USS General R. M. Blatchford (AP-153)

USS "General R. M. Blatchford" (AP-153) was a sclass|General G. O. Squier|transport ship for the U.S. Navy in World War II. She was named in honor of U.S. Army general Richard M. Blatchford. She was transferred to the U.S. Army as USAT "General R. M. Blatchford" in 1946. On 1 March 1950 she was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) as USNS "General R. M. Blatchford" (T-AP-153). She was later sold for commercial operation under the names SS "Stonewall Jackson" and "Alex Stephens", before being scrapped in 1980.

Operational history

"General R. M. Blatchford" (AP-153) was launched 27 August 1944 under a Maritime Commission contract (MC #705) by the Kaiser Co., Richmond, California; sponsored by Mrs. William Anderson of San Francisco; acquired and simultaneously commissioned 26 January 1945, Comdr. Allen H. Guthrie in command.

"General R. M. Blatchford" sailed from San Francisco 12 March 1945 with over 3000 fighting men and debarked them at Manila 13 April, returning to San Francisco 22 May to off-load 2000 troops taken on board at Biak and Finschhafen. She sailed 30 May for France via the Panama Canal, touched at Le Havre 20 June, and debarked more than 3,000 returning troops at Boston 1 July. Five days later the transport sailed to redeploy troops from the European to the Pacific theater, embarking 3000 soldiers at Leghorn, Italy, and bringing them safely to Luzon and Manila in August 1945. "General R. M. Blatchford" embarked more than 1,000 troops and casualties at San Pedro, Philippine Islands, and put in at Seattle 30 September 1945.

Continuing her Magic Carpet assignments, the ship sailed from Seattle 16 October with 2,800 rotation troops and debarked them at Nagoya, Japan, where 3,000 homeward veterans were loaded and put ashore at San Francisco 20 November. From 28 November 1945-7 May 1946 three more round trip voyages from Seattle to the Far East were made, the transport bringing near-capacity loads of troops to and from Nagoya, Yokohama, and Shanghai and mooring at San Francisco 7 May 1946 with completion of these duties.

On 9 May "General R. M. Blatchford" departed for Norfolk, via the Panama Canal and moored at that port 24 May. She was decommissioned at Baltimore, Maryland, on 12 June 1946 and returned to the Maritime Commission for operations as an Army transport.

On 16 October 1949 USAT "General R. M. Blatchford" left Naples with 1,219 displaced persons from Europe and arrived in Sydney on 11 November 1949. [cite web | url = http://www.immigrantships.net/v5/1900v5/generalblatchford19491111.html | title = Immigrant Ships, Transcribers Guild, General Blatchford | publisher = ImmigrantShips.net | date = 2002-10-25 | accessdate = 2007-11-13 ] This voyage was one of almost 150 voyages by some 40 ships bringing refugees of World War II to Australia.cite web | url = http://www.fifthfleet.net/pb/wp_6a2460ca/wp_6a2460ca.html | title = Ships of the Fifth Fleet | first = Ann | last = Tündern-Smith | work = FifthFleet.net | date = 2006-12-31 | accessdate = 2007-11-13 ] "General R. M. Blatchford" made one more such trip herself, arriving in Sydney, again, with 1,222 refugees on 19 February 1950.

She was reacquired by the Navy on 1 March 1950 for operations by a Civil Service crew under the MSTS transported thousands of troops from the West Coast in support of United Nations Forces in Korea.

On 11 February 1961 she sailed from New York for two and a half years overseas service in the United Nations Congo sealift. Earning her the nickname of "Ambassador Ship," her crew cemented goodwill relations for the United States in the best traditions of the People-to-People Program while helping to keep the peace in the Congo. The veteran transport travelled convert|174000|nmi|km in ferrying 36,809 passengers to and from the Congo, Morocco, India, Pakistan, Malaya, and Indonesia. She circumnavigated the African continent several times and criss-crossed the Indian Ocean repeatedly while rotating United Nations soldiers, doctors, nurses, and technicians assigned to the Congo. "General R. M. Blatchford" arrived New York on 11 August 1963 with high praise.

She continued to operate in the Atlantic supporting U.S. Forces in Europe until transferred to the Pacific in 1965 to carry troops to Vietnam. She continued this vital task until overhauled at San Francisco in January 1967 and entering ready reserve status. "General R. M. Blatchford" was transferred to the Maritime Administration in September 1968 and entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet.

In 1969, "General R. M. Blatchford" was sold to Waterman Carriers, Inc. of New York in January 1969. At Portland, she was rebuilt as a 10,562 gross ton container ship and renamed SS "Stonewall Jackson" in 1970.cite web | url = http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/descriptions/ShipsG.html | title = Ship Descriptions - G | work = The Ships List | date = | accessdate = 2007-11-12 ] The ship, renamed "Alex Stephens" in 1973, was acquired by the Department of Commerce in 1979, and sold to Chien Yu Steel Enterprises, Kaohsiung, Taiwan for scrapping on 13 April 1980.

"General R. M. Blatchford" received two battle stars for service during the Korean War.

References

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External links

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* [http://www.afrigeneas.com/preciousphotos/military01.htm Photo gallery] showing life on board USAT "General R. M. Blatchford" (c. 1946/1947)