SS Victoria Park

History
Canada
Name	SS Victoria Park
Namesake	Victoria Park, Truro, Nova Scotia
Owner	Canadian Government
Port of registry	Canada
Builder	Pictou Shipyard, Pictou, Nova Scotia
Launched	April 27, 1943
Out of service	1982
Fate	Scrapped in Brazil, 1982
General characteristics
Tonnage	2,878 GRT; 1,653 NRT;
Length	315 ft 5 in (96.14 m)
Beam	46 ft 5 in (14.15 m)
Depth	22 ft 9 in (6.93 m)
Installed power	Triple expansion steam engine
Propulsion	Screw propeller
Crew	34, plus 4 DEMS gunners
Armament	1 x 4 inch deck gun aft; 1 x 3 inch (76 mm)/50 caliber gun; 4 x 20 mm Oerlikon; 2 x Twin .50 cal. Machine Guns; 20 x Rail Anti-Aircraft Rocket Launcher (Pillar Box) ;

SS Victoria Park was a general cargo steamship built in 1943, the first of 24 wartime Park Ships that were built in the Pictou Shipyard in Pictou, Nova Scotia in the 1940s. Victoria Park was built by Foundation Maritime Ltd. April 27, 1943. Built as a merchant steamship constructed for Canada’s Merchant Navy.^[1] and was originally built for the government of Canada's use as a cargo vessel.

History

The S.S Victoria Park was the first steam ship built at the new Pictou shipyard.^[3] In the tradition of naming Park Ships after Canadian parks, she was named for Victoria Park in nearby Truro, Nova Scotia. The ship was launched on April 27, 1943.^[1] She made multiple crossings of the Atlantic carrying supplies to Europe during the Battle of the Atlantic.

Victoria Park also had a long postwar career changing owners and names numerous times until it was finally scrapped in Brazil in 1982.^[1]

Other names

After the war she was sold and renamed. She was subsequently renamed a number of times:^[1]

Tatuk, 1946
Kalo, 1948
Ester, 1957
San John P., 1964
Ramsdal I, 1965
Rio Atrato, 1966

Park Ships

Park Ships were merchant steamships constructed for Canada’s Merchant Navy during World War II. Park ships were the Canadian equivalent of the American Liberty Ships and the British Fort Ships. All three shared a similar design by J.L. Thompson and Sons of Sunderland, England.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Ferguson Industries". shipbuildinghistory.com. August 26, 2012. Archived from the original on 2014-03-27. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
^ merchant ships, Park armament
^ "SS Victoria Park under Construction". Canadian War Museum. Retrieved July 14, 2014.

External links

[SBH-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Ferguson Industries". shipbuildinghistory.com. August 26, 2012. Archived from the original on 2014-03-27. Retrieved July 14, 2014.

[2] rchant ships, Park armament

[3] "SS Victoria Park under Construction". Canadian War Museum. Retrieved July 14, 2014.

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