Re: Cleveland Cliffs

From: David McColloch
Location: Rockville, MD
Email: mccollochd at comcast.net
Remote Name: 69.140.59.247
Date: 12/31/04
Time: 12:14:31 PM

Comments

The Cliffs Victory was built in 1945 in Portland, Oregon as the Notre Dame Victory and was in service at the end of World War II. Her original dimensions were 455 feet long by 62 feet wide. Victory ships were a refinement of the Liberty Ship design. They had cabins, pilot house and machinery mid-ships with cargo holds ahead and behind the cabins. Whereas Liberty Ships could only attain speeds of about 12 knots and could be easy prey for submarines, Victory ships were slender, fast cargo carriers designed to be able to outrun enemy submarines. Over 500 of these ships were built in the latter stages of the war. The Notre Dame Victory was moth-balled in 1948 in the James River (near Newport News, VA). Needing additional shipping capacity to meet the increased demand for steel in the Korean War, Cleveland-Cliffs bought the Notre Dame Victory on December 10, 1950, had it towed to Baltimore and converted to a Great Lakes bulk carrier. For the conversion, she was cut in two just forward of the mid-ship cabins and a 165-foot midsection cargo hold inserted. In addition, a new pilot house and forward cabins were built on the forecastle, the existing mid-ship cabins were cut down to two levels, side tanks (ballast tanks) were added and great lakes style one-piece hatches installed. Re-christened Cliffs Victory, her dimensions were now 619 feet long and (still) 62 feet wide. The vessel was towed from Baltimore to the mouth of the Mississippi River. Large pontoons were attached so the vessel could meet the maximum 9-foot draft in the inland waterways. The Cliffs Victory was towed up the Mississippi River and Illinois River waterways to Chicago where she had final fit-out before entering service on June 4, 1951. In 1956, she was again lengthened with the addition of 96-foot amid-ship cargo hold. Her dimensions were now 716 feet long which made her one of the longest vessels on the Great Lakes. The Cliffs Victory was unique among Great Lakes carriers in that she had a five-hatch cargo hold aft of the mid-ship cabins and her profile made her easily identified by boat watchers. Her large horsepower steam turbine engine and narrow width made her one of the fastest carriers on the Lakes. In her career she set numerous open lake speed records, and most often was used on cargo routes and docks that could take advantage of her speed. The downside to this design was that she could not carry as much iron ore as other similar length vessels and because her cargo holds were relatively small, she was not particularly suited for coal, stone or grain cargos. Cliffs Victory was laid up in 1981, and sold for scrap in 1985. She sailed under her own power to Korea and was scrapped in 1987. If you go to the PHOTO GALLERY on this web site, click on HISTORIC PHOTO GALLEY (the Marine Historical Society of Detroit --- an excellent organization), click on ANNUAL CALENDAR and scroll down you will find several excellent pictures of the Cliffs Victory. There are several Victory ships remaining afloat as museum ships ….. here are three web sites with pictures of what the Cliffs Victory looked like as the Notre Dame Victory before conversion. http://www.americanvictory.org http://lanevictory.org/ http://www.redoakvictory.com/