- USS Refuge (AH-11)
The first Refuge (AH-11), a hospital ship, was built in
1921 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., asSS President Madison for American President Line. Acquired by the Navy fromWar Shipping Administration on11 April 1942 for conversion to a troop transport, she was namedKenmore (AP-62) , and commissioned at Baltimore, Md.,5 August 1942 , Comdr. Myron T. Richardson in command.ervice as "Kenmore" (AP-62)
Following
Chesapeake Bay shakedown, Kenmore put in at Norfolk, Va.,6 September and embarked men and equipment of the 13th Marine Defense Battalion and the 18th and 19th Naval Construction Battalions. Departing the 19th, she touched at Guantanamo Bay,Cuba ,24 September and steamed in convoy for the Pacific4 October . Arriving offNoumea ,New Caledonia ,11 November , she debarked her troops and offloaded her cargo, then reported19 November to Rear Adm. R. K. Turner, Commander, Amphibious Forces, South Pacific.Kenmore departed Noumea
28 November as a unit of TF 62, arriving off the beach east of Togoma Point,Guadalcanal ,3 December . There she offloaded troops and cargo for 2 days, thence returned to Noumea11 December . She next steamed unescorted toSan Francisco , arriving5 January 1943 for overhaul at General Engineering & Drydock Co.From
8 February until27 May , Kenmore transported troops and cargo between San Francisco and theHawaiian Islands . Departing San Francisco13 June , she steamed for Noumea, arriving6 July . A call at Tenaru Beach, Guadalcanal,13 July was followed by a return to Noumea the 20th, with departure for the east coast of the United States 5 days later. She transited thePanama Canal 19 August , took on passengers at Cristobal, and steamed via Guantanamo for Norfolk, Va., arriving there2 September . She then decommissioned at Baltimore, Md., the 16th, for conversion to a hospital ship by theMaryland Drydock Company .Recommissioned as "Refuge" (AH-11)
Renamed "Refuge" and redesignated AH-11, the ship recommissioned at Baltimore
24 February 1944 , Comdr. M. A. Jurkops in command. After partial fitting out at Baltimore, she steamed10 March for theNorfolk Navy Yard . Assigned to the Service Force, Atlantic, she commenced assisting in the transport of casualties from the war zones to the United States.Atlantic Service
Departing
Hampton Roads 20 April , "Refuge" embarked patients at Mers-el-Kebir,Algeria , 6-8 May , and returned to Charleston, S.C.,24 May . From1 June through29 July 1944 , she made two voyages to theBritish Isles , embarking patients atBelfast ,Northern Ireland ;Liverpool ,England ; andMilford Haven ,Wales . These patients were returned to Newport News and Norfolk, Va.Sailing again for the
Mediterranean 2 August , she arrived Oran,Algeria the 17th, thence proceeded to the southern coast ofFrance for operations between St. Tropez Bay andNaples ,Italy . She departed Naples16 September with embarked patients, took on additional patients at Oran, then steamed for New York, arriving6 October .outh Pacific Duty
After overhaul at New York, Refuge departed
1 November for South Pacific duty with the Service Force, 7th Fleet. Touching at Humboldt Bay, Dutch New Guinea,16 December , she continued on 3 days later for thePhilippines . Arriving San Pedro Bay, Leyte, onChristmas Eve , she commenced the embarkation of patients from small landing craft. ByJune 30 th she had made six voyages from that area to deliver her casualties to eitherHollandia ,New Guinea orSeeadler Harbor , Manus, the Admiralties. She departed Seeadler Harbor1 July for Manila, where she received patients from various Fleet units through the end of August1945 .Refuge departed Manila
31 August for Jinsen,Korea , arriving8 September . She sailed on the 17th, embarked evacuees atShanghai ,China , thence steamed for Okinawa, arriving2 October . She then made two voyages between Okinawa andTsingtao, China through20 October .After embarking patients and troops for return to the United States, Refuge departed Okinawa
22 October , took on additional patients atSaipan , and arrived San Francisco18 November . Overhaul took her through9 December , and 2 days later she departed forYokosuka, Japan , arriving4 January 1946 . After embarking Army troops for transportation to the United States, she departed7 January and returned to Seattle, Wash., the 28th.Decommission
Refuge decommissioned at Seattle
2 April 1946 . Her name was struck from the Navy list8 May 1946 and she was delivered to the WSA29 June 1946 . She was sold for scrap to Consolidated Builders2 February 1948 .Refuge received one battle star for
World War II service.References
*http://troopships.pier90.org/ships/r/refuge/default.htm
*http://troopships.pier90.org/ships/r/refuge/default.htm
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/r4/refuge.htm
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