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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Bedford Victory (AK-231)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Xray - Victor - Mike
 NXVM
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Philippines Liberation Medal
Boulder Victory Class Cargo Ship
  • Laid down, 20 July 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (VC2-S-AP2) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MCV hull 540) at Permanente Metals Corp., Yard No.1, Richmond, CA.
  • Launched, 23 September 1944
  • Commissioned USS Bedford Victory (AK-231), 11 November 1944, LCDR. Dudley A. Durrant, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS Bedford Victory was assigned to the Asiatic Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaign;

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    5th and 3rd Fleet raids in support of Okinawa Gunto operation, 25 April to 7 June 1945

  • Decommissioned, 29 March 1946, at San Francisco, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 28 August 1946
  • USS Bedford Victory earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Merchant Service
    Transferred to the War Shipping Administration, 29 March 1946
    General Agency Agreement Shepard SS Co., 29 March 1947, at San Francisco
    General Agency Agreement Isthmian SS. Co., 8 February 1947, at Baltimore, MD.
    Laid up, 20 October 1947, in the National Defense Reserve Fleet James River Group, Lee Hall, VA.
    General Agency Agreement Alaska Hawaiian SS Co., 1 August 1950, James River Reserve Fleet
    Chartered to Alaska SS Co., 25 August 1950
    General Agency Agreement Alaska SS Co., 24 January 1952, Seattle, WA.
    Laid up, 5 May 1962, in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, WA.
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 28 March 1972, to Bruce A. Blakey for non-transportation use (PD-X-932) for $53,000
    Specifications:
    Displacement 15,580 t.(fl)
    Length 455'
    Beam 62'
    Draft 29' 2"
    Speed 15.5 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 12
    Enlisted 87
    Largest Boom Capacity 50 t.
    Cargo Capacity 7,800 DWT
    non-refrigerated 453,210 Cu ft
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    one single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mount
    Fuel Capacity NSFO 18,575 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Westinghouse turbine
    two Foster Wheeler header-type boilers, 525psi 750°
    double Westinghouse Main Reduction Gears
    two turbo-drive 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    one propeller, 6,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Merchant Service Isthmian SS Corp.
    Bedford Victory 206k Ex-USS Bedford Victory (AK-231) in merchant service as the Isthmian SS. Co. Inc. cargo ship SS Bedford Victory in New York harbor, circa 1947, she wears the yellow smokestack of the Isthmian SS. Co. Inc.
    Photo originally copyrighted by the World Ship Society.    		 Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    USS Bedford Victory (AK-231)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Durrant, Dudley Albert, USNR11 November 1944 - 29 March 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS Bedford Victory (AK-231) War Diary Oct 1944 - Nov 1945, History and Action Reports
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Cargo Ship (AK) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 19 April 2019