To the best of my knowledge, none of the named ships was torpedoed during World War II. Here is what I have found on each vessel.
HORACE GREELEY was a Liberty ship, constructed in 55 days in July-September 1943 by California Shipbuilding ("Calship"), Los Angeles, CA. She survived the war. In 1966 the U.S. Navy loaded her with obsolete ammunition, sank her in the Atlantic and detonated the ammunition at 4,000 ft. as an experiment. See http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergencylarge/wwtwo/kcalifornia.htm and scroll to hull number 66. See also http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/LibShipsH.html#HenryT and scroll to the name of the ship.
PLYMOUTH VICTORY was a Victory ship, built by the Oregon Shipbuilding Company, Portland, OR, in February-May 1944. She was laid up in the reserved fleet ("mothballed") from 1948 until sold to a private shipping company in 1969. She was scrapped in 1972. See http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergencylarge/wwtwo/koregon.htm and scroll to hull number 1015. Also see http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/vicshipsP.html and scroll to the name of the ship.
FORT MOULTRIE was a class T-2 tanker, the most common class of tanker built during World War II. She was built by the Kaiser Swan Island shipyard, Portland, OR, between August 1942 and March 1943. She was sold to a private shipping company in 1948. She was renamed twice, to HUNTINGTON in 1956 and to ANNA DEMETRIOS in 1963. Later that year she was damaged in an explosion and declared a total loss. She was scrapped in Spain in 1963. See http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergencylarge/wwtwo/kswanisland.htm, hull number 3, and also http://www.aukevisser.nl/t2tanker/id525.htm, which includes a photograph.
USS KENNETH WHITING was a class C3 cargo vessel, built in 1944 by Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding in Tacoma, WA. She was sold to the U.S. Navy as a seaplane tender (AV-14), commissioned in 1944, decommissioned in 1958, and scrapped in 1962. See http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/toddtacoma.htm and scroll to hull number 50. Also see http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/41/4114.htm. She was named after one of the first naval aviators, who received flight training directly from the Wright brothers and who later served in USS LANGLEY, the first U.S. aircraft carrier.
I hope this is useful.
Ron Carlson, Webmaster
Armed Guard / Merchant Marine website
www.armed-guard.com
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