Troop Ships of the Navy, Army, and War Shipping Administration.[1]
SS Azalea City
Class: C2[2]
Built 1943 by Gulf Shipbuilding Corp. for the War Shipping Agency (WSA)[3] Chickasaw, AL
Operated by Waterman Steamship Co.[4]
SS Dorchester
SS Dorchester was laid down on September 1925 at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock. Launched on 20 March 1926. Her owners, Merchants and Miners Transportation Co., took possession on 17 July 1926.[5]
She worked the Atlantic coast between Boston and Miami until Jan. 24, 1942, when she was accepted by the War Shipping Agency for conversion to troop transport in the port of Baltimore.[5] Her conversion was completed in February 1942 and she began working the convoy route between New York City and "West Bluie One' Narsarsuaq, Greenland.
In addition to her civilian crew Dorchester sailed with a Naval Armed Guard detachment that manned her 4 20mm Oerlikons, 3"/50 and 4"/50 guns.[6]
On January 23, 1943 Dorchester departed New York City sailing as part of convoy SG-19 Bound for Greenland[7]. On February 3, 1943 Dorchester was torpedoed by U-223 resulting in the loss of 679 passengers and crew.[5] Among the dead were Chaplains George L. Fox, Clark V. Poling, John P. Washington, and Alexander B. Goode.[8]
Notes: SS Dorchester is often referred to as USAT Dorchester, this is incorrect as Dorchester was never brought into the US Army Transport System. She was operated by the Atlantic, Gulf and West Indies Lines (Agwilines).[9]
Sources
- ↑ https://history.army.mil/documents/WWII/wwii_Troopships.pdf
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_C2_ship
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Shipbuilding_Corporation
- ↑ https://www.freightwaves.com/news/maritime-history-notes-waterman-steamship-co-at-100
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Dorchester
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_Armed_Guard
- ↑ http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ref/ConvoyCodes.html
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Chaplains
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agwilines_Inc