View source for SS Bessemer Victory

{{short description|Victory ship of the United States}}
{{for|the Victorian experimental steamship|SS Bessemer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1945}}
|Ship name=SS ''Bessemer Victory''
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|Ship builder=[[California Shipbuilding Corporation]], [[Terminal Island]], Los Angeles
|Ship laid down=28 May 1945
|Ship launched=26 July 1945
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|Ship reclassified=[[USNS]] ''Bessemer'' (T-AG-186), 1 February 1966 
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|Ship identification={{IMO Number|5043162}}
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|Ship fate=Scrapped, 1991
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|Ship type= [[Victory ship]]
|Ship displacement=*{{convert|4512|LT|t|0|lk=in|abbr=on}} light
*{{convert|15589|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full
|Ship length={{convert|455|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|62|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|29|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship propulsion= Cross-compound steam turbine, single screw, {{convert|6000|hp|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship speed={{convert|15.5|kn|lk=in}} 
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|Ship armament=*1 × [[5-inch/38-caliber gun|{{convert|5|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] gun (stern)
*1 × [[3-inch/50-caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] gun (bow)
*8 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm machine guns]]
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'''SS ''Bessemer Victory''''' was one of 534 [[Victory ship]]s built during [[World War II]]. Named for [[Bessemer, Alabama]], an industrial city honoring Sir [[Henry Bessemer]] (the Englishman who invented a [[Bessemer process|steel manufacturing process]]), she was one of 218 such ships that were named after American cities.

''Bessemer Victory'' was laid down on 28 May 1945 at Los Angeles by the California Shipbuilding Corporation as a Maritime Commission type (VC2-S-AP2) hull under Maritime Commission contract (MCV hull 806). Launched 26 July 1945, she was delivered to the Maritime Commission 30 August 1945.

During War II she was operated by [[Hammond Shipping Company]] as [[Chartering (shipping)|charter shipping]] with the [[Maritime Commission]] and [[War Shipping Administration]]. The ship was run by its Hammond Shipping Company crew and the [[US Navy]] supplied [[United States Navy Armed Guard]]s to man the deck guns and radio.<ref name="NAG1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.armed-guard.com/item07.html|title=Sea Lane Vigilantes|website=www.armed-guard.com|access-date=23 May 2022|archive-date=31 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531045847/https://www.armed-guard.com/item07.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="NAG">World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merchant Marine,  2007-2014 Project Liberty Ship, Project Liberty Ship, P.O. Box 25846 Highlandtown Station, Baltimore, MD [https://www.armed-guard.com/about-ag.html#:~:text=There%20were%20three%20basic%20training,California%3B%20and%20Gulfport%2C%20Mississippi.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514224645/https://www.armed-guard.com/about-ag.html#:~:text=There%20were%20three%20basic%20training,California%3B%20and%20Gulfport%2C%20Mississippi. |date=14 May 2022 }}</ref>

In the [[Korean War]] she was part of the Echelon Movement Group X Corps Troops.

One of 12 Victory ships selected for transfer from the National Defense Reserve Fleet to the [[Military Sea Transportation Service]] (MSTS) for cargo-carrying service during the [[Vietnam War]], she was assigned the name '''USNS ''Bessemer''''' and the designation '''T-AG-186''' on 1 February 1966 (though the ship never served with MSTS because the program was cancelled; however, she did carry cargo to Vietnam as ''Bessemer Victory'' under a commercial charter). Returned to the National Defense Reserve Fleet, ''Bessemer Victory'' remained in the Maritime Administration's berthing area in [[Virginia|Virginia's]] [[James River (Virginia)|James River]] until she was scrapped in 1991 at [[Alang, India]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{DANFS}}
* {{cite web|title=''Bessemer Victory''|work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships|url=http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b5/bessemer-victory-i.htm|accessdate=4 April 2007}}
* {{cite web|title=T-AG-186 ''Bessemer''|work=Amphibious Photo Archive
|url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/49/49186.htm|accessdate=4 April 2007}}

{{Victory ships}}
{{Victory ship cargo ship classes}}
{{MARCOMships}}
{{WWII US ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bessemer Victory}}
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:1945 ships]]
[[Category:Victory ships]]


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