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USAT General W. P. Richardson
ex
 USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118) (1944 - 1946)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Mike - Alpha
 NJMA
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal

USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118) was manned by the US Coast Guard during World War II
General John Pope Class Transport:
  • Laid down, 2 February 1944, as General R. M. Blatchford, a Maritime Commission type (P2-S2-R2) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 676), at Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.
  • Renamed General W. P. Richardson, 1 July 1944
  • Launched, 6 August 1944
  • Acquired by the US Navy 31 October 1944
  • Commissioned USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118), 2 November 1944, at Bayonne, N.J., CAPT. Joseph S. Rosenthal, USCG, in command
  • During World War II USS General W. P. Richardson operated in both the Europe-Africa-Middle East and Asiatic-Pacific Theaters
  • Decommissioned, 14 February 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 12 April 1946
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission for assignment to the US Army Transportation Service, renamed USAT General W. P. Richardson
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission by the Army, 10 March 1948
  • Merchant Service
    Chartered by American Export Lines Inc, 6 May 1948, for use as passenger liner, converted at Pascagoula, MS., renamed SS LaGuardia
    Returned to the Maritime Commission, 1 December 1951
    Reacquired, date unknown), by the US Army Transportation Service for troop service in Korea
    Returned to the Maritime Commission in November 1952 for lay up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Fort Eustis, VA.
    Bought by Hawaiian Steamship Co. and renamed SS Leilani, 5 February 1957
    Laid up in San Francisco, 29 December 1958, seized by the Federal Government, 12 May 1959 and put up for auction in June 1959
    Bought by American President Lines, 25 July 1960, refitted at Seattle and renamed SS President Roosevelt
    Sold to D & A Chandris in 1970, and renamed SS Atlantis
    Sold to Ares Shipping Corp. in October 1972 and renamed SS Emerald Seas
    Later sold to Eastern Steamship
    Sold to Festival Cruises in 1992 and renamed SS Sapphire Seas
    Laid up at Piraeus, Greece in October 1994
    Renamed SS Ocean Explorer 1 in the summer of 1998 for use at Lisbon as one of three Hotel ships for Expo 98, returned for lay up at Eleusis, Greece.
    Placed in service by World Cruise Co., beginning in November 1999 and taken out of service in May 2000 and laid up at Eleusis, Greece
    Final Disposition, scrapped in India in 2005
    Specifications:
    Displacement 11,450 t.(lt) 20,175 t.(fl)
    Length 622' 7"
    Beam 75' 6"
    Draft 25' 6"
    Speed 20.6 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 40
    Enlisted 426
    Troop Capacity
    Officers 393
    Enlisted 4,876
    Cargo Capacity 2,700 DWT
    non-refrigerated 145,000 Cu ft.
    Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.
    Armament
    four single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    four twin 40MM AA gun mounts
    sixteen 1.1" AA gun mounts replaced by twenty single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    NSFO 19,600
    Diesel 410 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two De Laval Turbines
    four Foster & Wheeler D-type boilers, 465psi 763°
    double De Laval Main Reduction Gears
    four 400Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    twin propellers, 8,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118)
    General W P Richardson 24k
    Namesake

    Wilds Preston Richardson, born in Texas 20 March 1861, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1884 and served on the American frontier and in Alaska. During World War I, he commanded the 155th Depot Brigade, Camp Lee, Va., and later the 78th Infantry Brigade, Camp Beauregard, La. He sailed in August 1918 for France where he led in turn the 78th Infantry Brigade, 39th Division and the 55th Brigade, 28th Division to March 1919. General Richardson participated in the Meuse-Argonne Sector and commanded the A.E.F. in northern Russia, receiving the Distinguished Service Medal for the latter duty. Following his return to the United States in 1919 he served in Georgia, Washington, D.C., and the state of Washington. He died in Washington, D.C., 20 May 1929.
    Photo: Alaska Historical Library    		 Bill Gonyo
    General W P Richardson 396k Launching of General W. P. Richardson (AP-118), 6 August 1944, at Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.
    		 Steve Franklin
    General W P Richardson 109k USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118) commissioning ceremony at Bayonne, N.J., 2 November 1944. Courtesy, Chuck Ulrich, coordinator/historian AP Transport Group
    General W P Richardson 119k USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118) underway in 1944. Note camouflage scheme, Measure 32/10T.
    US Navy photo.    		 Courtesy, Chuck Ulrich, coordinator/historian AP Transport Group
    General W P Richardson 62k USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118) docked at the North Side Pier of 4, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation.
    Official US Army photo produced by US Army Signal Corps, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, 13 January 1945. Library of Virginia. Image No. C1:2/27/032.    		 The Library of Virginia, US Army Signal Corps Photograph Collection
    General W P Richardson 355k USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118) docks at New York City, 7 June 1945, with returning GIs. Ron Reeves
    USAT General W. P. Richardson
    General W P Richardson 85k USAT General W. P. Richardson arriving at a US port with returning G.I.s, circa 1946, place unknown. Ron Cheshire
    General W P Richardson
    092211824    		 94k U.S. troops board USAT General W.P. Richardson at Leghorn, Italy, 8 November 1947. The ship left the Italian city with 2,800 G.I.s, 53 war brides and 4 War Department employees, General W.P. Richardson was the first of four voyages scheduled to clear Italy of Allied troops by 3 December 1947, twelve days before the deadline set in the treaty.
    Acme Photofont>    		 Tommy Trampp
    Merchant Service
    American Export LInes American President LInes Chandris
    General W P Richardson 70k Ex-USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118) in merchant service as American Export Lines cruise ship SS LaGuardia, circa 1948-1951.
    Photo from Edward Clark collection.    		 Tommy Trampp
    General W P Richardson 72k Ex-USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118) in merchant service as the Hawaiian Steam Ship Co.'s cruise ship SS Leilani docking or undocking at San Francisco, CA., circa February 1957-December 1958.
    Photo from San Francisco Port Authority collection.    		 Tommy Trampp
    General W P Richardson 101k Ex-USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118) in merchant service as American President Lines cruise ship SS President Roosevelt, circa 1960-1970.
    Photos from Reuben Goossens collection.    		 Tommy Trampp
    General W P Richardson 69k
    General W P Richardson
    Lanai Suite    		 134k SS President Roosevelt interior views from a 1962 press release. Tommy Trampp
    General W P Richardson
    Embarkation Lobby    		 140k
    General W P Richardson
    Ship Lounge    		 163k
    General W P Richardson 92k Ex-USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118) in merchant service as the Chandris America Lines SS Atlantis, circa 1970-71.
    Photo from the collection of Ruben Goossens.    		 Tommy Trampp
    General W P Richardson 55k Ex-USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118) in merchant service as Ares Shipping Corp.'s SS Emerald Seas, circa 1972 -1992.
    Photo from the collection of Ruben Goossens.    		 Tommy Trampp
    General W P Richardson 33k Post Card images of SS Emerald Seas, circa 1972 -1992. Tommy Trampp
    General W P Richardson 66k
    General W P Richardson 105k
    General W P Richardson 85k
    General W P Richardson 93k
    General W P Richardson 52k Ex-USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118) in merchant service as Festival Cruises SS Sapphire Seas, circa 1992.
    Photo from the collection of Ruben Goossens.    		 Tommy Trampp
    General W P Richardson 64k Ex-USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118) in merchant service as World Cruise Co.'s SS Ocean Explorer I, circa 1999.
    Photo from the collection of Ruben Goossens.    		 Tommy Trampp
    General W P Richardson
    092211825    		 119k SS Explorer [Ex-USS General W. P. Richardson (AP-118)] laid up at Eleusis, Greece, on 8 June 2004.
    Photo courtesy of Peter J. Fitzpatrick. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.    		 Robert Hurst
    General W. P. Richardson (AP-118)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Rosenthal, Joseph Stanley, USCG2 November 1944 - ?
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    USAT General W.P. Richardson Shipboard Newspaper
    - The ZI'ER Vol.4 No.1 and - The ZI'ER Vol.4 No.7
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    Last Updated 6 February 2026