Ship Model, Victory Ship Type VC2-S-AP
date: label: date made
content: early 1940s
name: label: commissioned Victory ships like the ones this model represents
content: War Shipping Administration
notes: label: Description
content: By 1943, the outlook for an Allied victory in World War II was steadily improving. The reign of the U-boats that had plagued Allied convoys in the Battle of the Atlantic was coming to an end. And the Axis powers were finally losing the tonnage war, which aimed to sink Allied merchant ships faster than replacements could be built. While the mass-produced Liberty ships were faithfully carrying cargo and troops to war zones, these ships were relatively slow. In response, the War Shipping Administration commissioned a new class of emergency vessels called Victory ships. This model represents one of the 534 Victory ships that were built alongside the Liberty ships in seven shipyards around the country.
label: Description
content: Speed was the key difference between the Victory and Liberty ships. When Liberty ships were designed, all of the new steam turbine engines were reserved for naval vessels, leaving the Liberty ships with reciprocating steam engines. While these engines were reliable, the ships could only reach 11 knots, leaving them vulnerable to attack. As the war progressed, more turbine engines became available and were installed in the Victory ships, giving them a speed of over 16 knots.
label: Description
content: Another improvement of the Victory design was a stronger and larger hull. This meant that more cargo could be transported at once, and improved the odds of the vessels continuing to serve in the merchant fleet during times of peace. After World War II, 170 Victory ships were sold as commercial freighters. About 20 were loaned back to the military and used in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Several Victory ships have been preserved as museum ships and are currently located in California and Florida.
place: label: currently preserved in museums
content: United States: California
label: currently preserved in museums
content: United States: Florida
topic: label: related event
content: World War II
label: related event
content: Vietnam War
label: related event
content: Korean War
label: related event
content: Contemporary United States
label: related event
content: The Great Depression and World War II
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Maritime
label: See more items in
content: Engineering, Building, and Architecture
label: See more items in
content: Transportation
label: See more items in
content: On the Water exhibit
label: Exhibition
content: On the Water
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: National Museum of American History. On the Water exhibition website
label: Related Web Publication
content: http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Maritime Commisison (through J. M. Winston)
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TR.313023
label: catalog number
content: TR*313023
label: accession number
content: 170015
objectType: label: Object Name
content: ship model, Victory
label: Object Name
content: Ship, Victory
label: Object Name
content: ship model, Victory
label: Object Name
content: model, ship
label: Other Terms
content: Ship, Victory; Maritime; Vessel; Cargo
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: maroon (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: black (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: white (overall color)
label: Measurements
content: approx: 6 in x 57 in x 8 in; 15.24 cm x 144.78 cm x 20.32 cm