.jpg) General R. M. Blatchford (T-AP-153) | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | General R. M. Blatchford |
| Namesake | Richard M. Blatchford |
| Builder | |
| Laid down | date unknown |
| Launched | 27 August 1944 |
| Acquired | 26 January 1945 |
| Commissioned | 26 January 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 12 June 1946 |
| In service |
|
| Out of service |
|
| Renamed |
|
| Reclassified | T-AP-153, 1 March 1950 |
| Identification | IMO number: 7027227 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping, 13 April 1980[1] |
| 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 | 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m) |
| Propulsion | single-screwsteam turbine with 9,900 shp (7,400 kW) |
| Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h) |
| Capacity | 3,823 troops |
| Complement | 356 (officers and enlisted) |
| Armament |
|
USSGeneral R. M. Blatchford (AP-153) was aGeneral G. O. Squier-classtransport ship for theU.S. Navy inWorld War II. She was named in honor ofU.S. Army generalRichard M. Blatchford. She was transferred to the U.S. Army asUSATGeneral R. M. Blatchford in 1946. On 1 March 1950 she was transferred to theMilitary Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) asUSNSGeneral R. M. Blatchford (T-AP-153).[2] She was later sold for commercial operation under the namesSSStonewall Jackson andAlex Stephens, before being scrapped in 1980.[1]
General R. M. Blatchford (AP-153) was launched 27 August 1944 under aMaritime Commission contract (MC #705) by the Kaiser Co.,Richmond, California; sponsored by Mrs. William Anderson ofSan Francisco; acquired and simultaneously commissioned 26 January 1945.
General R. M. Blatchford sailed from San Francisco 12 March 1945 with over 3000 fighting men and debarked them atManila 13 April, returning to San Francisco 22 May to off-load 2000 troops taken on board atBiak andFinschhafen. She sailed 30 May forFrance via thePanama Canal, touched atLe Havre 20 June, and debarked more than 3,000 returning troops atBoston 1 July. Five days later the transport sailed to redeploy troops from the European to the Pacific theater, embarking 3000 soldiers atLeghorn,Italy, and bringing them safely toLuzon and Manila in August 1945.General R. M. Blatchford embarked more than 1,000 troops and casualties atSan Pedro,Philippine Islands, and put in atSeattle 30 September 1945.
Continuing herMagic Carpet assignments, the ship sailed from Seattle 16 October with 2,800 rotation troops and debarked them atNagoya, 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 fromNagoya,Yokohama, andShanghai and mooring at San Francisco 7 May 1946 with completion of these duties.
On 9 MayGeneral R. M. Blatchford departed forNorfolk, via the Panama Canal and moored at that port 24 May. She was decommissioned atBaltimore, Maryland, on 12 June 1946 and returned to the Maritime Commission for operations as an Army transport.
On 28 June 1949, "USAT "General R. M. Blatchford" left Bremerhaven, Germany with Displaced Persons, arriving in Boston, MA, on 7 July 1949.
On 16 October 1949 USATGeneral R. M. Blatchford leftNaples with 1,219displaced persons from Europe and arrived inSydney on 11 November 1949.[3] This voyage was one of almost 150 voyages by some 40 ships bringing refugees of World War II to Australia.[4]General R. M. Blatchford made one more such trip herself, arriving inSydney, again, with 1,222 refugees on 19 February 1950.[4]The USNS R.M. Blatchford (T-AP153) made at least two more trips carrying refugees; she sailed from Bremerhaven, Germany across the Atlantic Ocean with refugees from Germany, Poland, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and other countries and arrived at the Port of New York on 31 January, 23 June, 25 September,15 December 1951, and 22 April 1952.[5] She made two more trips after 15 December 1951 carrying refugees, again from Bremerhaven, Germany, but this time to the Port of New Orleans arriving there in mid-March 1952. There's a Manifest of Inbound Passengers (Aliens) list for the ship that departed from Bremerhaven, Germany 11 April 1952, and arrived in New York, New York 22 April 1952 again, carrying refugees.[6]
She was reacquired by the Navy on 1 March 1950 for operations by a Civil Service crew under theMSTS transported thousands of troops from the West Coast in support ofUnited Nations Forces inKorea.
On 11 February 1961 she sailed fromNew York for two and a half years overseas service in theUnited Nations Congo sealift. Earning her the nickname of "Ambassador Ship," her crew cemented goodwill relations for the United States in the best traditions of thePeople-to-People Program while helping to keep the peace inthe Congo. The veteran transport travelled 174,000 nautical miles (322,000 km) in ferrying 36,809 passengers to and from the Congo,Morocco,India,Pakistan,Malaya, andIndonesia. She circumnavigated the African continent several times and criss-crossed theIndian 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.
The ship and her devoted master and crew have been a mainstay of the United Nations Operations in the Congo, and they have never failed us, even when their duties must have seemed arduous and incessant.
In the Fall of 1964 the Blatchford sailed from Morehead City, NC to Rota, Spain fully laden with Marines from the 2nd Marine Air Wing (home based at MCAS Cherry Point). The deployment was part of the largest amphibious operation since World War II, a combined forces NATO war exercise code-namedOperation Steel Pike. The return was via the Canary Islands for liberty. During the return crossing of the Atlantic the ship passed through the final track of four former hurricanes. The seas became so rough that the troops were confined below decks and life boat drills were simulated in place. A fire broke out in a bow compartment at approximately 08:00 on the final day of the storm. The alarm added to the adventure and the fire was quickly extinguished by the Damage Control Party.
She continued to operate in the Atlantic supporting U.S. Forces in Europe until transferred to the Pacific in 1965 to carry troops toSouth 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 theMaritime Administration in September 1968 and entered theNational Defense Reserve Fleet.
In 1969,General R. M. Blatchford was sold toWaterman Carriers, Inc. of New York in January 1969.[1] In 1970 she was rebuilt as a 10,562 gross ton breakbulk freighter and renamed SSStonewall Jackson, USCG ON 524489, IMO 6121113.[8] The ship, renamedAlex Stephens in 1973, was acquired by theDepartment of Commerce in 1979, and sold toChien Yu Steel Enterprises,Kaohsiung,Taiwan for scrapping on 13 April 1980.[1][9]
General R. M. Blatchford received twobattle stars for service during theKorean War.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.