Name SS Clarksburg Victory Operator Olympic SS Company Construction started 9 July 1945 Length 139 m | Namesake Clarksburg, California Laid down 9 July 1945 Launched 15 September 1945 | |
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Owner War Shipping Administration Builder California Shipbuilding Corporation, Los Angeles | ||
USNS Clarksburg (T-AG-183) - SS Clarksburg Victory was one of 12 Victory ships scheduled to be acquired by the United States Navy in February 1966 and converted into Forward Depot Ships and placed into service with the Military Sea Transport Service, The Clarksburg Victory (MCV-888) was chosen for this conversion and assigned the name Clarksburg but the program was canceled and the ships were not acquired by the Navy. She was laid down on 9 July 1945 during the time World War II was still active in the Pacific War. But, with the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945, she was not needed to help with the bloody invasion of Japan mainland. She was placed in service on 15 October 1945. She was operated at by Olympic SS Company as an United States Merchant Marine ship and help bring troops home and take supplies to help war torn nations under the Marshall plan. After the war, in 1949 she was laid up at Mobile, Alabama in the United States Navy reserve fleets. In 1966 she was reactivated for service in the Vietnam War. At the end of the war in 1970 she was laid up at Suisun Bay in the Navy reserve fleet. In 1984 she was scrapped Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Victory ships were designed to replace the earlier Liberty Ships. Liberty ships were designed to be used just for WW2. Victory ships were designed to last longer and serve the US Navy after the war. The Victory ship differed from a Liberty ship in that they were: faster, longer and wider, taller, a thinner stack set farther toward the superstructure and had a long raised forecastle.