USS Martha Washington (ID-3019)

USS "Martha Washington" (ID‑3019) was a transport for the United States Navy during World War I named for Martha Washington, the first First Lady of the United States. She was originally ocean liner SS "Martha Washington" for the Austro-American Line before the war. Before and after her Navy service she was the United States Army transport USAT "Martha Washington". The liner was sold to the Italian Cosulich Line in 1922. In 1932, when Cosulich was absorbed into Italia Flotte Riunite (, , and destroyer —and arrived in France on 21 July. Cruiser "Seattle" and destroyers , "Seattle", and "Frederick". Records of this convoy are sketchy, but "Henderson" and "Matsonia" are known to have arrived in France on 25 August, and the other ships probably arrived around that same time. Upon "Martha Washington" 's return to the U.S. she shifted to New York. [Crowell and Wilson, pp. 614–15.]

After embarking 3,029 troops, [Crowell and Wilson, p. 559.] "Martha Washington" departed again on 15 September sailing with and "Pueblo", and destroyers , "South Dakota", USS|Talbot|DD-114|2, and USS|Radford|DD-120|2 filled out the convoy, which arrived on 4 November. [Crowell and Wilson, p. 619.] Returning to the U.S. five days after the Armistice, "Martha Washington" made eight additional voyages—from 26 November 1918 to 11 November 1919—returning 19,687 troops and passengers from foreign ports. During her seventh voyage she also disembarked 945 interned German aliens at Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

On her final voyage she arrived at Brest on 14 August and received new orders to transport an American relief mission to Turkey and Russia. Under the leadership of Major General James Harbord, U.S. Army, the mission spent the first two weeks in September at Constantinople and after arriving at Batum, Russia, on 18 September, spent the following three weeks there. In this period of civil turmoil, "Martha Washington" brought 324 Armenian and Polish refugees to Constantinople. Sailing for the United States on 15 October, she called at Malta, Marseille, and Brest before arriving at New York on the first anniversary of the Armistice signing. She was decommissioned on 18 November 1919 and was turned over to the War Department.

Later career

In November 1922, "Martha Washington" was sold to the Cosulich Line. Around the time that line was absorbed into the state-owned Italia Flotte Riunite in 1932, "Martha Washington" was renamed "Tel Aviv". The liner was scrapped in 1934.

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