M. I. T. Victory was part of the series of Victory ships named after educational institutions, in this case the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her design type was VC2-S-AP2/WSAT. Her Maritime Commission (MCV) hull number was 819 and her shipyard number was 2472. She was a
War Shipping Administration Transport (WSAT) designed to carry 1,597 troops. She was launched and christened on 12 May 1945, shortly after
V-E Day. Her sponsor was Mrs. Margaret H. Compton, wife of MIT President
Karl T. Compton, who also attended. She was completed on 5 June 1945, 74 days after being laid down. One of her more notable passengers was
Mary Jane Keeney, a
GRU agent involved in the
Amerasia Affair. In March 1946, after working with the Allied Staff on Reparations in Europe, Keeney returned on board
M. I. T. Victory to
New York City. Shortly after arriving the
FBI observed her passing an envelope to
Joseph Bernstein, which was delivered to
Alexander Trachtenberg, a communist party official. On 30 August 1946, the ship was transferred to the
US Army and became U. S. Army Transport (USAT)
M.I.T Victory. She made her maiden voyage as an Army Transport from New York to
Bremerhaven, Germany, departing on September 13, 1946, carrying troops to Europe. A hurricane was encountered en route and the trip took 13 days. In 1948 she was renamed to USAT
Lt. Alexander R. Nininger, using the Army practice of naming their vessels after
Medal of Honor winners. == Fate ==