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NavSource Online: Army Ship Photo Archive

USAT Aconcagua

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Transport:
  • Built in 1938 as MV Aconcagua at Nakskov Skibs A/S, Nakskov, Denmark
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Delivered, date unknown
  • Offered by Chile to support the war effort
  • Purchased by the War Shipping Administration, 8 April 1943, from the Chilean Line for $2,000.000.00
  • Bare bottom chartered to the War Department, 8 April 1943
  • Converted to a troopship by Bethlehem-Key Highway Plant, Baltimore, MD. from August 1943 to February 1944
  • Commissioned USAT Aconcagua, date unknown
  • During World War II Aconcagua was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Decommissioned, date unknown
  • Returned to the War Shipping Administration in January 1946 at New York
  • Laid up, 4 August 1946, in the Maritime Commission National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, VA.
  • Moved, 12 July 1947 to Sun Shipyard, Chester, PA. for reconversion to merchant service
  • Sold, 14 August 1947, to the Republic of Turkey for $483,333.34, reflagged Turkey, renamed Giresun
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 7,279 gross tons
    Length 440'6"
    Beam 58'
    Draft 24'
    Speed 15 kts.
    Complement
    Officers unknown
    Enlisted, unknown
    Troopship Passenger Capacity 1,609
    Cargo Capacity 52,650 cu. ft.
    Cruise Radius 15,950 nm
    Propulsion Diesel
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Pre WWII Merchant Service
    Aconcagua
    301300103    		 469k
    Namesake
    Aconcagua - is a mountain in the Principal Cordillera of the Andes mountain range, in Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is the highest mountain in the Americas. (Wikipedia)
    Photo - Bjørn Christian Tørrissen Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons     		Tommy Trampp
    Aconcagua
    301300102    		 38k Pictured here is one of the sister ships MV Aconcagua, MV Copiapo or MV Imperial (7,237, 7,279 and 7,279 get, 440 ft. long). These Chilean Line vessels were built in 1937-38, and taken over by the U.S. as troop ships in 1943. John Spivey
    USAT Aconcagua
    Aconcagua 110k USAT Aconcagua moored pierside, date and location unknown.
    US Army Signal Corps. photo     		Troopships of World War II
    Post WWII Merchant Service
    Aconcagua
    301300104    		 65k MV Giresun (Ex-MV Aconcagua) underway in Turkish waters circa post 1948.
    Photo from www.alibozoglu.com, text in Turkish     		John Spivey
    USAT Aconcagua history is from "Troopships of World War II", by Roland W. Charles, Published by The Army Transportation Association, Washington, D.C., 1947
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 15 December 2023