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NavSource Online: Army Ship Photo Archive

USAT Wheaton

Cargo Ship:
  • Laid down, date unknown, as SS War Jupiter at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. at Sparrow Point, MD., intended for the British war effort in WWI
  • Launched 21 September 1918
  • Completed in November 1918 and turned over to the U.S. Shipping Board (USSB), renamed SS Wheaton Wheaton made at least four voyages to Antwerp Belgium under civilian control of the Red Star Line
  • Turned over to the U.S. Army Transport Service, 8 Oct 1920, commissioned USAT Wheaton
  • Refitted as a refrigerator ship
  • USAT Wheaton was named in honor of Maj. Gen. Frank Wheaton, commander of the 3rd Division, Sheridan’s Cavalry Corps, 1864-65
  • Assigned to the A.T.S. Atlantic Fleet with home port at the Army Supply Base, Brooklyn, N.Y.
  • Serviced the New York-Antwerp route
  • Wheaton's first voyage for the Army Transport Service, was to Antwerp, Belgium where she picked up US war dead from France. She departed Antwerp, 19 June 1921, arriving Hoboken, N.J., 2 July 1921
    (See List of Military Personnel Returning to the United States, Remains of Overseas Dead)
  • Wheaton made numerous trips between Antwerp and New York repatriating the bodies of American soldiers killed in action in France during World War I
  • Decommissioned and turned over, 15 July 1922, to the U.S. Shipping Board at New York harbor
  • Sold by the U.S. Shipping Board in 1927 to American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. and renamed SS Alaskan
  • Final Disposition, torpedoed, shelled, and sunk, 28 November 1942, by U-172 off the coast of Brazil
    Specifications:
    Displacement 6,867 t.
    Length 415'
    Beam 53' 7"
    Draft 28'3"
    Speed unknown
    Complement unknown
    Largest Boom Capacity unknown
    Cargo Capacity unknown
    Propulsion unknown
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    USAT Wheaton
    Wheaton 10k
    Namesake
    Frank Wheaton (May 8, 1833 – June 18, 1903) was a career military officer in the United States Army during the American Civil War and Indian Wars.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Merchant Service
    Wheaton
    302207201    		 55k SS Alaskan underway, 18 July 1942.
    The Mariner's Museum and Park, Newport News, VA. Catalog # P0001.003/01-#PB6067, A US Coast Guard photo    		 The Mariner's Museum and Park, Newport News, VA.
    The history for USAT Wheaton is from US Army Order of Battle 1919-1941 Vol.4
    US Army Transportation Service Ship's Masters
    01CAPT. McCarthy E.E., A.T.S.1 October 1920 - 15 July 1922
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    WWI Army Transport Funeral Ships
    The Story of S.S. Arkansan and the American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. in World War II
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The US Army Ship Index Back To The US Army Cargo Ships Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 3 July 2020