The SS Red Oak Victory is a historically significant merchant cargo ship that stands as a living testament to America's industrial home front during World War II. Launched on November 9, 1944, she was built by the Permanente Metals Corporation at the legendary Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond, California. Named in honor of Red Oak, Iowa—a community that suffered one of the highest per-capita casualty rates of the war—she was part of the massive emergency shipbuilding program designed to replace slower Liberty ships with larger, faster steam-turbine transport vessels. Uniquely, she served her initial tour as a commissioned U.S. Navy ammunition ship (USS Red Oak Victory, AK-235), safely distributing thousands of tons of volatile ordnance across the Pacific Theater without a single crew casualty.
Following World War II, the vessel transitioned back to civilian commerce under the Merchant Marine flag and went on to provide essential logistical support during both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. After spending decades mothballed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, she was rescued from the scrap heap in 1998 by the Richmond Museum Association. Today, she is the last surviving vessel of the 747 military and merchant ships built at the Richmond yards during the war. Operating as a floating museum ship near the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park, the vessel is preserved by dedicated volunteers who maintain her original engine spaces, radio room, and cargo decks to honor the millions of everyday citizens who built the fleet that helped win the war.
