SS Pratt Victory was a United States Victory ship which served in the Pacific Theater of Operations during the last few months of World War II. The ship's US Maritime Commission (MARCOM) designation was VC2-S-AP3, hull number 782 (V-782). SS Pratt Victory was named after Pratt Institute in New York City. It was built in 76 days at the California Shipbuilding Yard (Calship) in Los Angeles, California and was delivered on 9 May 1945. SS Pratt Victory was the 782nd of the 10,500-ton class known as Victory ships, built under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. Victory ships were designed to replace the earlier Liberty ships. Liberty ships were designed to be used solely for World War II. Victory ships were designed to last longer and serve the US Navy after the war. The Victory ship differed from a Liberty ship in that it was faster, longer, wider, taller, and had a thinner stack set farther toward the superstructure and a long raised forecastle. World War II SS Pratt Victory delivered supplies in the island-hopping campaigns towards the Empire of Japan. She served as a US Merchant Marine ship operated by the Waterman SS Company. As a Merchant Marine ship, she had a civilian crew to man the ship and US Navy Armed Guards to man the deck guns. The Pratt Victory was torpedoed on her starboard side into the number 2 cargo hold on 27 July 1945. Pratt Victory was south of Ie Shima island near Okinawa Island when the aerial torpedo hit her. The torpedo sank the tank landing craft LCT-1050 that was being supplied by the Pratt Victory at that time. LCT-1050 was later raised and salvaged. The torpedo did not kill any of the Pratt Victory crew, and the ship was able to complete delivery of cargo from the intact holds. At the time of the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945, the damage to the Pratt Victory was not completely repaired. One of her cargo holds remained flooded; a metal patch was placed on the torpedo hole, but only above the water line. In this condition Pratt Victory could not make her normal top speed of but was still as fast as a Liberty ship at . She was transferred from the United States Merchant Marine to the US Navy for special assignment. After the surrender of Japan the SS Pratt Victory served on what was