One City, One Book: The SS Laconia Victory presented by the Laconia Historical & Museum Society

Description

The Laconia Victory was built as a maritime cargo and transport vessel as part of a unique fleet of over 500 boats during WWII. This ship was the namesake of a previous luxury liner/troop carrier, called Laconia, that had been sunk in the Atlantic Ocean by a German U-boat off South Africa in 1942. The irony continues in that the WWII sinking followed a separate incident in 1917 when another converted Cunard liner/troop carrier named Laconia was sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland in WWI. All three were named after, celebrated, and mourned by the City of Laconia New Hampshire. The Laconia Public Library, City Government, and local organizations assisted with a significant floating Library effort and impressive launching of the Laconia Victory at the Baltimore Maryland shipyard where it was constructed. This is their story.