Wilfred A. Nicholas
Additional Photographs
These are more of the photographs that Dad took when he was at sea. I have put them here because I cannot positively say which ship he was on when he took them. The pictures were not copied from original photographs, but from prints made from the original negatives. The negatives have degraded over the years and some have got scratched or marked, hence the poor quality of some pictures.
This is a 'Victory' type ship, which appears to be in Holland-America Line colours. The picture was taken in the USA (from the courtesy flag), and was taken from the "Memnon" or "Mentor" - the railing that appears at the bottom of the picture looks like the demountable boat deck railing.
A lighthouse at sea.
Just visible on the horizon to the left of the picture is land, so the impression of isolation is not quite as the picture would seem to first indicate.
Taken at the same time as the one above.
I believe this view is looking down the North Sea Canal from Amsterdam to the locks at Ijmuiden, visible in the distance.
The old three island ship is the same one seen to the left in the picture below.
A smart ship, probably fairly new at the time, certainly more so than the one ahead.
Entering the lock.
These three pictures were taken at the same time and in the sequence shown.
Suez Canal - I think this is northbound, viewed off the stern, as the picture below is the next in the sequence.
A port scene - looks to me to be in Europe somewhere, either Holland or Germany. The housing and workboats look continental in style. The ship in dock is the "Redstart" of London.
I believe this to be the USS Hawaii, Alaska class cruiser laid up incomplete at Bayonne, New Jersey, in 1945. Sold for demolition in 1959.
An unidentified US cruiser laid up. This is the next photo in sequence after the one above.
The photos were taken from probably the "Mentor", note the collapsible boat deck railing in the pictures. Taken at Bayonne, New Jersey, USA.
The Blue Funnel 'Victory' ships
Because of Dad's great interest in the 'Victory' ships, I have included some details on these.
A 'Victory' ship in typical wartime configuration
After the introduction of the 'Liberty' ships, which were based on a pre-war British design, and with construction in progress, the U.S. Maritime Commission planned more ships of differing types for a variety of roles including, after being impressed with the British fast Empire ships, a fast cargo ship.
In 1943, the design was complete. The ships were 439' long with a beam of 62' and draught of 28'-6". GRT was 7,677 tons. Propulsion was by 2 Westinghouse steam turbines double reduction geared to a single screw, shp being 8,500. Steam was produced by 2 Babcock & Wilcox boilers with forced draught, superheaters and economisers, producing steam at 450 psi at 750 F. These ships became known as the 'Victory' ships. The first ship was laid down in November 1943 and delivered in February 1944. She was named the "United Victory" and was the first of 531 ships.
After the war, in August 1946, the USMC offered the "Victory" ships for sale. Of the ships sold outside the USA, sixteen went to the British Government, which were then in turn sold to private shipping lines to replace war lost tonnage. In 1946 - 1947, Blue Funnel bought six of these ships, making them the largest British operator of the "Victory" ship.
An impressive view of the "Bluefield Victory" underway fully laden and at speed.
The vessels bought by Blue Funnel were:
Memnon
Built by Permanente Metals Corp, California, Yard No 2, 1945.
Bought 1946.
Sold 1962 to Iranian owners.
Broken up Hong Kong 1969.
Ex - "Phillips Victory"
Mentor
Built by Permanente Metals Corp, California, Yard No 1, 1945.
Bought 1967.
Sold 1967.
Broken up Yugoslavia 1971.
Ex - "Carthage Victory"
Myrmidon
©J.C.
Built by Permanente Metals Corp, California, Yard No 1, 1945.
Bought 1947.
Broken up Kaohsiung 1971.
Ex - "Ripon Victory"
Talthybius
©W.S.S.
Built by Permanente Metals Corp, California, Yard No1, 1945.
Bought 1946, named "Polydorus" under N.S.M.O.
Transferred to Ocean S.S.Co 1960, re-named "Talthybius".
Broken up Kaohsiung 1971.
Ex - "Salina Victory"
Maron
©Malcolm Cranfield
Built by Permanente Metals Corp, California, Yard No 2, 1945.
Bought 1947.
Re-named "Rhesus" 1957.
Sold 1962 to Overseas Maritime Co.
Broken up Kaohsiung 1974.
Ex - "Berwyn Victory"
Tantalus
©William Schell
Built by Permanente Metals Corp, California, Yard No 1, 1945.
Bought 1946, named "Polyphemus" under N.S.M.O.
Transferred to Ocean S.S.Co 1960, re-named "Tantalus".
Sold 1962 to Greek owners.
Broken up Kaohsiung 1970.
Ex - "Macmurray Victory"