SS Red Oak Victory Museum Ship

Now a museum ship that shares the history of the Richmond Kaiser Shipyard and the effort to rapidly produce cargo ships (known at the time as "Victory Ships) in World War II, the SS Red Oak Victory was built in 1944 in Richmond, California. The ship carried ammunition and supplies in World War II and was part of the Merchant Marine for the next three decades in addition to transporting cargo during the Korean War and Vietnam. This ship is the only surviving vessel of 747 ships constructed during World War II at the Richmond Kaiser Shipyard. Thanks to the efforts of preservationists and public historians along with state and federal grants, the ship was saved from the scrapyard and has been located here since 1998 and recently transformed into a museum ship with staff who offer tours and events that share history while also memorializing the workers and sailors who helped win World War II.

Victory ships were manufactured during World War II as either AK (auxiliary cargo ships) or AT (attack transports). The SS Red Oak was built at the Kaiser Richmond Shipyard in Richmond California as an AK. The vessel was named after Red Oak, Iowa in recognition of the town's unique sacrifice. The southwest Iowa community experienced the greatest rate of casualties during World War II with 93 soldiers losing their lives within a town with less than 6,000 people.

Construction of the vessel began on August 15, 1944. By November 9, 1944, the vessel was launched and the final outfittings began. This vessel took only 87 days to build and it was the 558th vessel of the 747 vessels built at the shipyard. On December 5, 1944 the vessel was commissioned and given to the U.S. Navy and became known as the USS Red Oak Victory (AK - 235). The vessel was then assigned as an ammunition carrier.

The vessel then went through a series of sea trials known as “shake–down cruises from December 14 to December 23, 1944. The vessel was then sent to Port Chicago in Suisun Bay to be loaded with ammunition. On January 10, 1945, the vessel left San Francisco and sailed into the Pacific Ocean to deliver ammunition to the Pacific Fleet. The first stop for the vessel was Pearl Harbor. On February 10, 1945, the vessal departed Pearl Harbor and headed to Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The vessel departed the Marshall Islands on February 23, 1945 and headed to Ulithi Atoll in the Western Carolina Islands to deliver ammunition for the invasion of Okinawa. While at Ulithi Atoll, the vessel replenished ammunition to numerous Allied vessels within the Pacific Fleet, notably replenishing the USS Missouri. On May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered to the Allies signifying the end of World War II in Europe. On August 15, 1945, all World War II hostilities came to an end. On September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered while aboard the USS Missouri signifying the official end of World War II. On May 21, 1946 the USS Red Oak Victory (AK - 235) was officially decommissioned from the U.S. Navy at 2:54 PM.

After the end of World War II, the SS Red Oak Victory carried cargo for the Merchant Marine in the Caribbean and Pacific from 1947 to 1968. The vessel carried emergency grain to Pakistan and India in 1947. Between February 1950 and May 1951 the SS Red Oak Victory aided the Korean conflict by making military cargo voyages. The vessel sat in storage at the Astoria Ready Reserve Fleet in Astoria Washington until December 1965. Between January 1966 and December 1968 the vessel made voyages in support of the Vietnam war. In January 1968 the vessel was delivered to Suisun Bay California where it sat in storage as part of the Ready Reserve Fleet until 1998.

On September 20, 1998 the vessel was relocated to the shipyard where it was originally constructed. The shipyard in Richmond, California then restored the vessel to the original launch conditions and the vessel was moved to Pier number 1 in Richmond California. In 2002 the vessel was awarded a grant of $1.3 million to paint the deck and superstructure and install an AC power system. Inspections on the ship were done in September 2011 when the ship was cleaned and a new propeller was installed.

The vessel continues to be located at Pier One in Richmond, California where it serves as a museum ship and a memorial to the workers who constructed over 700 ships at this shipyard and the sailors who delivered ammunition to the Pacific Fleet. The vessel includes tours and interpretive signage that offer historical context about the role of shipyard and cargo ships during World War II.

Red Oak Victory. “SS Red Oak Victory Ship: WWII Museum: Richmond Ca.” SS Red Oak Victory Ship | WWII Museum | Richmond CA, redoakvictory.us/. 

Varghese, Manjula. “SS Red Oak Victory: One of the Last Victory Ships.” Richmond Confidential, 20 Feb. 2019, richmondconfidential.org/2015/11/29/ss-red-oak-one-of-the-last-victory-ships/. 

National Parks Service. “SS Red Oak Victory Ship (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/places/ss-red-oak-victory-ship.htm.