_underway_at_sea%2c_in_the_1950s.jpg) USNSGeneral E. T. Collins (T-AP-147) underway at sea, in the 1950s | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | General E. T. Collins |
| Namesake | Edgar T. Collins |
| Builder | |
| Laid down | date unknown |
| Launched | 22 January 1944 |
| Acquired | 20 July 1944 |
| Commissioned | 20 July 1944 |
| Decommissioned | 17 June 1946 |
| In service |
|
| Out of service |
|
| Renamed | SSNew Orleans[1] |
| Reclassified | T-AP-147, 1 March 1950 |
| Identification | IMO number: 6904818 |
| Fate | Scrapped[2] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | General G. O. Squier-classtransport ship |
| Displacement | 9,950 tons (light), 17,250 tons (full) |
| Length | 522 ft 10 in (159.36 m) |
| Beam | 71 ft 6 in (21.79 m) |
| Draft | 24 ft (7.32 m) |
| Propulsion | single-screwsteam turbine with 9,900 shp (7,400 kW) |
| Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h) |
| Capacity | 2173 troops |
| Complement | 356 (officers and enlisted) |
| Armament |
|
USSGeneral E. T. Collins (AP-147) was aGeneral G. O. Squier-classtransport ship for theU.S. Navy inWorld War II. She was named in honor ofU.S. Army generalEdgar T. Collins. She was transferred to the U.S. Army asUSATGeneral E. T. Collins in 1946. On 1 March 1950 she was transferred to theMilitary Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) asUSNSGeneral E. T. Collins (T-AP-147). She was later sold for commercial operation under the nameSSNew Orleans,[1] before being eventually scrapped.[2]
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General E. T. Collins (AP-147) was launched 22 January 1944 underMaritime Commission contract (MC #704[3]) byKaiser Co., Inc., Yard 3,Richmond, California; sponsored by Mrs. Allison J. Barnet: acquired by the Navy and commissioned 20 July 1944.
Following shakedown training out ofSan Diego,General E. T. Collins departed 14 August 1944 with over 3,000 troops for the Pacific fighting, as America's island campaign increased in momentum. The ship debarked troops atPearl Harbor,Eniwetok,Saipan,Guam, andKwajalein before returning toSan Francisco 15 October 1944. After a round-trip voyage to Pearl Harbor with additional troops,General E. T. Collins sailed once more 22 December bound for the islands ofMicronesia. She carried troops toEniwetok, Saipan, and Guam to support amphibious operations in the Pacific before returning toSeattle 7 February 1945.
General E. T. Collins returned to the western Pacific in April and for the remainder of the war operated out ofFremantle, Australia, carrying troops to the Pacific islands andIndia. Following theJapanese surrender, the ship arrivedSan Pedro 22 September with returning veterans, and joined the "Magic Carpet" fleet in the giant task of bringing home the thousands of troops from the Pacific islands. She made four such voyages in the months to come, stopping atYokohama andManila, and arrived San Francisco after the last passage 14 May 1946.General E. T. Collins decommissioned there 17 June 1946 and was turned over to the Maritime Commission for transfer to the Army Transportation Service.
The veteran transport was reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950 for use by theMSTS with a civil service crew. At the outbreak of the war inKorea, the ship began transporting American troops to that stricken land for the struggle to thwart Communist aggression. She was atPusan 12 December 1950 when orders came to sail toHŭngnam for the famous evacuation ofU.N. troops from that port.General E. T. Collins arrived 14 December and, under an umbrella of naval gunfire provided byUSS Missouri (BB-63) and other ships, took on more than 6,000 exhausted troops, three times her troop-carrying capacity. After these fighters were safely debarked at Pusan, the ship returned to HŭngnamChristmas Eve to bring out another load of troops to Pusan.
Following this dangerous but successful operation, the transport resumed her vital troop carrying duties between the United States and the Far East. She remained on this service until late 1952; when, during October and November, she was part of the support task unit forOperation Ivy, the atomic tests at Eniwetok.
After the Korean armisticeGeneral E. T. Collins continued to rotate troops in Korea and Japan, keeping strong America's presence in the critical Far East. She arrived San Francisco after her final passage 6 October 1954 and was inactivated.General E. T. Collins was returned to theMaritime Administration (MARAD) 30 June 1960 and was placed in theNational Defense Reserve Fleet,Suisun Bay, California until she was sold for commercial service in 1968 under the MARAD Ship Exchange Program. The ship was rebuilt by Willamette Iron & Steel Co., Portland, OR as thecontainer ship SSNew Orleans, USCG ON 516540, IMO 6904818, forSea Land Service. In 1975 the ship was sold to Navieras de Puerto Rico, also known as the Puerto Rico Maritime Shipping Authority, and renamed SSGuayama. The ship was sold again to United Southern Shipping Ltd. in 1981 and renamed SSEastern Kin under Panamanian registry and then scrapped in 1982.[1][2][4][5]
General E. T. Collins received fivebattle stars forKorean War service.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.