Hobbs Victory
| Country | United States |
| Ship Class | Victory-class Merchant Vessel |
| Builder | Kaiser Richmond Shipyards |
| Laid Down | 10 Nov 1944 |
| Launched | 9 Jan 1945 |
| Sunk | 6 Apr 1945 |
| Displacement | 7,725 tons standard |
| Length | 456 feet |
| Beam | 62 feet |
| Draft | 23 feet |
| Machinery | Westinghouse steam turbines, one shaft |
| Power Output | 8,500 shaft horsepower |
| Speed | 18 knots |
| Range | 12,500nm at 12 knots |
| Crew | 62 |
| Armament | 1x5in/38cal gun, 1x3in/50cal gun, 8x20mm Oerlikon cannon |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseBuilt in 87 days from start to finish, Victory ship SS Hobbs Victory was completed in Jan 1945 and headed directly to the Pacific Ocean for the war effort. She was operated by the firm Sudden & Christenson. She loaded 6,000 pounds of ammunition at Ulithi Atoll and headed for Okinawa, Japan. While at anchor between Kuba and Aka Islands west of Okinawa in the afternoon on 5 Apr 1945, with SS Logan Victory nearby and similarly loaded with 6,000 pounds of ammunition, she was struck by a special attack aircraft at the superstructure. She immediately steamed away from Logan Victory at the speed of 15 knots. At 1850 hours, a second special attack aircraft struck her on the port side near No. 4 lifeboat on the boat deck. The flames resulting from the second strike exploded the port side boiler, leaving the ship dead in the water. The ship's master gave the abandon ship order; some crew members escaped by lifeboats, while other simply jumped into the sea. 11 civilian crew members and 1 US Navy armed guard were killed aboard Hobbs Victory on 5 Apr. On the next day, 6 Apr 1945, amidst firefighting efforts, fire reached the ammunition in the cargo hold, detonating it. The ship sank very shortly after. Two other Victory ships, Logan Victory and Canada Victory, were also lost during the same Japanese campaign against US naval forces at Okinawa, creating an ammunition shortage for the US troops fighting on the ground; the shortage was only allevigated a week later with the arrival of SS Saginaw Victory on 12 Apr 1945.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia
Last Major Revision: May 2022
Merchant Vessel Hobbs Victory Interactive Map
Hobbs Victory Operational Timeline
| 10 Nov 1944 | The keel of Hobbs Victory was laid down at Yard No. 2, Kaiser Richmond Shipyards, Richmond, California, United States. |
| 9 Jan 1945 | SS Hobbs Victory was launched at Yard No. 2, Kaiser Richmond Shipyards, Richmond, California, United States. |
| 5 Apr 1945 | SS Hobbs Victory was struck by Japanese special attack aircraft while at anchor between Kuba and Aka Islands near Okinawa, Japan. She steamed into the East China Sea as the ships in the anchorage dispersed. She was discovered by the Japanese and was struck by another special attack aircraft, destroying her port side boiler and rendering her dead in the water. |
| 6 Apr 1945 | SS Hobbs Victory, struck by two special attack aircraft on the previous day, was destroyed in the East China Sea when the ammunition in her cargo hold exploded amidst firefighting efforts. |
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Chiang Kaishek, 31 Jul 1937
3 Jun 2022 04:25:47 PM
I don't have a source to contradict the account of this ship. It seems to me that carrying 6,000 lbs of ammo is a tiny amount for a ship this size. Shouldn't be tons rather than pounds?