USNS General William Weigel (T-AP-119), during the Korean War |
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| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS General William Weigel |
| Namesake: | US Army General William Weigel (1863-1936) |
| Builder: | Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock |
| Laid down: | 15 March 1944 |
| Launched: | 3 September 1944 |
| Sponsored by: | Mrs Earl L. Mann, a niece of General Weigel |
| Acquired: | 4 January 1945 |
| Commissioned: | 6 Jan 1945 - 10 May 1946 Mid-1946 - 1950 (US Army) 1 Aug 1950 - 12 Jun 1958 Aug 1965 - 31 Mar 1986 |
| Reclassified: | T-AP-117 (1 August 1950 ) |
| Struck: | 31 March 1986 |
| Identification: | MC hull type P2-S2-R2, MC hull no. 677 |
| Honors and awards: |
Seven battle stars for the Korean War service and one for the Vietnam War |
| Fate: | Scrapped 1987, Taiwan |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | General John Pope class transport |
| Displacement: | 11,450 tons (lt) 20,175 t (fl) |
| Length: | 622 ft 7 in |
| Beam: | 75 ft 6 in |
| Draft: | 25 ft 6 in |
| Propulsion: | Steam turbines, twin shafts, 17,000 horsepower |
| Speed: | 21 knots |
| Capacity: | 4,244 troops |
| Complement: | 533 |
| Armament: | 4 x single 5"/38 caliber dual purpose guns, 4 x quad 1.1" guns, replaced by 20 x single 20mm guns |
USS General William Weigel (AP-117) was a troop transport that served with the United States Navy in World War II. After the war, she was acquired by the US Army and became USAT General William Weigel. On the outbreak of the Korean War, she was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) and designated USNS General William Weigel (T-AP-119), a designation she retained for her later service in the Vietnam War.
AP-119 was laid down under Maritime Commission contract 15 March 1944 by the Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company of Kearny, New Jersey; named General C. H. Barth (AP-119) on 15 April 1944; renamed General William Weigel 24 August 1944; launched 3 September 1944; acquired by the Navy 4 January 1945; and commissioned at Bayonne, New Jersey, 6 January 1945, Captain Thomas Y. Awalt, USCG, in command.
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General William Weigel sailed from New York 11 February 1945 with 5,000 rotation troops; and, after delivering them safely to Le Havre, embarked American and French veterans at Southampton and returned to New York 19 April. Underway again 1 May with Navy men bound for Puerto Rico, the troopship touched at San Juan to debark them and to take on 5,000 Army fighting men for passage to Hawaii.
As General William Weigel was steaming toward Pearl Harbor, one of her passengers became critically ill. To save his life, strict radio silence was broken to arrange a mid-ocean rendezvous with a seaplane out of Balboa. He was transferred to the seaplane 19 May and flown to a hospital; General William Weigel reached Honolulu 6 days later.
This far ranging ship sailed 28 May for Marseilles to embark 5,000 soldiers and transferred them to Eniwetok and Manila to take part in the climactic Pacific battles. Subsequently she loaded passengers at Leyte and returned via Ulithi to moor at San Pedro, California, 25 August 1945.
As part of the Magic Carpet fleet, she stood out from San Diego, California 11 September with rotation troops for Pearl Harbor and returned to San Francisco 24 September with 5,000 veterans. From 6 October 1945 to 8 February 1946, she made three round-trip trans-Pacific voyages (two out of San Francisco and the third from Seattle) to bring occupation troops to Yokohama.
Following a Magic Carpet voyage to Manila and back to San Francisco 11 April 1946, the transport departed San Francisco 16 April for New York, arriving 1 May. Decommissioned there 10 May 1946, she was transferred to the War Department for peacetime operations as an Army transport and made shuttle runs with troops and supplies from San Francisco to garrisons in the Pacific until reacquired by the Navy 20 July 1950. General William Weigel was assigned to MSTS 1 August 1950, and redesignated USNS General William Weigel (T-AP-119).
During this phase of her career, the ship sailed from the Pacific coast to Japan and Korea carrying troops for duty in the Korean War. She continued to rotate American troops to strengthen the United Nations position in Korea until she was placed in Reduced Operational Status in 1955.
General William Weigel was returned to the Maritime Commission 12 June 1958 and entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Washington.
She was reacquired by the Navy 18 August 1965 and assigned to MSTS as the Navy bolstered its support forces for the Vietnam War. On 9 December 1965 she departed U.S. Army Oakland California Terminal with elements of the 20th Engineer Battalion arriving at Cam Ranh Bay on 1 January 1966. She departed U.S. Naval Base San Diego on 18 February 1966 with elements of 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, arriving at U.S. Naval Base Pearl Harbor Hawaii on 5 March. The following day she was boarded by elements of the 25th Infantry Division at Pearl Harbor and departed on 6 March. The USNS Weigel disembarked U.S. Army troops at the port of Vung Tau on 12 March and two days later U.S. Marines at Da Nang on 14 March 1966. On 28 September 1966 she departed the U.S. Army Oakland California terminal carrying various units of the 54th Transportation Battalion including the 523rd Transportation Company. On 20 October 1966, elements of the 585th Transportation Group disembarked at Cam Ranh Bay. Three days later, on 23 October 1966, the 523rd Transportation Company disembarked in Qui Nhon harbor. On 21 March 1967, the Weigle landed the 6th Battalion, 32nd Artillery in Qui Nhon. On one of her final voyages the Weigel departed U.S. Army Oakland California Terminal on 3 October 1967 with elements of the 324th Signal Brigade and 3rd Battalion 506th Infantry 101st Airborne Division, disembarking at Cam Ranh Bay on 26 October 1967. She carried troops to the Vietnam War from 1965 through 1967.
I boarded the ship in Oakland on 9 Dec. as part of the 135th Aviation Co. We proceeded to San Diego. (where I was born, 11/25/1944). We picked up a Battalion of Marines from Camp Pendleton in N. San Diego County. We were on the 4th deck down in the forward starboard side of the ship. As in WWII movies the bunks were 6 high and from both sides of poles, there was about a ft. between me and the next guy up. Two weeks and a couple days we were hit by a Force 5 Typhoon and it was batten down the hatches! The toilets would not flush and there was no drinking water, there was a 16" pipe on the starboard bulkhead with a valve with what looked like a 18" steering wheel, every time the ship listed to the starboard side salt water spayed in, the floor had about 4 to 6 inches of water slashing about. The only thing they brought us were 4 or 5 5 gallon buckets to use as toilets. I had grown up with boats and never got sea sick but with about 80 guys who did throw-up the stink made me sick also. The storm lasted a whole week with no fresh air and the ship was run by the Merchant Marines not the Navy and in talking to them before the storm they had already told us that when the ship was taken out of mothballs they were not given sufficient time for sea trials to make all necessary repairs before we departed! I don't know if the ship was actually in any danger but it might have been. After the storm we were told that of the 4 refrigeration unit 2 had failed and as much fruit and vegetables would need to be eaten before they when bad. Yet much was thrown overboard as I could see. And as we approached Okinawa, which is very Catholic and the Port at Naha was closed for Christmas, we had a day and a half at 8 knots which was what the Merchant Marines said was the minimum speed to maintain steerage for the ship. We reached Qui Nhon late night and unloaded on New Years Day 1966! Not in agreement with your information, but I was there, ewe got an orange for Christmas Day! Hopefully you can update the info above. Lloyd Vaughan, a Viet Nam Vet with Prostrate Cancer directly attributed to Agent Orange and the VA pays me 10% benefits. instead of those I should legally be entitled to!!
General William Weigel was placed out of service and struck from the Naval Register on 31 March 1986. She was sold for scrapping on 10 April 1987 for the sum of $1,005,050, and scrapped in Taiwan later that year.
General William Weigel received seven battle stars for the Korean War and one for the Vietnam War.
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