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USS LeJeune (AP 74) |
Home | WW 2 Timeline | Statistics | Links | USS LeJeune Timeline | Sources | Images | ||
1944 World War II Troop Ship Crossings |
Vital Statistics | |
Length: 577 feet S1, | Crew: 501 S5, |
Width: 72 feet S1, | Troop Capacity: 4600 S5, |
Depth: 31.5 feet | Armament: one 5 inch/ 3 dual purpose gun mount; four 3 inch / 50 gun mounts, eight 40mm guns, thirteen 20mm guns S5, |
Draft: 26 feet S5, | Propulsion: Steam turbine, twin propellers S5, |
Speed: 17.5 knots S5, |
Timeline | |
Yellow Background relates directly to Walter C. Robbins | |
1936 | The SS Windhuk was built in Hamburg, Germany - Originally a passenger liner -
owned by Deutsche-Afrika Line S1, I6,
- Originally had two funnels - Accommodations for 490 passengers - 152, first class, 338 tourist class |
According to Lloyd's of London the ship was 577 feet long, 72 feet wide and 31.5 feet deep S1, | |
At some point the ship was put into service for the German Navy. This came to an end on 7 Dec 1939 when the ship sailed into a Brazilian port. The crew attempted to scuttle the ship but was only partially successful. S1, | |
May 1942 | Windhuk was purchased by the United States. The US Navy went to work to make the ship sea-worthy. S1, |
February 1943 | Windhuk sailed from Brazil to Norfolk Virginia, a voyage of 30 days.
Once in Norfolk, the ship was renamed USS LeJeune and was given hull number AP74
- S1, - Captain John T Bottom, Jr S4, |
15 April 1944 | Commissioned as a transport of the Navy Transportation Service S1, |
12 May 1944 | Fully Commissioned - Captain L E Kelly in command - he remained in command until 15 February 1945 - S4, S5, |
15 June 1944 | First wartime voyage - New York to Glasgow, Scotland - transported 4460 army passengers S1, |
27 Aug 1944 |
Sunday, about Noon the USS LeJeune left the dock at New York City - Had the bulk of the 104th Infantry
Division aboard - [S2,
p 26] - 56 ships in the convoy - largest convoy of the war - First direct trip from US to France |
28 August 1944 | Monday - Heavy weather, rough waters, lots of sick soldiers - [S2, p 26] - |
7 Sept 1944 | Thursday - Arrived Cherbourg, France |
After finishing her duty in the Atlantic, LeJeune moved to the Pacific Theater. S1, | |
"In all, she transported approximately one hundred thousand troops." S1, | |
2 Oct 1947 | sailed for Bremerton, Washington and inactivation S1, |
9 Feb 1948 | Decommissioned and placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet - Tacoma, Washington - S1, S5, |
July 1957 | Struck from the Navy Register - S1, S5, |
16 August 1966 | Scrapped at Portland, Oregon - S1,
- Only the bell was saved from the ship and was put into storage - S1, |
November 1971 | The bell was taken out of
storage and later mounted on the Flagstaff at Camp LeJeune's Marine Corps Base Headquarters - S1,
S3, I3, - 280 pound brass bell S3, - Every morning at 0800, eight bells is struck on the bell S3, - "USS LeJeune 1944" is the inscription on the bell S3, - "Camp LeJeune's morning bell was the first bell of the German warship Windhuk; the bell was aboard the ship when it became the USS LeJeune." S3, I3, |
Links |
Wikipedia Article |
LeJeune Home Page |
LeJeune History |
LeJeune Pictures |
LeJeune Bell |
LeJeune Crew |
USS LeJeune: Crossings of the Atlantic Ocean |
USS LeJeune AP 74 WWII Memory Cruise Book (Ad) |
NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive: USS LeJeune (AP 74) |
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: LeJeune |
CU 37 Convoy (27 Aug - 7 Sept 1944) |
Google Image Search |
AP74 ...History. http://www.usslejeune.com/History.htm (OK 17 Mar 2007) |
World War II Troop Ship Crossings
(Links OK 25 July 2013) - Main Page: http://ww2troopships.com/crossings.htm - 1944, July-Dec: http://ww2troopships.com/crossings/1944b.htm (Includes LeJeune (27 Aug 1944) leaving for Cherbourg, France) |
Sources | ||
Source Citation |
Image |
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S1 | http://www.usslejeune.com/History.htm (Link OK 25 July 2013) | |
S2 | Book: History of the 413th Infantry Regiment. Los Angeles: Warren F Lewis, 1946. Acc000328 | Link |
S3 | http://www.usslejeune.com/The Bell.htm (Link OK 25 July 2013) | |
S4 | http://www.usslejeune.com/Crew.htm (Link OK 25 July 2013) | |
S5 | http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/22/22074.htm "NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive: AP-74 LeJeune" (Link OK 25 July 2013) | |
S6 | http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/22/092207403.jpg (Link OK 25 July 2013) | |
S7 | Database Online: USS LeJeune.
"Photographs of Military Ships by the Bureau of Ships, 1914-1946"
Original data: Index to the General Photographs of the Bureau of
Ships, 1914-1946; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1157, 9
rolls); Records of the Bureau of Ships, Record Group 19; National
Archives, Washington, D.C. General Photographs of the Bureau of
Ships, 1914; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1222, 112
rolls); Records of the Bureau of Ships, Record Group 19; National
Archives, Washington, D.C.
www.ancestry.com , accessed 25 Sept 2015 1. Ancestry.com Link - Ph10755-001.jpg 2. Ancestry.com Link - Ph10755-002.jpg 3. Ancestry.com Link - Ph10755-003.jpg 4. Ancestry.com Link - Ph10755-004.jpg 5. Ancestry.com Link - Ph10755-005.jpg (STBD Broadside/ Norfolk Navy Yard/ Photo Serial 7618(44) May 15, 1944) 6. Ancestry.com Link - Ph10755-006.jpg (23 Sept 1946) Updated 7 Sept 2018: - Ph12203-001-018,jpg - Doc4850.pdf (18 Images) Link to Photos: https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/Vp1iYrFJSXj0Wja5l3Sv3poYvhykGMTPT8FzmBuUikk Ancestry.com, Image 1/18: https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/1173/IMUSA1800_066378-01172?backurl=https%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.com%2fsearch%2fdb.aspx%3fdbid%3d1173%26path%3d&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnBrowsing#?imageId=IMUSA1800_066378-01172 |
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S8 | Web Page: "1944 World War II Troop Ship
Crossings"
http://www.skylighters.org/troopships/1944.html
Date: 44-08-27 [27 Aug 1944] Depart: New York, NY Ship: USS LeJeune Troops: 413th Infantry Regiment; HQ & HQ Battery 104th Infantry Division Artillery; 385th Field Artillery Battalion (all from 104th Infantry Division) Convoy: 9599? (56 ships [largest convoy of the war; first direct trip US-France]) Destination: Cherbourg, France Arrival Date: 44-09-07 [7 Sept 1944] |
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I1 | I2 | I3 | I4 | I5 | I6 |
USS LeJeune | Bell | SS Windhuk | |||
Ph7853-002.jpg | Ph7884.jpg | Ph7885.jpg | Ph7886.jpg | Ph7887.jpg | Ph7888.jpg S6 |