World War II Database

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.

Merchant Vessel Hobbs Victory Interactive Map

Hobbs Victory Operational Timeline

Visitor Submitted Comments

Show older comments