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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS General W. C. Langfitt (T-AP-151)
ex
 USAT General W. C. Langfitt (1946 - 1950)
 USS General W. C. Langfitt (AP-151) (1944 - 1946)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Quebec - Quebec - Echo
 NQQE
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 - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Second Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia or Europe clasp) - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row - Korean Service Medal (4) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal
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 703) at Permanente, Yard No. 3, Richmond, CA.
  • Launched, 17 July 1944
  • Acquired by the Navy and commissioned USS General W. C. Langfitt (AP-151), 30 September 1944, CAPT. Kenneth O. Ekelund Sr. in command
  • During World War II USS General W. C. Langfitt transported passengers in both the Asiatic-Pacific and Europe-Africa-Middle East Theaters of Operation
  • Following World War II USS General W. C. Langfitt was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 10 to 15 November 1945
  • Decommissioned, 6 June 1946, at New York
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Transferred, 6 June 1946, to the Maritime Commission for service with the US Army Transportation Service; Commissioned by the US Army as USAT General W.C. Langfitt
  • Reacquired by the US Navy and reinstated on the Naval Register, 1 March 1950
  • Assigned to the Military Sea Transport Service (MSTS) and placed In-Service as USNS General W. C. Langfitt (T-AP-151)
  • During the Korean War USNS General W.C. Langfitt (T-AP-151) participated in the following campaigns:

    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaigns and Dates Campaigns and Dates
    Communist China Spring Offensive
    29 June to 2 July 1951    		 Second Korean Winter
    1 to 2 December 1951
    UN Summer-Fall Offensive
    15 to 16 July 1951
    16 to 19 November 1951    		 Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952
    17 to 19 August 1952

    While assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service USNS General W. C. Langfitt was assigned to Occupation service in Europe for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    1 to 18 July 1953
    3 to 5 December 1954
    2 to 4 January 1955
    5 to 8 February 1955
    6 to 8 March 1955

  • Inactivated, 30 September 1957
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USNS General W. C. Langfitt earned four battle stars for Korean War service
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission,13 May 1958, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Lee Hall, VA.
  • Merchant Service
    Sold in 1968 to Hudson Waterways Corporation, New York, rebuilt as a 13,489 ton, 633 ft long container vessel by the Maryland Shipbuilding and Drydock Co, Baltimore, MD., renamed SS Transindiana
    Entered merchant service in December 1969 as the Sealand Corp. container ship SS Transindiana
    Laid up at New York in November.1978
    Final Disposition, sold 2 May 1983 to Andy Inc. for scrapping at Brownsville, TX.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 9,950 t.(lt) 17,250 t.(fl)
    Length 522' 10"
    Beam 71' 6"
    Draft 26' 6"
    Speed 16.5 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 3
    Enlisted 391
    Troop Accommodations
    Officers 229
    Enlisted 3,114
    Cargo Capacity 1,900 DWT
    non-refrigerated 70,000 Cu. ft.
    Armament
    four single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    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 Westinghouse Main Reduction Gears
    three turbo-drive 400Kw, 240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 9,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    USS General W. C. Langfitt (AP-151)
    General W C Langfitt 111k
    Namesake

    William Campbell Langfitt, born in Wellsburg, Va., 10 August 1860, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1883 and until May 1898 served with the Corps of Engineers in New York, Texas, and Ohio. During the Spanish-American War he organized the 3d Battalion at San Francisco and served as Commanding Officer of American Forces in Hawaii. General Langfitt served in Oregon and Cuba before sailing for France in July 1917. During World War I he was Chief of Staff, Lines of Communications; Chief of Utilities; and Chief Engineer; and he participated in the Cambrai Operations, Somme Defensive, and St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensives. Upon his return to the United States in July 1919, he served as Division Engineer at New York until retiring 31 May 1920. General Langfitt died in Washington, D.C., 20 April 1934.
    Digital ID: ggbain 28946 Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division    		 Bill Gonyo
    General W.C. Lanfitt 721k Port bow overhead view of USS General W. C. Langfitt (AP-151) at sea, 31 August 1944, wearing camouflage Measure 33/13t. The colors are dull black, ocean gray and light gray. Photo taken by an airship from Airship squadron Twelve (ZP-12) assigned to NAS Lakehurst, N.J.
    US National Archives, Photo # 80-G-453361, courtesy of C. Lee Johnson, (usndazzle.com).     		Mike Green
    General W C Langfitt 38k USS General W. C. Langfitt (AP-151) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Hyperwar US Navy in WWII
    General W C Langfitt
    092215110    		 295k USS General W. C. Langfitt (AP-151) at anchor in San Francisco Bay off Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, circa 1945-1946. Note the cruiser and aircraft carrier at the shipyard in the background. Darryl Baker
    USAT General W. C. Langfitt
    eneral W C Langfitt 63k USAT General W. C. Langfitt arriving/departing Yokohama, Japan, circa winter/spring 1948. James Zobel
    General W C Langfitt 78k USAT General W. C. Langfitt underway, date and location unknown. Richard Leonhardt
    General W C Langfitt 515k Post Card of a General G. O. Squier Class US Army Transport of the late-1940s, obtained aboard USAT GeneraL W. C. Langfitt Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    General W C Langfitt
    092215111    		 67k USAT General W. C. Langfitt moored piersdie at Yokohama, Japan in 1948, Photographed from USAT Omar Bundy David Wright
    General W C Langfitt
    092215109    		 275k USAT General W. C. Langfitt entering San Francisco Bay, with homeward bound Army and Navy service members back from the Asiatic-Pacific Theater, circa June 1946-March 1950.
    U.S. Army photo    		 David Null
    Merchant Service Sealand Corp.
    General W C Langfitt 67k Ex-USS General W. C. Langfitt in merchant service as the Seatrain Corp. containership SS Transindiana berthed at Bremerhaven, Germany in July 1970. Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    General W C Langfitt 79k SS Transindiana approaching Hoboken, N.J. in May 1978. Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    USS General W. C. Langfitt (AP-151 / USNS General W. C. Langfitt (T-AP-151)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Ekelund Sr. Kenneth Oscar30 September 1944 - 3 September 1945
    02CDR. Ashton, Robert Kenneth3 September 1945 - February 1946
    03CAPT. Coulter, Howard NixonFebruary 1946 - 6 June 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
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 21 July 2023