EDMUND B. ALEXANDER

 

BUILT:  1905  BEAM:  74'  DRAFT:  33' 
LENGTH:  687'   CARGO [cu ft]:  151,685   PASS [troop ship]:  5,159  
PROP: Recip-eng 2   RADIUS [miles]: 22,000 TONS:  21,329
TYPE:   SPEED [knots]:  17 DEPENDENTS / JAPAN: Yes

This vessel [AMERIKA] was originally built as a passenger liner for Hamburg-Amerika Line, and was operated in the North Atlantic until the outbreak of WW I.  She was interned at Boston in Aug 1914 and seized in Apr 1917. As the converted ship AMERICA, she carried thousands of troops to and from France during WW I. 

Following WW I, she was laid up for a few years before being re-conditioned in 1923/4 by the U. S. Shipping Board. She entered the trans-atlantic passenger trade under the house flag of the United States. After several years of operation she was laid up at Solomon's Island, Maryland.

In Oct 1940 she was made ready for use by the Army as a floating barracks for 1,200 troops in Newfoundland until permanent shore quarters were constructed.  At this time she was renamed the EDMUNB B. ALEXANDER.

After extensive repairs in the U. S. from 1941-1943, including reboilering from a "coal burner" to oil, she saw use as at Troop Transport throughout W W II.  

In March 1946 she was converted to carry 904 adult and 314 children, military dependents.

 

 

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MID 1940's

 

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    1948