USAT Edmund B. Alexander
When the United States transferred 50 surplus destroyers to the British government in the destroyers for bases agreement during the summer of 1940, one of the acquisitions was Pepperrell Air Force Base at St. John's, Newfoundland but no barracks existed at St. John's for troops, so an interim solution had to be provided.
As a result, in October 1940, America was towed to Baltimore, Maryland, to undergo rehabilitation in the Bethlehem Steel Company yard. Earmarked for use as a floating barracks, the ship would provide quarters for 1,200 troops — the garrison for the new base at St. John's. Still a coal-burner, the ship could only make a shadow of her former speed — 10 knots.
With the ship's new role came a new name. Possibly to avoid confusion with the liner America, then building at Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, her name was changed to Edmund B. Alexander, in keeping with the Army's policy of naming its oceangoing transports for famous general officers. This name honored Edmund Brooke Alexander.
Ready for her new duties by January 1941, Edmund B. Alexander sailed for Newfoundland, escorted by Coast Guard Cutter Duane. She remained there, a floating barracks, until quarters to house the troops had been constructed on shore. At that time, June 1941, she returned to New York.
Extensive repairs in the yards of the Atlantic Basin Iron Works followed. The ship operated briefly between New Orleans and the Panama Canal Zone. Subsequently ordered to Baltimore in May 1942, Edmund B. Alexander spent almost a year undergoing a major facelift, as well as internal work. During the overhaul, she acquired a single funnel, replacing the two, and was converted to burn fuel oil instead of coal. Most importantly, she could now turn up the speed she used to make; 17 knots.
Edmund B. Alexander carried troops between New York and the European and Mediterranean theaters for the remainder of World War II. Altered during February and March 1946 to carry military dependents (904 adults—possibly war brides—and 314 children) back from Europe, she performed such duty for the next three years, including a similar voyage from Brooklyn Navy Yard through the Caribbean and Panama Canal to Hawaii and finally to Yokohama. The ship was placed in reserve at Hawkins Point, Maryland, on 26 May 1949. Taken thence on 28 January 1951 to lay-up in the Hudson River, Edmund B. Alexander remained there for almost six more years.
This time the call back to active service never sounded. The ship was sold to the Bethlehem Steel Company of Baltimore, on 16 January 1957 and was broken up under the scrapper's torch a short time later.
Read more about this topic: USS America (ID-3006)