Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], SS Morgantown Victory Builder's Plate, A&M 4627, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift from U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, 2022 September 1

Biographical / Historical

The War Shipping Administration (WSA) and U.S. Maritime Commission oversaw the production of thousands of "Victory Ships" to be used in World War II military operations. Some WSA victory ships were named in honor of U.S. colleges and universities, and Morgantown Victory was named to honor West Virginia University. Morgantown Victory served in WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
Builder's plates serve as a record of a ship's production, typically listing the shipbuilders' name, building location, and completion date. This plate was removed from the Morgantown Victory to be retained as an artifact of the WSA effort.

Scope and Contents

Builder's plate retained from the SS Morgantown Victory, a United States military vessel built under the War Shipping Administration during World War II and named in honor of West Virginia University (called Morgantown instead because it was shorter and easier to say). The plate denotes the ship's name, builders' organization (Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc.), location (Baltimore, Maryland), and date of completion (February 1945).

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• United States--History, Military--20th century
• Victory ships
• World War, 1939-1945