SS MIT Victory

The SS "M. I. T. Victory" was a Victory ship built during World War II and used as a troop transport. She was later named USAT "MIT Victory" and finally USAT "Lt. Alexander R. Nininger". Note: In 1944 there was a different transport ship named "Alexander R. Nininger, Jr.".

Service life

"M. I. T. Victory" was part of the series of Victory ships named after educational institutions, in this case the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her design type was VC2-S-AP2/WSAT. Her Maritime Commission (MCV) hull number was 819 and her shipyard number was 2472 [cite web|url=http://www.usmm.org/victoryard.html|title=Victory Ships by shipyard|accessdate=2006-07-02] . She was a War Shipping Administration Transport (WSAT) designed to carry 1,597 troops.

She was lanched 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"Ship Is Named 'MIT Victory'". (May 11, 1945). "The Tech", Volume LXV, No. 16, pp. 1. [http://www-tech.mit.edu/archives/VOL_065/TECH_V065_S0062_P001.pdf PDF Scan] [http://www-tech.mit.edu/archives/VOL_065/TECH_V065_S0062_P001.txt OCR Text] ] . She was completed on 1945-06-05, 74 days after being laid down.

"M. I. T. Victory"'s library was donated by MIT through the American Merchant Marine Library Association. While bringing back G.I.s from Europe after World War II, the ship published a mimeographed newspaper, "Tech Times", for those on board"MIT Victory's Paper Published On The High Seas". (Dec. 7, 1945). "The Tech", Volume LXV, No. 37, pp. 4. [http://www-tech.mit.edu/archives/VOL_065/TECH_V065_S0163_P004.pdf PDF Scan] [http://www-tech.mit.edu/archives/VOL_065/TECH_V065_S0163_P004.txt OCR Text] ] .

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. [cite book |title= The Amerasia Spy Case: Prelude to McCarthyism |last= Klehr |first= Harvey |authorlink= |coauthors= Ronald Radosh |year= 1996|publisher= University of North Carolina Press |location= United States of America |isbn= 0807822450 |pages=p. 70 ]

On 30 August 1946, the ship was transferred to the winners.

Fate

On 16 September 1949, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in the Finch, Ted (Mar. 19, 2003). [http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/TheShipsList/2003-03/1048085402 "lt. alexander r. nininger ship m.i.t.victory."] . "The ShipsList-L"] .

Artifacts

The christening bottle for the "M. I. T. Victory" is in the MIT Historical Collection"MIT's photograph album is getting bigger". (Feb. 26, 1974). "The Tech", Volume 94, No. 6, pp. 1 [http://www-tech.mit.edu/archives/VOL_094/TECH_V094_S0056_P001.pdf PDF Scan] [http://www-tech.mit.edu/archives/VOL_094/TECH_V094_S0056_P001.txt OCR Text] ] . The brass builder's plate was likely removed by MARAD, but has not been [http://www.pmars.imsg.com/detail.asp?Ship=3101 cataloged] as of this writing.

External links

* [http://www.armed-guard.com/mitvic.jpgPhoto of USAT "MIT Victory"] on the Naval Armed Guards site.
* [http://www.medalofhonor.com/AlexanderNininger.htm More on Alexander Niniger] .
* [http://www.pmars.imsg.com/detail.asp?Ship=3101 MARAD PMARS Data on MIT Victory/Nininger]

References