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: Army Ship Photo Archive

USAT City of Philadelphia

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
Freighter:
  • Laid down in 1919 as the Cargo ship SS Lake Elsmere at Great Lakes Engine Works, Ashtabula, OH.
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Completed, November 1919
  • Delivered to the United States Shipping Board in April 1920
  • Sold to Southern Steamship Co., Philadelphia, PA., date unknown
  • Name changed to SS City of Philadelphia, date unknown
  • Acquired by the War Shipping Administration, 6 June 1942, from the Southern Steamship Co. at New York, N.Y.
  • Time Charter to Agwilines Inc, 6 June 1942
  • Delivered to the War Department, 27 May 1943, as a sub bare bottom charter, at Hoboken, N.J.
  • City of Philadelphia was assigned to the US Army Small Ship Section Southwest-Pacific Area during World War II
  • Re-delivered to Southern Steamship Co., 29 December 1945, at Shanghai, China
  • Sold to the Republic of China by Southern Steamship Co., 29 December 1945, for $158,873.89, renamed SS Hai Chen
  • Renamed SS Hai Cheh, date unknown
  • Renamed SS Ho Ping Hao in 1960
  • Renamed SS Hoping No.8, date unknown
  • Final Disposition, scrapped in 1969
    Specifications:
    Displacement 2,694 gross tons
    Length 251'
    Beam 44'
    Draft 29'
    Speed 10.7 kts
    Complement
    Officers unknown
    Enlisted, unknown
    Troopship Passenger Capacity unknown
    Cargo Capacity unknown
    Cruise Radius unknown
    Armament
    one 3" gun mount
    four 20mm gun mounts
    Propulsion
    Triple expansion steam engine
    single shaft, 1,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Merchant Service
    City of Philadelphia
    302202301    		 46k SS Lake Elsmere moored pierside date and location unknown.
    Bowling Green State University Historical Collections of the Great Lakes    		 John Spivey
    USAT City of Philadelphia
    City of Philadelphia
    302202302    		 64k Aerial port side view of USAT City of Philadelphia underway, date and location unknown. Note the 3inch gun and two 20mm Oerlikon AA guns aft. Two further Oerlikons are mounted above the bridge.
    Naval Historical Collection, Australia War Memorial    		 John Spivey
    There is no history record for City of Philadelphia available at NavSource
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The US Army Ship Index Back To The US Army Small Ships 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 18 November 2022