SS Claymont Victory

SS Claymont Victory was a Type C2 Victory ship-based VC2-S-AP2 troop transport built for the U.S. Army Transportation Corps late in World War II. Launched in November of 1944, it saw service in the European Theater of Operations during 1945 and in the immediate post-war period repatriating U.S. troops.

VC2-S-AP2 type ship
History
USA
Name:	SS Claymont Victory
Namesake:	City of Claymont, Delaware [1]
Builder:	Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard Corp. Baltimore, Maryland
Laid down:	September 25, 1944
Launched:	November 18, 1944
Sponsored by:	Mrs. Ruth Holt [2]
Acquired:	December 15, 1944
Out of service:	1971
General characteristics
Tonnage:	7,607 Tons (Gross), 4,551 Tons (Net)
Displacement:	15,200 Tons (Full Load), 10,8750 Tons (Lightweight)
Length:	455'
Beam:	62'
Draft:	28' 0"
Propulsion:	2 B&W oil-fired steam boilers, 2 steam turbines, single propeller, 6,000shp
Speed:	16 knots
Capacity:	1597
Armament:	5" 38 Dual Purpose Gun, 3" Anti-Aircraft Gun, 8 20MM Caliber Guns
Notes:	Hull Type: C2-S-AP2 MCV hull #612[3]

After being briefly laid up in the U.S. Claymont Victory was purchased by Vereenigde Nederlandsche Scheepvaartmaatschapppij of the Netherlands and renamed Mariekerk. In 1966 she was sold to Kavo Compañia Naviera S.A., of Greece and renamed Kavo Longos. She was scrapped at Whampoa Dock, Hong Kong, in 1971.

History

Construction and operation

SS Claymont Victory was laid down on September 25, 1944 as a U.S. MARCOM Type C2 ship-based VC2-S-AP2 hull by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard of Baltimore, Maryland.[1] Launched on November 18, 1944, she was then converted into a dedicated troopship,[4] and delivered on December 15, 1944. She was operated on behalf of USAT by Eastern Steamship Lines.[1][5]

World War II

As a transport allocated to the U.S. Army USAT Claymont Victory was crewed by United States Merchant Marines, protected by a contingent of the US Naval Armed Guards, and had a complement of the US Army Transportation Corps (Water Division) aboard for troop administration.[6]

She was armed with a 5 inch (127 mm) stern gun for use against submarines and surface ships, a bow-mounted 3"/50 caliber gun and eight 20 mm cannon for use against aircraft.

Units transported

Units transported by the SS Claymont Victory include:

• 289th Engineer Combat Battalion, which departed Antwerp, Belgium August 14, 1945,[7] for deployment to the Pacific Theater in preparation for the invasion of Japan. The Claymont Victory was abreast the White Cliffs of Dover in the English Channel when the announcement of the Japanese surrender on VJ Day, August 15, was broadcast to all aboard. The transport was then re-routed to the United States, and arrived at Boston POE on August 28.[8]
• 1269th Engineer Combat Battalion, August 1945.[9]

Post-war

After being briefly laid up in the U.S., SS Claymont Victory was purchased in 1947 by Vereenigde Nederlandsche Scheepvaartmaatschapppij (the United Netherlands Navigation Company) of The Hague and renamed Mariekerk.[3] In 1966 she was sold to Kavo Compañia Naviera S.A. of Greece, and registered in Monrovia as Kavo Longos. In 1971 she was scrapped at Whampoa Dock, Hong Kong.

See also

• SS Maritime Victory, a similar VC2-S-AP2 Victory ship conversion into a dedicated troopship
• SS American Victory, a similar VC2-S-AP2 vessel preserved as a museum ship

References

1. CLAYMONT VICTORY Ship named for City of Claymont, Delaware Color Cacheted Cover
2. Delaware Public Archives Ship launching image description
3. Vessel Status Card
4. APPENDIX B: VICTORY TROOPSHIP CONVERSIONS Compiled from Roland W. Charles, Troopships of World War II (Washington, DC: The Army Transportation Association, 1947), Appendix E, pp. 356-357
5. GODBOUT v. EASTERN STEAMSHIP LINES, Inc. "The United States, as the owner of the S.S. Claymont Victory, and the Eastern Steamship Lines, Inc., as operating agent"
6. United States War Department (1944). FM 55-105. United States Department of War. p. 12 Section 14, Allocated Vessels, Diagrams following p. 64.
7. Huntingdon Daily News September 01, 1945
8. Pittsfield Berkshire Evening Eagle August 28, 1945 “The Pittsfield soldiers who arrived this morning at 8:30 at Commonwealth pier in Boston on the S.S. Claymont Victory are..."
9. 1269th Engineer Combat Battalion History