7\. DESCRIPTI0N

SUMMARY PARAGRAPH

The 1944 Victory ship RED OAK VICTORY was built in Richmond, California,
at Kaiser Shipyard #1 and launched on November 9, 1944. The ship\'s
World War II, US Maritime Commission designation of VC2-S-AP2 indicates
she is a \"V\" for \"Victory\", \"C2\" for medium capacity cargo
carrier, \"S\" for \"steam\", and \"AP2\" for the 6,000 shaft horsepower
type of Victory. Now moored at Terminal One at the Port of Richmond, she
is currently undergoing rehabilitation.

The RED OAK VICTORY possesses all seven of the National Register\'s
aspects of integrity. It will be home-berthed in an appropriate
waterfront setting, within view of where it was built in Richmond,
California, retaining its integrity of location, setting and
association. Regarding integrity of design, modifications to the
interior and exterior space have been minimal, consisting mainly of
removal of wartime guns, conversion of crew quarters from metal pipe
bunks of six per room to wooden berths of two per room, and addition of
radar and radio equipment over 22 years\' post-war service as a merchant
ship. From 1968 to 1998 the RED OAK VICTORY was preserved in the
\"mothball\" fleet at Suisun Bay, thus its integrity of material is
exceptionally high. The rehabilitation efforts primarily involve surface
improvements and cleaning and overhauling of equipment, which also
retains integrity of workmanship. The excellent condition of the RED OAK
VICTORY insures that the vessel conveys a superb sense of the past and
will provide an invaluable site for interpreting the period of
significance.

Plans are to restore the RED OAK VICTORY to fully operational condition,
reflecting the period of significance, 1944 - 1946.The ship will be a
primary center of interpretation for the "Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home
Front National Historic Park." As such, it will feature fully restored
elements from the period of significance as well as museum space and
event facilities for public use where the public can experience as well
as see this historic artifact.

RED OAK VICTORY AS BUILT

The RED OAK VICTORY was built in the Permanente Metals Corporation
Shipyard #1, one of four shipyards in Richmond, California, built and
operated by Kaiser Corporation during WWII. Most Victory ships served
under the US Maritime Commission as merchant cargo ships. The RED OAK
VICTORY, however, was one of ten \"Boulder Class\" Victory ships that
were built specifically to serve as Navy ammunition carriers during the
war. It was launched on November 9, 1944 and commissioned as the USS RED
OAK VICTORY, AK235, on December 5, 1944.

RED OAK VICTORY, official number 249410, is a welded steel,
full-scantling, screw-propelled, steam-powered vessel 455 feet, 3 inches
long overall with a 62-foot beam, a 38-foot depth of hold, and 28-foot
draft. The ship is registered at 7,612 tons gross and 4,555 tons net,
and displaces 15,200 tons. Designed with a straight, raked stem with a
paravane skeg fitted on the forefoot, and a cruiser stern, the ship\'s
lines were radically different from her Liberty predecessors, with a
semi-V-shaped bow, and a parallel, 70-foot midbody section.

Transversely framed on 36-inch centers, the ship has a double bottom
that carried fuel oil, salt water ballast, and reserve feed water. RED
OAK VICTORY has two complete decks, a forecastle deck that extends over
the number one hold, and a first platform deck in two of her holds. The
ship is subdivided by seven full watertight bulkheads that extend to the
main deck with the sole exception of the fore peak bulkhead, which
extends to the forecastle deck. The VC2-S-AP2 ships were arranged to
carry general cargo in five holds, three forward and two abaft the
midship machinery space. Hold No. 1 has a 22-foot, 4-inch by 25-foot
hatch; Hold No. 2 has a 22-foot, 4-inch by 24-foot hatch; Hold No. 3 has
a 22-foot, 4-inch by 36-foot hatch; Hold No. 4 has a 22-foot, 4-inch by
36-foot hatch; and Hold No. 5 has a 22-foot, 4-inch by 24-foot hatch.
The flush main deck is also interrupted by the forecastle deck, the
midship house, and a small poop deck house.

RED OAK VICTORY has three masts, each with a masthouse. The ship is
cargo rigged to serve every hatchway. The 100-foot, 8-inch high
foremast, located at the forecastle bulkhead, serves Hold No. 1. The
109-foot, 4-inch mainmast, located at frame 52 and supported by standing
rigging, serves Holds No. 2 and 3. Kingposts at the forward end of the
midships house also serve Hold No. 3, while kingposts at the after end
of the superstructure serve Hold No. 4. The 104-foot, 11-inch
mizzenmast, at frame 122 and supported by standing rigging, serves Holds
No. 4 and 5. Cargo was discharged from the five hatchways by means of 14
five-ton booms, the latter two located to serve hatchways fore and aft
of the super-structure. The masts and kingposts support 14 five-time
booms equipped with single-part topping lifts. The ship also carries two
large heavy-lift booms, rated at 30-ton and 50-ton lifting capacity, on
the main- and mizzenmasts. The booms serve Holds No. 3 and 4.

RED OAK VICTORY has 12 electric motor-driven cargo winches, clustered in
two groups of four around the main-and mizzenmasts and with two located
forward and two aft of the superstructure. Ten single-drum, single-speed
winches serve the five-ton booms; four single-drum, two-speed winches
serve the 30- and 50-ton booms. Each winch is driven by a 50 horsepower,
watertight, enclosed motor. The winches have control equipment,
resistors and brake arranged on a common bedplate under waterproof
enclosures. The single-speed winches have a capacity of 7,450 pounds at
220 feet per minute. The 2-speed winches have a capacity of 7,450 pounds
at 220 feet per minute in high gear and 19,000 pounds at 85 feet per
minute in low gear. All winches are operated through pedestal
controllers conveniently located near the hatchways. The one-speed,
double reduction herringbone gear winches have 18- by 20-inch drums and
were manufactured by Pacific Iron & Steel Works at Hoisting Machinery,
Tacoma, Washington. The winches are driven by 50-hp, 230-volt, 180-amp,
600-rpm motors manufactured by General Electric Co., Schenectady, NY.
The double-speed, reduction herringbone gear winches with 20- by 20-inch
drums are also manufactured by Pacific Iron & Steel with motors by
General Electric.

RED OAK VICTORY has an electric-motor-driven, horizontal-shaft type
anchor windlass on the forecastle deck. Manufactured by the Hesse-Ersted
Iron Works of Portland, OR, the windlass is capable of raising two
anchors simultaneously from a 30-fathom depth of water at a chain speed
of 30 feet per minute. The windlass motor, a General Electric compound
wound type, is rated at 60-hp, 230-volts, 226-amps, and 600-rpm. Warping
heads on the wildcat shaft of the windlass provide the facilities for
handling mooring lines.

The RED OAK VICTORY\'s ground tackle includes two 9,500 lb. cast-steel
best bowers, stowed in the hawsepipes, and one 3,420 lb. stream anchor
stowed on the main deck aft. The anchors were manufactured by Baldt. The
anchor chain is 300 fathoms of 2 1/8-inch diameter stud-link cast steel
chain, manufactured by Baldt, in two lengths; other lines include a
90-fathom, 1 1/2-inch diameter wire rope stream line; a 130-fathom, 1
3/4-inch diameter wire rope towline; two 73-fathom 1-inch diameter wire
rope hawsers; two 73-fathom wire rope warps; and two 73-fathom lengths
of 8-inch sisal rope. All of the wire ropes are mounted on reels located
on the weather deck.

Other deck machinery includes an electric warping capstan on the main
deck aft, with its machinery below. The smooth-barrel, reversible,
vertical-motor driven capstan was manufactured by Sellers. It produces a
line pull of 20,000 lbs. at a rope speed of 30 feet per minute. The
capstan motor is a 35 hp, 230-volt, 138-amp, 600-rpm Westinghouse. RED
OAK VICTORY has four 24-foot steel lifeboats, two motor-propelled, with
a combined capacity of 124 persons, stowed in gravity-type davits
manufactured by the Welin Davit & Boat Corp. of Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
An electrical winch, also manufactured by Welin, is provided for each
davit, driven by motors manufactured by General Electric. In addition to
the lifeboats, four 20-person life rafts, mounted on skids fore and aft
of the midships house, and two 15-person life floats, mounted aft on the
deckhouse, are available for lifesaving.

RED OAK VICTORY was armed with six single 20mm Oerlikon guns, a
3-inch/50-caliber gun forward, and a 5-inch/3-caliber gun aft. These
weapons were removed after World War II. The ship retains the mounts for
each weapon, including the circular steel splinter shields for the bow
and stern guns. Original weapons have been located to replace those
removed. The majority of the space in the poop deckhouse was for the
ship\'s 28-member Armed Guard, which manned the guns. Their quarters and
mess were at the main deck level, while below, accessible by trunk, is
the magazine, with shell hoist.

Accommodations are provided for 62 officers and crew in the midships
house. In an article in the April,1944, issue of *Marine Engineering and
Shipping Review*, Victory ship accommodations were described:

The captain\'s stateroom and office are on the cabin deck, starboard
side. The quarters for deck officers, engineers and radio operators are
on the cabin and boat decks. The quarters for the crew are on the main
deck. The officers\' mess and pantry are located at the after end of the
deckhouse on the starboard side of the boat deck. The crew\'s mess and
pantry are located on the deck below the officers\' mess. The galley is
located at the after end of the deckhouse on the main deck. The hospital
is on the portside on the main deck. The quarters for both the officers
and crew are comfortably and conveniently arranged. Built-in berths are
provided for the officers\' staterooms and pipe berths for the hospital
and crew\'s quarters.

The galley is equipped with oil-burning ranges manufactured by the
Washington Stove Works of Everett, Washington, two steam-jacketed
kettles, a Hobart mixer, manufactured by that Troy, New York, company, a
vegetable peeler manufactured by the Anstice Co. of Rochester, New York,
and a refrigerator manufactured by Bailey. There are also refrigerators
in the officers\' pantry and aft pantry. Steward\'s stores, dry stores,
and refrigerated stores are located on the second deck, admidships.

The RED OAK VICTORY retains all of her wartime issue equipment,
including: the radio equipment the high frequency, low frequency,
emergency frequency transmitters, high receiver, low receiver, alarm
signal keyer, auto alarm, and crystal receiver, all manufactured by
Federal Tel. & Radio Corp. of Newark, New Jersey, and the radio receiver
and radio direction finder in the chart room. The gyrocompass, bearing
stands, and repeater compasses, all manufactured by the Dodge Division
of the Chrysler Corporation of Detroit are aboard.

The bridge is completely outfitted and conforms to the standard 1944
description of a Victory, with magnetic compass in a compensating
binnacle, engine room telegraphs, bells, fog horn, rudder angle
indicator, echo depth sounder, and clinometer. Telephones for shipboard
communication, manufactured by Hose McCann remain in working condition.
The ship\'s wartime issue Maytag washers, in working condition, and the
machine shop in the engineering spaces, with a lathe, drill press, and
grinder and all spare parts, complete the fully functional, operational
appearance of RED OAK VICTORY.

Ventilation below decks is naturally supplied through four 36-inch
cowls, two 24-inch cowls, and two 18-inch cowls, with each kingpost also
serving as an exhaust trunk from the holds with 30-inch diameter
Breidert exhaust heads installed at the top of each kingpost. Two 20,000
axial flow supply fans with ducts lead to several terminals in the
machinery spaces, with a single 12,000 axial flow fan with ducts leading
from the heated space.

The original main propulsion unit is housed midship, with a
cross-compound, double-reduction geared, impulse-reaction type marine
steam turbine unit rated at 6000 shaft horsepower, manufactured by
Westinghouse, driving a single screw at a speed of 100 rpm. The
shafting, forged steel and 16 inches in diameter, runs aft to the
manganese bronze, four blade, right hand screw. Manufactured by Dorance
on August 31, 1944, the 18-foot, 3-inch diameter screw weighs 29,765
lbs., has a pitch of 17\' 6\" and drives RED OAK VICTORY at a maximum
speed of 15 knots.

Steam is provided by two sectional-header, single-pass design boilers
manufactured by Babcock & Wilcox. Rated at 525 psi, with an operating
pressure of 465 psi, the boilers produce 27,500 pounds of steam per hour
at 750 degrees, with a furnace volume of 450 cubic feet. The boilers are
12 sections wide and are 39-feet, 6-inches athwartship by 11-feet,
8-inches fore and aft, and 21-feet, 3-inches overall height to the top
of the economizers. Fitted with interdeck superheaters and economizers,
each boiler is fired with water-cooled side walls and refractory in the
front and rear walls and floors.

Electrical power is provided by an inboard and outboard
turbo-generators, the turbines manufactured by the Joshua Hendy Iron
Works of San Francisco, California, and the generators manufactured by
the Allis-Chalmers Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The three-wire marine
direct current generators produce 300-kilowatts, with 120 and 2140 volts
and 1250 amps and 1200-rpm. The ship also has emergency diesel
generators in the engine room and in the emergency diesel room. The
steering gear, a slide electro-hydraulic, double-ram type, was
manufactured by the Baldwin Locomotive Company, and is located aft.

RED OAK VICTORY\'S PRESENT APPEARANCE

RED OAK VICTORY retains a high degree of integrity and is readily
recognizable as a World War Victory ship. Rehabilitation is now in
progress with all volunteer labor under the direction of an executive
committee, which coordinates operations aboard ship.

The original radio equipment was not replaced, and is still functioning
today under the auspices of the Red Oak Victory Amateur Radio Club.
Additional portable \"entertainment\" radios as well as TV sets, were
installed in the 1950s and \'60s, and will be removed from the areas
restored to interpret the 1944-46 era of significance. Radar equipment
was installed on the bridge in the 1950s and \'60s, and can be clearly
identified as not original to WWII. Otherwise, the major bridge
equipment as described in the National Register nomination is intact.
Other equipment, including the major propelling machinery, steam
generation plant, combustion equipment, pumps, ventilation systems,
generators, steering gear, winches and booms, telephones, are original
to the *Red Oak Victory* and are being restored to fully operational
condition.

Visual verification of the Name Plate Data (from the November 1944
document prepared by the Inspection Office of Shipyard #1) was performed
aboard the *Red Oak Victory* in July 2001. Although in some cases name
plates are missing, obscured or located in hard-to-reach areas, it was
possible to verify the manufacturer and serial numbers of the following
equipment as original to the *SS Red Oak Victory*.

High Pressure Turbine, Westinghouse, Serial No. 4A2771

Low Pressure & Astern Turbine, Westinghouse, Serial No. 4A1770

Fuel Oil Pumping and Heating Set, Peabody, Ser. No. 1116-23

Port Fuel Oil Service Pumps, Franklin Machine & Foundry, Ser. No.
1188313

Fuel Oil Transfer Pumps, Stearns Roger, Ser. No. 1138555

Turbo Generators:

Inboard Turbine, Joshua Hendy Iron Works, Ser. No. 3H151

Inboard and Outboard Transformers, Serial Nos. 1831704 and 1831702

Inboard Generator, Allis-Chalmers, Ser. No. 103DK-3-34

Main Generator & Distribution Switchboard, General Electric, Ser. No. 66

Galley Range, Washington Stove Works, Ser. No 2-30-91

Galley Mixer, Hobart, Ser. No. 8-08518

Revolution Counter at Main Gauge Board, Bendix, Ser. No. 23160

Hold #3 Starboard Winch Motor, Ser. No. 1978738

Galley Fan Controller, G.E., Cat. No. 498807H

Galley Fan, Haley Blower, CFM 4700-40

Radio System, Federal Tel. & Radio Corp. (McKay), Unit #FT-106, Ser. No.
440687

(all components of this system identified as original by serial number)

Master Gyrocompass, Dodge, Ser. No. 1412955

Carbon Pile Regulator, Safety Car Heating and Lighting, Ser. No. 144131

Motor, Holtzer Cabot, Ser. No. 1312677

Six Repeaters, their Stands and Pelorus Stands check out by serial
number

Repeater Panels, Dodge, Ser. Nos. C-23967, C-23973, C-23974

Current Failure Alarm, Dodge, Ser. No. C-18055

Fathometer (Echo Depth Recorder), National Simplex Bludworth Model
ES-103

Life Boat Davits, Welin Boat & Davit, Ser. Nos. M-387-L, M-385-R,
M-387-R, M-385-L

The gray exterior paint is peeling after years of mothballing, and
removing old paint, cleaning, preparing and repainting surfaces is a
major activity of volunteers. The anchor windlass, still fully
functional, was cleaned of old paint, acid treated and primed. The
exposed area of the after (gunner\'s) house has been primed and
finish-painted, and many holes in the decking compound have been filled.
All of the original winches and other cargo apparatus are being restored
to working condition. Winches at cargo hatches #3 and #4 along with
their related booms and rigging are now fully operational.

Following the period of significance, the ship was leased by the
government for commercial use. As such, the original guns were removed
and disposed of. To restore this vessel to an exterior appearance
consistent with the period of significance, appropriate weapons have
been obtained and will be mounted in original locations.

Interior work includes cleaning and painting of the operational galley.
The main exhaust fan to the galley has been overhauled and reinstalled.
Restoration of the Captain\'s stateroom and office, and refinishing of
the hailing boards has been completed. The metal pole bunks, six or
seven to a room, of the wartime crew quarters were replaced after 1946
with two or three wooden berths per room. Quarters in the after
deckhouse for the Navy gunners aboard the RED OAK VICTORY during WWII
were removed after the war and are now used for storage. The telemotor
for the wheelhouse has been rebuilt, and a new base prepared for the
wheel. In the Engine Room two air compressors have been restored to full
function and a DC welding machine, salvaged from the Reserve Fleet, has
been installed.

A \"shipyard/dry dock\" package identifying engine and deck department
needs has been developed which includes removing sea chest plates,
painting the ship\'s exterior and getting the engines operating. All
work is to meet the Coast Guard and American Bureau of Shipping
standards. Funds are being sought for this phase of work which cannot be
completed by volunteer effort alone. Salvaging visits to the Suisun Bay
Reserve Fleet continue, acquiring equipment from the remaining victory
ships for installation on the RED OAK VICTORY.

As a major interpretive site for the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front
National Historic Park, the RED OAK VICTORY will be developed into a
maritime museum focusing on the wartime contributions of the residents
and workers of Richmond, providing a unique perspective on their
history-making achievements. It will be used as a site for local events
and offer educational programs and family recreation opportunities and
for ceremonies honoring the merchant marines, military personnel and
civilians, who served in WWII.