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 Blenheim

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
Spare Parts Depot Ship
  • Built in 1923 as the freighter Oldenwald at Deutsche Werft A. G. Hamburg, Germany
  • Operated by Hamburg-Amerika Linie, renamed Assuan
  • Disguised as an American freighter, given the false name Willmoto
  • Confiscated by the War Shipping Administration by Executive Order, 31 December 1941, at San Juan, Puerto Rico and allocated, to the Waterman Steam Ship Co., under a General Agency Agreement
  • Reallocated to the War Department, 25 May 1945
  • Converted to a Spare Parts Depot Ship, location unknown
  • Commissioned, USAT Blenheim
  • During World War II USAT Blenheim was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Retired from US Army Service, date unknown
  • Returned to the War Administration, 26 May 1947, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, WA.
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 7 May 1948, to Walter W. Johnson (PD-X-443) for $41,500, withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet, 19 January 1949
    Specifications:
    Displacement 5,097 t. gross
    Length 398'
    Beam 53'
    Draft 38'
    Speed unknown
    Complement unknown
    Cargo Capacity 431,305 cu. ft.
    Armament unknown
    Fuel Capacity unknown
    Propulsion
    two 6-cyl Diesel engines
    two shafts, 2,320shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Merchant Service
    Blenheim
    30140103    		 50k MV Assuam / MV Blenheim underway, date and location unknown. John Spivey
    Blenheim
    30140104    		 111k MV Blenheim disguised as the American frieghter MV Willmoto at anhcor, date and location unknown. John Spivey
    Blenheim
    30140101    		 72k The German blockade runner MV Odenwald underway. Odenwald was stopped and boarded by the U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Omaha (CL-4) in the South Atlantic, 6 November 1941. Odenwald was disguised as the U.S. merchantman Willmoto and the crew unsuccessfully tried to scuttle the ship. Omaha’s boarding party stopped the flooding, got the ship underway again and sailed it to San Juan, Puerto Rico. This became known as the “Odenwald incident”, as Germany and the U.S. were not at war at that time. After Germany declared war on the U.S. on 11 December 1941, the Odenwald was seized and put into service as USAT Blenheim
    Photo from www.picryl.com by U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command    		 John Spivey
    USAT Blenheim
    Blenheim
    30140102    		 251k USAT Blenheim at anchor, 17 October 1943, location unknown.
    US Coast Guard photo    		 MARAD
    There is no history record available for USAT Blenheim at NavSource
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    Captured Nazi Ship Taken to Puerto Rico">
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The US Army Ship Index Back To The US Army Spare Parts Depot Ships Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 16 August 2024