Generaal Hersey (schip, 1944)

'General M. L. Hersey in 1952

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General M. L. Hersey in 1952

History United States NamesakeMark Leslie Hersey Builder

• Kaiser Co., Inc.
• Richmond, California

Laid downdate unknown Launched1 April 1944 Acquired31 May 1944 Commissioned29 July 1944 (U.S. Navy) Decommissioned1 June 1946 (U.S. Navy) In service1 June 1946 (U.S. Army) Out of service1 March 1950 (U.S. Army)

{{Infobox ship career

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Ship in service=1 March 1950 (MSTS)

Ship out of service=3 September 1959 (MSTS)

Ship renamed=*SS Pittsburgh, 16 August 1968 SS St. Louis, September 1969 On 14 January 1947, during a return voyage from Bremerhaven, USAT General M. L. Hersey responded to distress calls issued by SS Tecumseh Park which was thought to be in danger of foundering 840 miles (1,350 km) off Halifax, Nova Scotia. General M. L. Hersey stood by for two days before Tecumseh Park got underway on her own. On 16 November 1949 USAT General M. L. Hersey left Naples with 1,283 displaced persons from Europe and arrived in Melbourne, Australia on 6 December 1949. This voyage was one of almost 150 "Fifth Fleet" voyages by some 40 ships bringing refugees of World War II to Australia. General M. L. Hersey made two more such trips, arriving in Melbourne with 1,336 refugees on 27 April 1950, and in Fremantle with 1,370 passengers on 2 November 1950. During 1952 and 1953 she made four round-trips from San Francisco to the Far East in support of the Korean War. She was placed out of service 11 June 1954 and placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego. Later transferred to the Maritime Administration, on 3 September 1959 she entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, California. The ship was sold under the MARAD Ship Exchange Program to Sea-Land Service, Inc. on 16 August 1968 and renamed SS Pittsburgh. She was renamed SS St. Louis, USCG ON 515620, IMO 6903228, in September 1969, and converted by Todd Shipbuilding, San Pedro, CA to a container ship 10 January 1970. The ship was scrapped in 1988. General M. L. Hersey received one battle star for World War II service and two battle stars for Korean War service. References Sources Cudahy, Brian J. (2006), Box Boats: How Container Ships Changed the World. Fordham University Press. ISBN 978-0-8232-2569-9. Williams, Greg H. (2013), World War II U.S. Navy Vessels in Private Hands. McFarland Books. ISBN 978-0-7864-6645-0.