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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS General M.L. Hersey (T-AP-148)
ex
 USAT General M.L. Hersey (1946 - 1950)
 USS General M.L. Hersey (AP-148) (1944 - 1946)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - India - Alpha
 NJIA
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
Second Row - National Defense Service Medal - Korean Service Medal (2) - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Third Row - Philippines Liberation Medal (1) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)
General G. O. Squier Class Transport
  • Laid down as a Maritime Commission type (C4-S-A1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 705) at Kaiser Co. Inc., Yard No. 3, Richmond, CA.
  • Launched, 1 April 1944
  • Acquired by the Navy, 31 May 1944
  • Commissioned USS General M. L. Hersey (AP-148), 29 July 1944, CAPT. James W. Smith in command
  • During World War II USS General M. L. Hersey was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Leyte operation
    Leyte landings, 26 to 29 November 1944

  • Following World War II USS General M. L. Hersey was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 23 to 29 September 1945
  • Decommissioned, 1 June 1946, at New York
  • Transferred to the US Army Transportation Service, 6 June 1946, commissioned USAT General M. L. Hersey, at Hoboken, N.J.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Laid up, 30 July 1947, the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, VA.
  • Reacquired by the Navy, 1 March 1950
  • Assigned to the Military Sea Transport Service (MSTS) and placed in service as USNS General M. L. Hersey (T-AP-148)
  • USNS General M. L. Hersey transported and provided living quarters for U.S. Army personnel in 1951 during construction of the U.S. Air Base at Thule Greenland which was constructed in secret under the code name Operation Blue Jay
  • USNS General M. L. Hersey was in collision, 4 November 1951, in the fog-bound North Sea sinking the Argentine Luxury Motorship MS Maipu. all passengers and crew were rescued.
  • During the Korean War USNS General M. L. Hersey participated in the following campaigns:

    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Third Korean Winter
    16 to 18 January 1953
    9 to 10 March 1953
    15 March 1953     		Korean Summer-Fall 1953
    31 May to 2 June 1953

  • Placed out of service, 11 June 1954
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USS / USNS General M. L. Hersey received one battle star for World War II service and two battle stars for Korean War service
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 3 September 1959, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Merchant Service
    Sold to Sea-Land Service Inc., 16 August 1968, renamed SS Pittsburgh
    Renamed SS St. Louis in September 1969
    Converted to a container ship, 10 January 1970
    Final Disposition, scrapped in April 1988
    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 34
    Enlisted 391
    Troop Accommodations
    Officers 229
    Enlisted 3,114
    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)
    sixteen single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity 13,300 bbls
    Propulsion
    one Westinghouse geared turbine engine
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 465psi 765°
    double Westinghouse Main Reduction Gear
    three 400Kw 240V D.C. Ship' Service Generators
    single propeller, 9,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS General M. L. Hersey (AP-148)
    General M L Hersey 230k
    Namesake

    Mark Leslie Hersey, born in Stetson, Maine, 1 December 1863, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1887 and served with the 9th Infantry in Arizona until 1891. He was Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of Maine during the next 4 years. He fought in Cuba during the Spanish-American War and again served with the 9th Infantry in the Philippines during the hostilities in China during the Boxer Rebellion. After participating in the Samar Campaign in the Philippines, he returned to the United States in 1902. During World War I, as commander of the 4th Division, A.E.F., he participated in the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the French Legion of Honor, and the Croix de Guerre with Palm. Promoted to Major General 20 September 1924, he retired from active duty 2 November. Major General Hersey died at Tampa, Fla., 22 January 1934.
    Digital ID: ggbain 28413 Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division    		 Bill Gonyo
    General M L Hersey 77k USS General M. L. Hersey (AP-148) underway off San Francisco, CA. with US 43th Division personnel. Probably inbound during a Magic Carpet voyage. Tommy Trampp
    General M L Hersey 29k USS General M. L. Hersey (AP-148) underway, date and location unknown. Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
    General M L Hersey 90k USS General M. L. Hersey (AP-148) underway, date and location unknown.
    Photo from "Jane's Fighting Ships" 1958-59 Edition.    		 Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
    General M L Hersey 306k USS General M. L. Hersey (AP-148) at anchor, date and location unknown. Note how this photo has been altered to give the appearance the ship is underway. Stan Jezioranski
    USNS General M. L. Hersey (T-AP-148)
    General M L Hersey 101k USNS General M. L. Hersey (T-AP-148) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Tommy Trampp
    General M L Hersey
    092214810    		 136k A General G. O. Squier Class Transport post card image attributed to USNS General M. L. Hersey (T-AP-148). Depicts the transport moored pierside, date and location unknown. This post card was given to a military dependent in 1950 on a voyage from Germany to the United States.
    US Navy photo.    		 James Bakst
    Merchant Service USA Sea-Land Services Inc.
    General M L Hersey
    092214811    		 321k The new bulbous bow for the container ship SS St. Louis, ex USS M. L. Hersey (AP-148), nearing completion at Kaiser Napa Fabricating Plant, Napa, CA ., 7 March 1970.
    Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum photo    		 Darryl Baker
    General M L Hersey 386k Bow and stern views of ex-USNS General M. L. Hersey (T-AP-148) in merchant service as the SeaLand Service container ship. SS St. Louis moored pierside at Bremerhaven, Germany in January 1977. Photos by Gerhard Muller-Debus
    General M L Hersey 378k
    General M L Hersey 505k The SeaLand Service container ship. SS St. Louis underway in 1979, location unknown. Charles Leeuwenburg
    USS General M. L. Hersey (AP-148) / USNS General M. L. Hersey (T-AP-148)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Smith, James Walter27 July 1944 - 5 June 1945
    02CDR.. Taylor, Cyril Echard5 June 1945 - 1 June 1946
    03CAPT. Benton, Paul Z.9 January 1950 - ?
    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
    Kapok life jacket authorized for troop carrying vessels only during World War II
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    Last Updated 14 June 2024