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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS General T. H. Bliss (AP-131)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Bravo - Golf
 NJBG
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
General G. O. Squier Class Transport:
  • Laid down, 22 May 1942, as a Maritime Commission type (C4-S-A1) hull, a under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 654), at Kaiser Shipbuilding Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, CA.
  • Launched, 19 December 1942
  • Acquired from the Maritime Commission by the US Navy, 3 November 1943
  • Commissioned USS General T. H. Bliss (AP-131), 24 February 1944, CAPT. Burton Davis in command
  • During World War II USS General T. H. Bliss operated in both the Europe-Africa-Middle East and Asiatic-Pacific Theaters
  • Following World War II USS General T. H. Bliss was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 20 to 26 April 1946
  • Decommissioned, 28 June 1946, at Seattle, WA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 2 July 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, WA.
  • Merchant Service
    Transferred to Bethlehem Steel Corp., Wilmington, DE., April 1964, (MARAD Trade in) for conversion to commercial operation, renamed SS Seamar
    Sold to C.A. Venezloana De Navegacion, a Venezuelan government controlled corporation, 13 January 1975, renamed SS Caroni
    SS Caroni suffered boiler damage in 1979 on her way from Pto Cabello to St. John (NB), she was towed to Curacao and found uneconomic to repair
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, towed to Kaohsiung, arriving November 1979
    Specifications:
    Displacement 9,950 t.(lt) 17,250 t.(fl)
    Length 522' 10"
    Beam 71' 6"
    Draft 26' 6" (limiting)
    Speed 16.5 kts. (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 32
    Enlisted 324
    Troop Accommodations
    Officers 270
    Enlisted 3,595
    Largest Boom Capacity 5 t.
    Cargo Capacity 1,900 DWT
    non-refrigerated 70,000 Cu ft
    Armament
    four single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    four twin 1.1" gun mounts (replaced by two twin 40mm AA gun mounts)
    fifteen twin 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    NSFO 13,300 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Westinghouse geared turbine
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 465psi 765°
    double Falk Main Reduction Gear
    three 400Kw 240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 9,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS General T. H. Bliss (AP-121)
    Tasker H. Bliss 203k
    Namesake

    Tasker Howard Bliss, born in Lewisburg, Pa., 31 December 1853, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1875. In Spain at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, he was assigned to General Wilson as Chief of 'Staff. He fought in all major engagements in Puerto Rico and was breveted a Colonel for outstanding service. After the war, Bliss served as Collector of Customs for Cuba and negotiated the treaty of reciprocity with Cuba in 1902. After several important administrative appointments in the United States and the Philippines, he was named Assistant Chief of Staff of the Army in 1915 and Chief of Staff in 1917. A scholarly yet energetic officer, General Bliss helped greatly to work out plans for American mobilization for World War I. In 1917 he was appointed to the Supreme War Council in Paris and had much to do with the negotiations leading up to the Versailles Treaty. Subsequently, he was a commissioner and a signer of the treaty. During the last years of his life, General Bliss was devoted to historical study, and was awarded many honorary degrees and the Distinguished Service Medal. He died in Washington, D.C., 9 November 1930.
    Digital ID: cph 3a36601 Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs    		 Bill Gonyo
    Tasker H. Bliss 120k USS General T. H. Bliss (AP-131) underway, circa 1943, location unknown.. Robert Hurst
    Tasker H. Bliss 71k USS General T. H. Bliss (AP-131) stern view off San Francisco, 4 March 1944.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # Navy Photo 1494-44.    		 Darryl Baker
    Tasker H. Bliss 82k USS General T. H. Bliss (AP-131) broadside view off San Francisco, 4 March 1944.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # Navy Photo 1496-44.    		 Darryl Baker
    Tasker H. Bliss 59k USS General T. H. Bliss (AP-131) bows on view off San Francisco, 4 March 1944.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # Navy Photo 1498-44.    		 Darryl Baker
    Tasker H. Bliss
    092213171    		 288k USS General T. H. Bliss (AP-131) in New York Harbor, 17 June 1946. She is bringing part of the 14,389 strong 86th Blackhawk Division home from Europe. Red Cross nurses are on the small vessel welcoming the troops home.
    US National Identifier #100310575, US Army Signal Corps photo # 282086    		 David Upton
    Tasker H. Bliss 57k USS General T. H. Bliss (AP-131) at anchor, date and location unknown. The Commanding Officer, Captain H.H. Connelley US Navy is pictured in the upper right hand corner. This Christmas card, from 1945, was given to Sgt. Lloyd W. Harazim USA while enroute from Calcutta India to New York. General T. H. Bliss departed Calcutta, India 27 November 1945, arriving in New York in early December 1945. Note she is painted in camouflage pattern measure 32/13T. Mark Harazim
    Tasker H. Bliss 368k Golden Dragonback (Golden Dragon) Certificate issued by USS General T. H. Bliss (AP-131), 180th meridian crossing, 9 March 1946. Lawton Stokes
    Merchant Service Calmar SS Corp.
    Tasker H. Bliss
    092213172    		 74k Artist drawing of ex-USS General T. H. Bliss (AP-131) as the US flagged Calmar Steamship Corp. freighter SS Seamar Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    Tasker H. Bliss
    092213173    		 288k Ex-USS General T. H. Bliss (AP-131) as the Calmar Steamship Corp. freighter SS Seamar working cargo in a US port, date unknown. Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    USS General T. H. Bliss (AP-131)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Davis, Burton24 February 1944 - 30 November 1944
    02CAPT. Mansfield, Brook Stockman30 November 1944 - 8 August 1945
    03CAPT. Connelley, Harold Haskell8 August 1945 - 28 June 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Sherman Paul Clay Jr. USS General T.H. Bliss 1944-45 Photo Collection
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 29 January 2021