click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney
Well, if I had known that I was going to end up at Rosie-the-Riveter memorial in Richmond last Saturday afternoon I would have gotten there a bit earlier so I could go aboard the Red Oak Victory and have enough time to do some spooking-around. I'll have to go back soon when I can spend more time.
click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney
At 62 feet wide by 455 feet in length a Victory ship isn't a big ship by today's standards, but 2710 of these utilitarian cargo and tanker vessels provided vital supplies of all sorts to our troops in the Pacific Theater during World War 2.
Technically, a Victory ship is a classification of a Liberty ship, and grouping them together; 18 American shipyards built 2,710 Libertys between 1941 and 1945, easily the largest number of ships produced to a single design.
The Red Oak Liberty was built here at Kaiser Shipyard in northwest Richmond, but across the bay in Sausalito there was another busy shipyard--Marinship--also turning out Liberty Ships at a fast pace. My grandfather worked at Marinship during WW2, and is probably the best explanation as to why I am a native of this area.
1 comment:
The Richmond yard produced something like 742 of these in a very short time. Glad you saw something of my town. I'll look forward to your photos when you come back.
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