USAHS Blanche F. Sigman
USAHS Blanche F. Sigman in port, c. 1944–1946
| |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | Stanford White |
Namesake | Stanford White |
Owner | United States Maritime Commission (USMC) |
Operator | United States Lines, Inc. |
Builder |
|
Way number | 7 |
Laid down | 9 March 1943 |
Launched | 5 April 1943 |
Completed | 17 April 1943 |
In service | after 17 April 1943 |
Out of service | November 1943 |
Fate | Transferred to the War Department |
United States | |
Name | USAHS Blanche F. Sigman |
Namesake | Anzio |
Owner | War Department |
Operator | Army Transportation Service |
Acquired | November 1943 |
Refit | Todd Hoboken Yard , November 1943 – June 1944 |
In service | July 1944 |
Out of service | November 1948 |
Homeport | |
Fate | Sold for scrapping, 1974 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type |
|
Tonnage | 7,000 LT DWT |
Length | |
Beam | 57 feet (17 m) |
Draft | 27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed | 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
Capacity |
|
Complement | |
Armament |
|
Differences as USAHS Blanche F. Sigman:[1] | |
Tonnage | 7,933 gross tons |
Draft | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
Range | 17,000 nautical miles (31,000 km; 20,000 mi) |
Capacity | 595 patients |
Armament | None |
USAHS Blanche F. Sigman was a United States Army hospital ship during World War II. The ship was completed in April 1943 as Liberty ship SS Stanford White. When selected for conversion to a hospital ship, she was originally assigned the name USAHS Poppy, but never operated under that name. After being decommissioned as a hospital ship, she became U.S. Army transport USAT Blanche F. Sigman.
SS Stanford White, named in honor of American architect
In November 1943, the WSA allocated the ship to the U.S. Army, which converted her to a
Liberty ship
Stanford White (
Though it is not known where Stanford White spent the first five months of her merchant career, she spent the last two in the Atlantic.[4] She sailed from Galveston, Texas on 12 September 1943 and arrived in Key West on 16 September.[5] The ship departed the same day for New York and arrived there on 22 September.[6] On 28 September the ship, carrying a general cargo, joined a convoy headed to Liverpool, where it arrived on 13 October.[7] Five days later, the Stanford White set out for New York, arriving back there on 4 November.[8]
Hospital ship
In late November 1943 the ship was transferred by the WSA to the
After sailing for the
From New York, Blanche F. Sigman made three sojourns, calling at Cherbourg for a third time, Bremerhaven three times, The Downs, and Le Havre. While in Europe during the third trip, the ship was decommissioned as a hospital ship in April 1946 and returned to New York with a load of Army and Red Cross nurses, and members of the Women's Army Corps.[1][10] Throughout 1947 and into 1948, the Sigman made numerous trips for the Army, primarily between Bremerhaven and New York.[11]
On 22 November 1948, Blanche F. Sigman entered the
References
- ^ a b c d e Charles, p. 331.
- ^ a b Colton, Tim. "California Shipbuilding Corporation, Los Angeles CA". Archived from the original on 20 August 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- ^ a b "Three ships will hit water today". Los Angeles Times. 5 April 1943. p. A1.
- ^ "Port Arrivals/Departures: West Corum". Arnold Hague's Ports Database. Convoy Web. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- ^ "Convoy HK.131". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
- ^ "Convoy KN.265". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
- ^ "Convoy HX.259". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
- ^ "Convoy ON.207". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. ConvoyWeb. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
- ^ "Army names nurses killed near Anzio" (fee). The New York Times. 5 March 1944. p. 17. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
- ^ "Nurse braves storm to help man at sea" (fee). The New York Times. 22 April 1946. p. 22. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
- ^ See the "Shipping—Mails" feature in The New York Times on, for example, 11 September and 24 November 1947, and 12 February, 24 June, and 16 September 1948.
- ^ a b "Custody Card (front)" (scan of record). Property Management & Archive Record System (PMARS). United States Maritime Administration. 17 May 1974. Retrieved 30 January 2008.
- ^ "Custody Card (back)" (scan of record). Property Management & Archive Record System (PMARS). United States Maritime Administration. 16 September 1949. Retrieved 30 January 2008.
Bibliography
- Charles, Roland W. (April 1947). Troopships of World War II. Washington, D.C.: Army Transportation Association. OCLC 1871625.