The Boulder VictoryâÂÂclass cargo ship was a cargo ship design shipping use during World War II by the United States Navy. The Boulder VictoryâÂÂclass design is the same as the Victory ships built for the World War II United States Merchant Navy. A total of 20 Boulder VictoryâÂÂclass cargo ships were built in 1944 and 1945. Some of the ships were launched as Victory ships and then acquired by the United States Navy for the war effort. Some of the vessels were acquired by the United States Army and used in the U.S. Army Transportation Service. A few of the Boulder VictoryâÂÂclass cargo ships also served in the Korean War. Only one ship survived being scrapped, , now a museum ship at Richmond, California. Some the Boulder VictoryâÂÂclass cargo ships also served in the Military Sea Transportation Service of the United States Navy after World War II. Arriving late in the war, most of the Boulder VictoryâÂÂclass cargo ships operated in the Pacific theater, delivering needed supplies to the US Navy, US Army and United States Marine Corps. The ships were built under the Emergency Shipbuilding program for the War Shipping Administration. The ships were given the prefix of "AK" for auxiliary ship cargo. The lead ship in the class the, was commissioned on 12 October 1944. Boulder Victory operated first as an ammunition ship, then a general supply ship. After the war Boulder Victory served as a seagoing cowboys ship helping with War Relief to war torn Europe.
A total of 20 Boulder VictoryâÂÂclass cargo ships were built and commissioned:
Victory ships replace the numerous built Liberty ships. Victory ship/Boulder VictoryâÂÂclass cargo ships are fast and better built than the Liberty ships, with a top speed of . Liberty ships had a top speed of only . Victory ships had more powerful steam turbine engines compared to the Liberty ship's triple-expansion steam engine. Victory ships are also slightly larger than the Liberty ships. Both Liberty ships and Boulder Victory ships have large hatches on the holds, and kingpost with large capacity booms cranes. This allowed the ship to unload and load without a dock crane.
Boulder VictoryâÂÂclass cargo ships were crewed by 99 officers and enlisted. This included: Captain, Executive Officer (XO),radioman, Signalman, Navigation officer, Engineering officer, Deckhands, Chefs, and Stewards, Boatswain's Mate (BM), and Quartermasters . Gunners and Fire controlman for the one stern /38-caliber dual-purpose gun; the one bow /50-caliber dual-purpose gun and the eight Oerlikon cannons anti-aircraft (AA) guns.