USNS Furman

USNS Furman (T-AK-280) underway off Guam 1981
History
United States
Name	Furman Victory
Namesake	Furman University
Owner	War Shipping Administration
Operator	American President Lines
Ordered	as type (VC2-S-AP3) hull, MCV hull 174
Builder	Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, Portland, Oregon
Laid down	23 January 1945
Launched	6 March 1945
Sponsored by	Mrs. Carl Donaugh
Completed	19 April 1945
Identification	International Radio Call Sign: NMQQ
Fate	Transferred to US Navy in 1963
United States
Name	USNS Furman (T-AK-280)
Operator	US Navy
In service	30 December 1963
Stricken	1993
Identification	Hull symbol:T-AK-280
Fate	Scrapped 30 April 2004
General characteristics
Class and type	VC2-S-AP3 Victory ship, then rebuilt in 1963 to USNS Furman (T-AK-280)
Displacement	4,512 long tons (4,584 t) (standard) 15,589 long tons (15,839 t) (full load)
Length	455 ft (139 m)
Beam	62 ft (19 m)
Draft	29 ft 2 in (8.89 m)
Installed power	8,500 shp (6,300 kW)
Propulsion	1 × steam turbine 1 × shaft
Speed	15.5 knots (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph)
Complement	12 officers 87 enlisted
Armament	1 × 5 inch (127 mm)/38 caliber gun (Furman Victory only) 1 × 3 inch (76 mm)/50 caliber gun (Furman Victory only) 8 × 20 mm Oerlikon (Furman Victory only) None as USNS Furman
Notes

USNS Furman (T-AK-280) was a Norwalk class Fleet Ballistic Missile Cargo Ship, which was launched as a World War II commercial Victory cargo ship, the SS Furman Victory under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. The Furman Victory was acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1963.

Victory ship built in Oregon

SS Furman Victory was laid down under U.S. Maritime Commission contract at Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, Portland, Oregon, 23 January 1945; launched 6 March 1945; and delivered to her operator, Northland Transportation Company, on 19 April 1945. In 1963 she was renamed the USNS Furman.

Furman Victory was one of many new 10,500-ton class ships to be known as a Victory ship, designed to replace the earlier Liberty Ships. Liberty ships were designed to be used solely for World War II, whereas Victory ships were designed to last longer and to serve the US Navy after the war. Victory ships differed from Liberty ships in that they were faster, longer, wider, taller, and had a thinner stack set farther toward the superstructure. In addition, they had a long raised forecastle.

World War II service

SS Furman Victory was owned by the Maritime Commission, she served on the merchant sealanes under the control of the War Shipping Administration during the post World War II work. She was operated by the American President Lines. With the war over and her post-war work completed, on 4 November 1948 she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in Mobile, Alabama.

Korean War

On 11 August 1950 she was removed from the Reserve Fleet and serviced to return her to active duty for the Korean War. SS Furman Victory served as merchant marine ship, by the American President Lines, supplying goods for the Korean War. About 75 percent of the personnel taking to Korea for the Korean War came by the merchant marine ship. On 11 September 1953 she was put in James River Reserve Fleet.

US Navy

On 18 September 1963 the USNS Furman (T-AK-280) was refitted to be a Fleet Ballistic Missile Cargo Ship at the American Ship Building Company of Toledo, Ohio, to support Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) submarine tender. USNS Furman was put in to service on 14 October 1964, having work completed on 14 September 1964. As a fleet ballistic missile cargo ship, she transported torpedoes, Poseidon missiles, packaged petroleum, and spare parts to deployed to the submarine tender. She was placed into service with Military Sealift Command (MSC) as USNS Furman (T-AK-280) on 30 December 1963. USNS Furman regular assignment into the 1970s was the transportation of missile components and ship's stores from Bangor Base, Washington to Apra Harbor, Guam, as a submarine tender, an U.S. Navy auxiliary ship. In April 1983, the USNS Furman was converted to a cable cargo ship at the Atlantic Drydock Corp. in Jacksonville, Florida. USNS Furman could hold 2,100 miles of new cable that it delivered to cable layer ships at sea. She operated out Newington, New Hampshire of

Inactivation

She was laid up in temporary custody of the Maritime Administration (MARAD) in the Beaumont Reserve Fleet, the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, Texas on 22 October 1986. She was struck from the Navy List in 1993. On 22 July 1993 permanent custody was transferred to Maritime Administration (MARAD).

See also

• List of Victory ships
• Liberty ship
• Type C1 ship
• Type C2 ship
• Type C3 ship

Sources

• Sawyer, L.A. and W.H. Mitchell. Victory ships and tankers: The history of the ‘Victory’ type cargo ships and of the tankers built in the United States of America during World War II, Cornell Maritime Press, 1974, 0-87033-182-5.
• United States Maritime Commission: Victory Ships alphabetical list War II
• Victory Cargo Ships Oregon Shipyards Record Breakers Page 2 Archived 2005-09-22 at the Wayback Machine