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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS General C. G. Morton (T-AP-138)
ex
 USAT General C. G. Morton (1946 - 1950)
 USS General C. G. Morton (AP-138) (1944 - 1946)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Charlie - Xray
 NJCX
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal
Second Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row - Korean Service Medal (3) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)

USS General C. G. Morton (AP-138) transferred to the US Army following WWII, reacquired by US Navy Military Sea Transportation Service
General G. O. Squier Class Transport
  • Laid down, date unknown, as a Maritime Commission type (C4-S-A1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 661) at Kaiser Shipbuilding Corp, Yard No. 3, Richmond, CA.
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Acquired by the US Navy, 18 May 1944
  • Commissioned USS General C. G. Morton (AP-138), 8 July 1944, CDR. Stephen Ketcham Hall in command
  • During World War II USS General C. G. Morton transported passengers in both the Asiatic-Pacific and the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theaters of Operation
  • Decommissioned, 15 May 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 5 June 1946
  • Transferred to the US Army Transportation Service (USAT) in May 1946
  • Commissioned USAT General C. G. Morton
  • Reacquired by the Navy, 1 March 1950
  • Assigned to the Military Sea Transport Service (MSTS) as USNS General C.G. Morton (T-AP-138)
  • During the Korean War General C. G. Morton (T-AP-138) participated in the following campaigns:

    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    North Korean Aggression
    1 to 2 August 1950
    8 October 1952    		 Communist China Aggression
    21 to 28 December 1950
    First UN Counter Offensive
    10 to 11 February 1951    		  

  • Struck from the Naval Register, 29 May 1958, and transferred to the Maritime Commission for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • USS General C. G. Morton earned three battle stars for Korean War service
  • Merchant Service
    Sold to Central Gulf Lines, 14 April 1967 (MARAD Exchange Program
    Renamed SS Green Wave in May 1967
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 19 March 1980, to Sing Cheng Yuag Iron and Steel Co. Ltd., Taiwan
    Specifications:
    Displacement 9,950 t.(lt) 17,250 t.(fl)
    Length 522' 10"
    Beam 71' 6"
    Draft 26' 6"
    Speed 16.5kts.
    Complement
    Officers 49
    Enlisted 451
    Troop Capacity
    Officers 230
    Enlisted 3,300
    Cargo Capacity 1,900 DWT
    non-refrigerated 79,000 Cu ft.
    Armament
    four single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    four twin 1.1" gun mounts (replaced by two twin 40mm AA gun mounts)
    sixteen single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    NSFO 13,300 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Westinghouse geared turbine
    two Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 465psi 765°
    double Falk Main Reduction Gear
    three 400Kw 240V D.C. Ship' Service Generators
    single propeller, 9,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS General C. G. Morton (AP-138)
    General C G Morton 68k
    Namesake

    Major General Charles Gould Morton commanded the Hawaiian Department from 1919-1921. He was the son of Brigadier General Charles Morton. He attended the US Military Academy in 1879, obtaining his commission in 1883. For most of the first 23 years of his career, he served with the 6th Infantry Regiment, seeing action in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War, including a brief stint with the 1st Maine Volunteer Infantry. For most of the next six years Morton served in various Inspector General capacities before becoming an instructor with the Massachusetts National Guard in 1912. From there Morton commanded the 5th Infantry Regiment from 1913-16 and then assumed duties as Commander of US troops in Panama. He was not there long before becoming Commanding General of the 10th Division, defending the Texas border from 1916-17. Morton then commanded the 29th Division as part of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I. General Morton served with the War Department General Staff before concluding his career as Commanding General of IX Corps. He retired in 1925, and among his awards was the Distinguished Service Medal. He died in 1933.
    Text from the U.S. Army Pacific
    Image from "Soldiers All; Portraits and Sketches of the Men of the A. E. F. (1920)"    		 Bill Gonyo
    General C G Morton 660k Starboard bow view of USS General C.G. Morton (AP-138) at sea, 16 September 1944, wearing camouflage measure 33/11t. The colors are navy gray, haze gray and pale gray. Photo taken by an airship from Airship squadron Thirty-One (ZP-31) assigned to NAS Santa Ana CA.
    US National Archives, Photo # 80-G-280517, courtesy of C. Lee Johnson, (usndazzle.com).     		Mike Green
    General C G Morton 37k Certificate issued by US Army Service Forces Transportation Corps, New York Port of Embarkation to soldiers of the 700th Military Police (PFC Valentine J. Golub) aboard USS General C.G. Morton (AP-138) on 25 November 1945 from Karachi. Jim Golub
    General C G Morton 1369k USS General C.G. Morton (AP-138) packed with returning servicemen from the Pacific Theater during a Magic Carpet voyage, circa March 1946.
    US Navy photo by LT. Johnston , Lighter-than-Air Airship Squadron (ZP 31), NAS Santa Ana, CA.    		 David Buell
    General C G Morton 37k USS General C.G. Morton (AP-138) passing under the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA, date unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Military Sea Transportation Service Society web site
    USAT General C. G. Morton
    General C G Morton
    092213812    		 360k Two views of USAT General C.G. Morton entering San Francisco Bay during a Magic Carpet voyages in 1946
    U.S. Navy photos now in the collections of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum    		 Darryl Baker
    General C G Morton
    092213813    		 347k
    USNS General C. G. Morton (T-AP-138)
    General C G Morton
    092213811    		 265k USNS General C.G. Morton (T-AP-138) underway, date and location unknown.
    U.S. Navy Military Sea Transportation Service photo    		 Nicholas Tiberio
    Merchant Service Central Gulf Lines
    General C G Morton 204k Ex-USS General C.G. Morton (AP-138) in merchant service as the Central Gulf Lines Corp. SS Green Wave at Bremerhaven, Germany, November 1976. Photos by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    General C G Morton 185k
    General C G Morton 250k
    General C G Morton 239k
    General C G Morton
    092213810    		 300k SS Green Wave underway in the English Channel, date unknown.
    ©Skyfotos    		 Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    USS General C. G. Morton (AP-138)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Hall, Stephen Ketcham8 July 1944 - 15 May 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    "Morton Salt Shaker" Ship's Newspaper, Vol. X, No. 9, Thursday, 26 June 1947
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    Last Updated 5 February 2023