USS General R. E. Callan (AP-139) - Operational History - Transport Ship

Transport Ship

General R. E. Callan (AP-139) was launched 27 April 1944 under a Maritime Commission contract (MC #667) by Kaiser Inc., Richmond, California sponsored by Mrs. Robert E. Callan, wife of General Callan; acquired 7 July 1944; and commissioned 17 August 1944, Comdr. Robert C. Starkey in command.

General R. E. Callan sailed from San Francisco 25 September 1944 with Army troops and debarked them at Oro Bay and Langemak Bay, New Guinea, on-loading at the latter port 2,700 troops and casualties which she put ashore at San Francisco 1 November on her return. She embarked over 2,600 fighting men at San Diego and after touching San Francisco 13 November, got underway from that port 3 days later for Kahului Harbor, Hawaii, where she debarked the troops and returned to San Francisco 2 December with over 250 homeward-bound veterans. From 20 December 1944-8 February 1945 the transport carried 2,500 troops from San Francisco to Eniwetok and Guam, returning to Los Angeles the latter date with 2,500 troops embarked at Pearl Harbor. General R. E. Callan then stood out 23 March 1945 with more than 3,000 fighting men bound for Melbourne, Australia; Calcutta, India; and Trincomalee, Ceylon; returning via Fremantle, Australia; Manus, Tinian, Saipan, Guam, and Pearl Harbor to moor at San Francisco 28 June.

Two days later the busy ship steamed under the Golden Gate bound for Norfolk, closing that port 15 July and getting underway again 25 July for France. She embarked over 3,000 troops at Marseille 6 August and returned to Norfolk 18 August to debark her war-weary passengers. From 20 August-12 September the ship made another voyage to Marseille and put in at Boston 12 September with over 4,000 troops. On 26 September she stood out to eastward, touching Karachi, India, via the Suez and returning to New York with a full load of veterans on 21 November. After a round-the-world troop rotation cruise which brought the ship to Karachi, Singapore and Hawaii after her departure 7 December 1945 from New York, General R. E. Callan moored at Seattle on 30 January 1946. Following a voyage to Leyte, she returned to San Francisco in early April, and subsequently sailed thence via Panama for Boston, where on 24 May 1946 she was placed out of commission and turned over to the Maritime Commission for peacetime operations as an Army transport. Her name was struck from the Navy List on 19 June 1946.

In September 1947 General R. E. Callan and sister ship General Harry Taylor put in at Todd Shipyard, Brooklyn for limited modifications. The changes were so the ships would be in compliance with United States Coast Guard requirements for commercial passenger carriers.

In January 1948 USAT General R. E. Callan responded to a distress signal from Army Transport Joseph V. Connolly which was burning at 39°48′N 54°37′W / 39.800°N 54.617°W / 39.800; -54.617, some 890 nautical miles (1,650 km; 1,020 mi) east of New York. Freighters Union Victory and Black Diamond each picked up a lifeboat, while General R. E. Callan picked up the remaining two boats. The Army transport stayed with the burning hulk of Joseph V. Connolly until being relieved by Army ocean-going tug LT-788. General R. E. Callan was ordered to Halifax with the survivors. All 46 hands from Joseph V. Connolly were saved by the three ships, while the ship itself was lost.

General R. E. Callan was reacquired from the Army on 28 April 1950 and manned by a Civil Service crew for transatlantic passenger service under the MSTS until 29 May 1958 when her name was again struck from the Navy List. Returned to the Maritime Commission, she was assigned to the Maritime Defense Reserve Fleet in the Hudson River, New York.