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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS General Edgar T. Collins (T-AP-147)
ex
 USAT General Edgar T. Collins (1946 - 1950)
 USS General Edgar T. Collins (AP-147) (1944 - 1946)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Hotel - Victor
 NJHV
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Second Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row - Korean Service Medal (5) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korea War Service Medal (retroactive)
General G. O. Squier Class Transport:
  • Laid down, as a Maritime Commission type (C4-S-A1) hull under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 704) at Kaiser Shipbuilding Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, CA.
  • Launched, 22 January 1944
  • Acquired from the Maritime Commission by the US Navy, and commissioned, USS General Edgar T. Collins (AP-147), 20 July 1944, CDR. Edward J. Milner USNR in command
  • During World War II USS General Edgar T. Collins transported passengers in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Following World War II USS General Edgar T. Collins was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    29 October to 1 November 1945
    23 to 29 April 1946

  • Decommissioned, 17 June 1946, at San Francisco, CA.
  • Turned over to the Maritime Commission for transfer to the Army Transportation Service
  • Commissioned, USAT General Edgar T. Collins, 30 August 1946
  • Reacquired by the Navy, 1 March 1950 and assigned to the Military Seat Transportation Service (MSTS)
  • Placed in service as USNS General Edgar T. Collins (T-AP-147)
  • During the Korean War USNS General Edgar T. Collins participated in the following campaigns:

    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Communist China Aggression
    11 to 30 December 1950     		Third Korean Winter
    21 to 22 February 1953
    15 April 1953
    25 to 26 April 1953
    First UN Counter Offensive
    2 April 1951     		Korea, Summer-Fall 1953
    9 to 10 June 1953
    27 July 1953
    Korean Defense Summer-Fall-1952
    17 to 18 May 1952
    14 to 15 July 1952
    27 to 28 August 1952
    10 October 1952
    5 to 6 January 1953     		 

  • Placed out of service, circa October 1954
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • USNS General Edgar T. Collins earned five battle stars for Korean War service
  • Transferred to Maritime Commission (MARAD), 21 March 1960, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Permanent custody transferred to the Maritime Administration, 30 June 1960
  • Merchant Service
    Title transfer to Sea-Land Services Inc. (MARAD Exchange Program), 10 September 1968, renamed SS New Orleans and sold to Puerto Rico Maritime
    Shipping Authority, 10 September 1968, at Suisun Bay, Benecia CA.
    Converted into a containership in 1968 at Willamette Iron & Steel Co., Portland, OR.
    Renamed SS Guayama, 28 February 1972
    Transferred to United Southern Shipping Ltd., Panamanian flag and registry, 2 April 1981
    Renamed SS Eastern Kin, 28 April 1981
    Final Disposition, scrapped, January 1982
    Specifications:
    Displacement 9,950 t(lt) 17,250 t.(fl)
    Length 522' 10"
    Beam 71' 6"
    Draft 26' 6"
    Speed 16.5 kts (trial)
    Complement
    Officers 32
    Enlisted 445
    Troop Accommodations 3,155
    Cargo Capacity 1,900 DWT
    non-refrigerated 70,000 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)
    fifteen twin 20mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity - NSFO 13,300 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Westinghouse geared turbine
    two Babcock & Wilcox header-type boilers, 465psi 765°
    double Westinghouse Main Reduction Gears
    three 400KW 240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 9,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    General Edgar T. Collins 136k
    Namesake
    Edgar Thomas Collins, born 7 March 1873 at Williamsport, Pa., graduated from the Military Academy in 1897. In the Spanish-American war he fought with the 1st Brigade in the battles of El Caney and San Juan Hill, and during the siege of Santiago. In the years that followed Collins served at various American and foreign posts, often as an instructor. He went to France in 1917 as an observer on the British and French fronts and returned in 1918 to become Chief of Staff, 85th Division. Later Collins rose to the post of Chief of Staff, 6th Corps, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. Following the war, staff and infantry-instructor assignments led to his commanding the Infantry School, Fort Benning, Ga., in 1926. Retired as Assistant Chief of Staff 31 May 1932, Major General Collins died 10 February 1933 at Washington, D.C.
    Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress    		 Bill Gonyo
    USS General Edgar T. Collins (AP-147)
    General Edgar T. Collins 394k USS General Edgar T. Collins (AP-147) underway in San Francisco Bay in 1945 as part of the Magic Carpet fleet.
    ©Allied Photographers, San Francisco, CA.    		 Dianne Thomas for her father Robert Lyle Miles EMC USS Lackawanna
    USAT General Edgar T. Collins
    General Edgar T. Collins 100k USAT General Edgar T. Collins underway, date and location unknown. Tommy Trampp
    General Edgar T. Collins 229k Unknown soldier aboard USAT General Edgar T. Collins while under way, date and location unknown. Steve Franklin
    General Edgar T. Collins
    092214711    		 315k Two views of USAT General Henry Edgan T. Collins underway, circa 1946 during a Magic Carpet voyages, locations unknown.
    U.S. Navy photos    		 Darryl Baker
    General Edgar T. Collins
    092214712    		 401k
    USNS General Edgar T. Collins (T-AP-147)
    General Edgar T. Collins 55k USNS General Edgar T. Collins (T-AP-147) riding at anchor at Inchon, South Korea, June 1954. Note the LCU alongside. Photo by Douglas W. Downey, former Sgt AUS
    General Edgar T. Collins 50k USNS General Edgar T. Collins (T-AP-147) date and location unknown.
    US navy photo.    		 Tommy Trampp
    General Edgar T. Collins 1714k Post card of USNS General Edgar T. Collins (T-AP-147) entering San Francisco Bay, circa 1954.
    Photo John P. Hurley.    		 Lucas Velásquez Peláez
    General Edgar T. Collins 109k USNS General Edgar T. Collins (T-AP-147) embarking troops while at Inchon, South Korea, June 1954. Photo by Douglas W. Downey, (former Sgt AUS
    General Edgar T. Collins
    092214713    		 125k USNS General Edgar T. Collins (T-AP-147) arriveng at a US west coast port with Korean War veterans, circa 1950-1954.
    FLICKR submitted by     		Photo by Douglas W. Downey, (former Sgt AUS
    Merchant Service USA Sea-Land Services Inc.
    General Edgar T. Collins
    092214703    		 401k Ex-USS General Edgar T. Collins (AP-147) in merchant service for Sea-Land Services as SS New Orleans moored at Bremerhaven, Germany in August 1971. Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    General Edgar T. Collins 302k SS New Orleans moored pierside at Bremerhaven, Germany in August 1971. Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    General Edgar T. Collins (AP-147)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Milner, Edward Joseph, USN (USNA 1921-A)20 July 1944 - November 1945
    02CAPT. Ponto, Arthur RudolphNovember 1945 - 17 June 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    Last Updated 22 March 2024 p>