SS
Hobbs Victory steamed from
San Francisco,
California in 1945 to join the
Pacific War, stopping at
Ulithi Atoll on her way to
Okinawa.
Hobbs Victory had the job of delivering 6,000 pounds of
ammunition for troops in the Pacific during World War II.
Okinawa, kamikaze strike Hobbs Victory loaded with 6,000 pounds of ammunition and steamed to Okinawa for the
Battle of Okinawa, from 1 to 6 April 1945. On April 6, 1945, she was anchored off Kuba Island, just off
Tokashiki Island and
Aka Island near Okinawa, part of
Naval Base Okinawa. , that was near
Hobbs Victory, also loaded with 6,000 pounds of ammunition, was hit and sunk by a
kamikaze that struck her
superstructure.
Hobbs Victory steamed away from
Logan Victory, at 15 knots. A second kamikaze struck
Hobbs Victory at 6:50 pm, port side near #4 lifeboat on the boat deck. It spread flames that exploded the port boiler, stopping the engine. Some
lifeboats were lowered into the sea and the order to abandon ship was given. Due to the flames, some jumped
overboard into the sea.
Ammunition explodes in cargo hold A
US Navy fireboat fought the flames, but the next morning there was a large ammunition explosion in her cargo and she sank at . In the plane attack and fire 12 of the crew were killed, 11 of the civilian crew and one armed guard. The US Navy
minesweeper rescued the survivors of
Hobbs Victory and later transferred them to the attack transport . In an earlier attack off Kuba Island the
Landing Ship, Tank also sank. was able to shoot down one plane and move away from the burning ships. All these
ammunition ships:
Hobbs Victory,
Logan Victory,
Pierre Victory and
LST-447 were firing their
deck guns and were able to stop some of the kamikaze planes attacking. The Victory ships used their 3"/50 caliber guns, 20 mm Oerlikon cannons, and at longer range, 5 inch guns. The LST also had 20 mm Oerlikon cannons to use against the attackers. These ships with over 18,000 pounds of ammunition were anchored off Kuba Island, so they would not be anchored next to the other fleet ships at Okinawa. They were called in as needed to resupply the fleet and shore troops with ammunition.
SS Canada Victory also sank at Okinawa on April 27, 1945. The loss of the three Victory ships
Logan Victory,
Hobbs Victory and
Canada Victory, each sunk by kamikaze attacks during the invasion of Okinawa, severely hurt the combat forces during the invasion of Okinawa. The Victory ships were carrying a total of 24,000 tons (54 million pounds) of ammunition. This including most of the
81 mm mortar shells needed for the invasion. The ammunition ship arrived April 12, 1945 at Okinawa to replace the ammunition lost on
Hobbs Victory,
Logan Victory and
Canada Victory. More ammunition ships were not needed, as the war came to an end without the invasion of Japan, called
Operation Downfall. The other ammunition ship at Okinawa was the
SS Berea Victory.
Hobbs Victory was one of forty-seven ships sunk by kamikaze attack during World War II. ==Honors==