SS Baton Rouge Victory

Typical Victory Ship.
History
United States
NameSS Baton Rouge
NamesakeCity of Baton Rouge
OwnerWar Shipping Administration
OperatorAmerican Export Line and Ishmian SS Corporation
BuilderBethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore
Laid down21 June 1945
Launched22 August 1945
Completed24 Sept. 1945
FateScrapped at Hualien, Formosa in 1967, after hitting a mine.
General characteristics
Class and typeVC2-S-AP3 Victory ship
Tonnage7612 GRT, 4,553 NRT
Displacement15,200 tons
Length455 ft (139 m)
Beam62 ft (19 m)
Draught28 ft (8.5 m)
Installed power8,500 shp (6,300 kW)
PropulsionHP & LP turbines geared to a single 20.5-foot (6.2 m) propeller
Speed16.5 knots
Boats & landing
craft carried
4 Lifeboats
Complement62 Merchant Marine and 28 US Naval Armed Guards
Armament
Notes[1]

The SS Baton Rouge was a cargo Victory ship built during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. The Baton Rouge (MCV-846) was a type VC2-S-AP2 Victory ship built by Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards. The Maritime Administration cargo ship was the 846rd ship built. Her keel was laid on June 21, 1945. She was launched on August 22, 1945, and completed on September 24, 1945. The 10,600-ton ship was constructed for the Maritime Commission. The American Export Line and later the Isthmian Steamship Company operated her under the United States Merchant Marine act for the War Shipping Administration.[2]

Victory ships were designed to supersede the earlier Liberty Ships. Unlike Liberty ships, Victory ships were designed to serve the US Navy after the war[3] and also last longer. The Victory ship differed from a Liberty ship in that they were: faster, longer and wider, taller, and had a thinner stack set farther toward the superstructure. They also had a long raised forecastle.

  1. ^ Babcock & Wilcox (April 1944). "Victory Ships". Marine Engineering and Shipping Review.
  2. ^ shipbuildinghistory.com Victory ships
  3. ^ "Liberty Ships and Victory Ships --Setting the Stage". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2017-03-17.

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