USS General J. H. McRae (AP-149)

USS "General J. H. McRae" (AP-149) was a sclass|General G. O. Squier|transport ship built for the United States Navy in World War II. In 1946 she was transferred to the U.S. Army and operated as USAT "General J. H. McRae". On 1 March 1950 she was transferred to Military Sea Transportation Service and operated as USNS "General J. H. McRae" (T-AP-149). She was named for U.S. Army Major General James H. McRae.

Operational history

"General J. H. McRae" was launched 26 April 1944 by the Kaiser Co., Kaiser Shipyards, Yard 3, Richmond, California. and commissioned 8 August 1944 at Richmond, California.

During 1944 she sailed from West Coast ports carrying troops to Honolulu, Hawaii and other Pacific Theater destinations. On 11 January 1945 she sailed for India where she picked up troops and delivered them to various South Pacific destinations. She sailed 19 June 1945 through the Panama Canal for Le Havre, France, where she embarked more than 4,000 troops and returned with them to Newport News, Virginia She continued transporting troops from Europe and other ports through the end of 1945. She was decommissioned at New York City 27 February 1946 and was returned to WSA for peacetime operations as an Army transport.

As USAT "General J. H. McRae" she transported troops through 1950. One typical voyage during this period was transporting troops from Manila to San Francisco in January 1947.cite news | last = Davis | first = Howard S. | format = ship's newspaper | title = The McRae Spray Souvenir Edition | work = The McRae Spray Souvenir Edition | date = January 1947 | publisher = | location = | pages = 4, 12 | ]

Reacquired 1 March 1950 and assigned to MSTS. Manned by civilians, she operated between New York and the United Kingdom until February 1953, then shifted her base to San Francisco, California for runs to Japan.

On 29 October 1954 the "General J. H. McRae" was inactivated.

She was scrapped in Taiwan in 1987.

She received four battle stars for Korean War service.

References

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