Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USAT General Oswald H. Ernst
ex
 USS General Oswald H. Ernst (AP-133) (1944 - 1946)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Bravo - November
 NJBN
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)

USS General Oswald H. Ernst (AP-133) was transferred to the US Army Transportation Command after WWII
General G. O. Squier Class Transport:
  • Laid down, 29 June 1942, as a Maritime Commission type (C4-S-A1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 656) at Kaiser Shipbuilding Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, CA.
  • Launched, 14 April 1943
  • Acquired from the Maritime Commission by the Navy, 31 March 1944
  • Placed in partial commission 22 April 1944, for transit to her fitting out yard at Portland, OR., CDR. Richard W. Dole USN in command
  • Decommissioned, 13 May 1944, at Commercial Iron Works, Portland, OR.
  • Recommissioned, 15 July 1944 as USS General Oswald H. Ernst (AP-133), CDR. Richard W. Dole USN in command
  • During World War II USS General Oswald H. Ernst carried troops in both the Europe-Africa-Middle East and Asiatic-Pacific Theaters
  • Following World War II USS General Oswald H. Ernst was assigned to Occupation Service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    30 December 1945 to 17 January 1946
    9 to 21 March 1946
    8 to 21 May 1946

  • Decommissioned, 15 August 1946, at San Francisco, CA.
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission the same day transferred to the US Army Transportation Command
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 13 December 1946
  • Placed in commission as USAT General Oswald H. Ernst, date unknown
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 24 October 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Merchant Service
    Transferred (Exchange Program), 7 April 1964, to Bethlehem Steel Corp., Wilmington, DE.
    Converted to a general cargo ship, renamed SS Calmar, 27 May 1964
    Sold in 1975 to C. A. Venezolana De Navegacion, renamed SS Orinoco, reflagged Venezuela
  • Final Disposition, SS Orinoco scrapped at Pto. Cabello, Venezuela in 1980
    Specifications:
    Displacement 9,950 t.(lt) 17,250 t.(fl)
    Length 522' 10"
    Beam 71' 6"
    Draft 26' 6"
    Speed 16.5 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 39
    Enlisted 432
    Troop Accommodations
    Officers 228
    Enlisted 3,216
    Cargo Capacity 1,900 DWT
    non-refrigerated 70,000 Cu ft.
    Armament
    four single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    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 Gears
    three turbo-drive 400Kw 240V A.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 9,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS General Oswald H. Ernst (AP-133)
    General Oswald H. Ernst 76k
    Namesake
    Oswald Herbert Ernst, born near Cincinnati, Ohio 27 June 1842, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1864 and served at various posts with the Corps of Engineers and then as a member of the astronomical expedition to Spain in 1870. He served as Superintendent of the Military Academy from 1893 until 1898. During the Spanish-American War, he commanded a brigade in Puerto Rico, then served as Inspector General of Cuba until 1899. Later a member of the original Isthmian Canal Commission and in charge of river and harbor improvements at Baltimore, Galveston, and Chicago, General Ernst retired from active duty in 1906. Promoted to Major General in 1916, he died in Washington, D.C., 21 March 1926.    		 Bill Gonyo
    General Oswald H. Ernst 51k General Oswald H. Ernst (AP-133) arriving in San Francisco Bay, date unknown. Submitted Dr. Paul M. Webber MD, courtesy Yves Hubert
    General Oswald H. Ernst 884k General Oswald H. Ernst (AP-133) Ship's Officers, date and location unknown. Thomas Hayden USS General O.H. Ernst AP-133
    General Oswald H. Ernst 168k General Oswald H. Ernst (AP-133) moored pierside in a Japanese port, date unknown. Thomas Hayden USS General O.H. Ernst AP-133
    General Oswald H. Ernst 57k General Oswald H. Ernst (AP-133) Christmas Card, 1944 or 1945. Submitted by Sue Young for her father, Virgle Bruce Chaney S1/c USS General O.H. Ernst AP-133, 1944-1945
    General Oswald H. Ernst 95k General Oswald H. Ernst (AP-133) Ship's Dance program, 10 March 1945, at the Russian Center, San Francisco, CA. (front and back cover). Notice on the back cover what is important about the young ladies the sailors danced with. Submitted by Sue Young for her father, Virgle Bruce Chaney S1/c USS General O.H. Ernst AP-133, 1944-1945
    General Oswald H. Ernst 87k General Oswald H. Ernst (AP-133) Ship's Dance program, 10 March 1945, at the Russian Center, San Francisco, CA. Submitted by Sue Young for her father, Virgle Bruce Chaney S1/c USS General O.H. Ernst AP-133, 1944-1945
    General Oswald H. Ernst 266k General Oswald H. Ernst (AP-133) Ship's Party, 10 October 1945, Hilton Hotel, Long Beach, CA. Thomas Hayden USS General O.H. Ernst AP-133
    General Oswald H. Ernst 87k General Oswald H. Ernst (AP-133) Christmas Dinner menu 1945 Thomas Hayden USS General O.H. Ernst AP-133
    USAT General Oswald H. Ernst
    General Oswald H. Ernst 88k USAT General Oswald H. Ernst arriving at San Francisco from Manila, P.I, 30 September 1946 returning troops from the Far East to the United States during Operation "Magic Carpet."
    Strand Photos, San Francisco, CA.    		 Dr. Paul M. Webber MD for his father Robert T. Webber 124th Infantry Regiment standing at the rail.
    General Oswald H. Ernst 146k USAT General Oswald H. Ernst arriving at San Francisco from Manila, P.I, 30 September 1946 returning troops from the Far East to the United States during Operation "Magic Carpet."
    Strand Photos, San Francisco, CA.    		 Dr. Paul M. Webber MD for his father Robert T. Webber 124th Infantry Regiment standing at the rail.
    General Oswald H. Ernst 100k USAT General Oswald H. Ernst arriving at San Francisco from Manila, P.I, 30 September 1946 returning troops from the Far East to the United States during Operation "Magic Carpet."
    Strand Photos, San Francisco, CA.    		 Dr. Paul M. Webber MD for his father Robert T. Webber 124th Infantry Regiment standing at the rail.
    General Oswald H. Ernst 113k USAT General Oswald H. Ernst arriving at San Francisco from Manila, P.I, 30 September 1946 returning troops from the Far East to the United States during Operation "Magic Carpet."
    Strand Photos, San Francisco, CA.    		 Dr. Paul M. Webber MD for his father Robert T. Webber 124th Infantry Regiment standing at the rail.
    General Oswald H. Ernst 115k USAT General Oswald H. Ernst arriving at San Francisco from Manila, P.I, 30 September 1946 returning troops from the Far East to the United States during Operation "Magic Carpet."
    Strand Photos, San Francisco, CA.    		 Dr. Paul M. Webber MD for his father Robert T. Webber 124th Infantry Regiment standing at the rail.
    General Oswald H. Ernst 130k USAT General Oswald H. Ernst arriving at San Francisco from Manila, P.I, 30 September 1946 returning troops from the Far East to the United States during Operation "Magic Carpet."
    Strand Photos, San Francisco, CA.    		 Dr. Paul M. Webber MD for his father Robert T. Webber 124th Infantry Regiment standing at the rail.
    General Oswald H. Ernst 157k USAT General Oswald H. Ernst arriving at San Francisco from Manila, P.I, 30 September 1946 returning troops from the Far East to the United States during Operation "Magic Carpet."
    Strand Photos, San Francisco, CA.    		 Dr. Paul M. Webber MD for his father Robert T. Webber 124th Infantry Regiment standing at the rail.
    Merchant Service Calmar SS Corp.
    General Oswald H. Ernst 212k SS Calmar (ex-USS General Oswald H. Ernst (AP-133) underway on the Delaware River in 1966 while in merchant service for Calmar SS. Corp. (subsidiary of the Bethlehem Steel Company). SS Calmar carried steel products westbound and lumber eastbound.
    Photo courtesy ©William Schell.    		 Gerhard Muller-Debus
    General Oswald H. Ernst
    092213330    		 151k SS Calmar underway inbound from sea to New York Harbor in 1964.
    ©J. McNamara    		 Gerhard Muller-Debus
    General Oswald H. Ernst (AP-133)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR, Dole, Richard Wigglesworth, USN, (USNA 1922)22 April 1944 - 13 May 1944
     Decommissioned13 May 1944 - 15 July 1944
    01CDR, Dole, Richard Wigglesworth, USN (USNA 1922)15 July 1944 - 15 August 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
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    Photo Collections of Virgle Bruce Chaney and Jacob C. Hortman Jr.
    A history contributed by Thomas Hayden
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Transport (AP) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 19 August 2022