo holds were converted for troop berthing (though with reduced cargo carrying ability) and topside cargo handling gear was retained.

Wartime service

The Maritime Victory was delivered to the USAT as a transport in June 1945. The ship made several crossings carrying troops from the European Theater of Operations

European Theater of Operations

The European Theater of Operations, United States Army was a United States Army formation which directed U.S. Army operations in parts of Europe from 1942 to 1945. It referred to Army Ground Forces, United States Army Air Forces, and Army Service Forces operations north of Italy and the...

, especially between Le Havre and New York. From Le Havre it often left from the area known as the Cigarette Camps.

The ship, having been launched only days after V-E Day

Victory in Europe Day

Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...

 was primarily designed to transport troops both to and from Europe. While the main use of the ship was to transport troops, the ship was also used for humanitarian efforts in the immediate post-war time period. The ship made made crossings of the Atlantic. Many of the ships used to transport troops to Europe in the early days of the war were lost or functionally worn out. The Victory ship was newer and faster than the Liberty ships. When it was time to bring troops home the net transfer was mostly in moving troops from Europe to America instead of the other way around.

Some transportation of food and supplies were made in a role as a cargo ship to provide relief to the war torn countries of Europe, especially Germany.

In April 1945, Vice Admiral Howard L. Vickery

Howard L. Vickery

Howard Leroy Vickery was a U.S. naval officer and renowned merchant shipbuilder during World War II.-Early life and career:...

 said the P2 transports "will be our first postwar passenger vessels", but this was not the fate of the Maritime Victory.

Post-war service

In 1947 the ship was transferred to the U.S. Army and subsequently renamed the Pvt. Frederick C. Murphy

Frederick C. Murphy

Frederick C. Murphy was a recipient of the Medal of Honor during World War II while a member of the US 65th Infantry Division.-Medal of Honor citation:*Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S...

 in 1950 in honor of the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

 recipient in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Ready Reserve Fleet and scrapping

The ship was preserved in mothball status at the Beaumont Reserve Fleet

Beaumont Reserve Fleet

The Beaumont Reserve Fleet is maintained in Beaumont, Texas as part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet , maintained by the Maritime Administration , an agency of the Department of Transportation ....

 in Beaumont, Texas. It was laid up in 1950. From 1983 to about 1990 the Fredrick C. Murphy was used as the fleet utility ship at Beaumont Reserve. In this role some offices were maintained aboard the ship.

The National Park Service

National Park Service

The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...

's Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) visited the Private Frederick C. Murphy in 2006 to document the ship.

As of 2006, the ship has been removed from inventory of Beaumont Reserve. It is now located at Esco in Brownsville, Texas and awaits scrapping. Scrapping may be complete as soon as September 2006.

Known sailings

Date	From - To	Purpose
? October 1945—26 October 1945	Marseille Marseille Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... —New York City New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...	Transport 1,969 troops.
? November 1945—24 November 1945	Marseille—New York	Transport 1,648 troops
? ??? 1945—18 December 1945	???, ???—Newport News, Virginia Newport News, Virginia Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...	Transport 1,436 troops, including 2877th Military Police Battalion.
?? ??? 1946—7 January 1946	New York—Le Havre Le Havre Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total... , France	Arrived to pick up troops.
7—19 January 1946	Le Havre—New York	Transport approximately 1,500 members of the 84th Infantry Division (some elements).
? ??? 1946—15 February 1946	Le Havre—New York	Transport 1,014 troops, including 23rd Base Post Office, 45th Field Hospital, three nurses and five civilians.
?? ??? 1946—22 March 1946	Southampton Southampton Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest... , England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... —New York	Transport 989 troops, including 1196th Engineer Base Depot, 3231st Quartermaster Service Co., 813th Ordnance Base Depot Co., 713th Engineer Depot Co.
? ??? 1946—18 April 1946	Le Havre—New York	Transport 879 troops, including 123rd Armored Ordnance Maintenance Battalion, 345th Quartermaster Co.
17—26 May 1946	Bremerhaven Bremerhaven Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham... , Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... —New York	Transport 102nd Infantry Division (Ozarks), 405th Infantry Regiment.
?? June 1946—25 June 1946	Le Havre—New York	Transport 1,363 troops.
?? August 1946—4 August 1946	Bremerhaven—New York	Transport of 1,317 troops.
15 August 1946—?? ??? 1946	New York—????, ??	German war prisoners.
?? September 1946—10 September 1946	Bremerhaven—New York	Transport 1,237 US soldiers back to United States.
?? October 1946—14 October 1946	Bremerhaven—New York	Transport 1,388 US soldiers back to United States.
22 October 1946—?? October/November 1946	New York—Livorno Livorno Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :... , Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...	Transport US Occupation troops to Europe.
?? November 1946—18 November 1946	Livorno—New York	Transport 1,244 troops.
5 December 1946—?? December 1946	New York—Bremerhaven	Transport troops.
23 December 1946—2 January 1947	Bremerhaven—New York	Transport US soldiers back to United States (some US Army Occupation troops).
20 January 1947—?? January/February 1947	New York—Bremerhaven	Sailing to Europe.
?? ??? 1947—21 February 1947	Bremerhaven—New York	Transport 832 troops.
10—12 March 1947	New York—Portland, Maine Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...	To arrive at Portland for loading Maine seed potato Potato The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species... es for shipment to Germany for planting in the American and British Occupied Zones. Sailing was to take place a few days later.
27 March 1947—?? March 1947	Portland—Germany	Transport of 4,000 tons of Maine seed potatoes.

External links

• Photos of Maritime Victory / Pvt. Frederick C Murphy
• Department of Transportation Maritime Administration
• The Cigarette Camps