USS General A. W. Brewster (AP-155)

USS "General A. W. Brewster" (AP-155) was a sclass|General G. O. Squier|transport ship for the U.S. Navy in World War II. The ship was crewed by the U.S. Coast Guard throughout the war. She was named in honor of U.S. Army general Andre Walker Brewster. She was transferred to the U.S. Army as USAT "General A. W. Brewster" in 1946. On 1 March 1950 she was transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) as USNS "General A. W. Brewster" (T-AP-155). She was later sold for commercial operation under the name SS "Philadelphia", before being scrapped some time after November 1987.

Operational history

"General A. W. Brewster" (AP-155) was laid clown 10 October 1944 under Maritime Commission contract (MC #712) by Kaiser Co., Inc., Yard 3, Richmond, California; launched 21 January 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Bert Hotchkiss; acquired and commissioned 23 April 1945, Comdr. E. E. Hahn, USCG, in command.

After shakedown out of San Diego, the transport sailed 28 May from San Pedro. Transiting the Panama Canal, she arrived Avonmouth, England, 20 June and embarked troops for Pacific ports. Sailing westward, "General A. W. Brewster" passed through the canal again and arrived Humboldt Bay, New Guinea, 27 July 1945. She then sailed to the Philippines, remaining there until after the capitulation of Japan. The ship embarked veterans and returned to San Francisco 1 September.

"General A. W. Brewster" made three additional voyages to the Far East in the immediate postwar period, bringing home thousands of servicemen. She decommissioned at San Francisco 10 April 1946 and was transferred to the Maritime Commission and later to Army Transportation Service for Pacific duty.

One journey made by USAT "General A. W. Brewster" left Manila in September 1946 with elements of the U.S. Thirteenth Air Force and arriving in Oakland the next month.cite web | url = http://ww2troopships.com/crossings/1946b.htm | title = 1946 Troop Ship Crossings - July to December | first = Shayne E. | last = Wallesch | date = 2005 | accessdate = 2007-11-12 ]

The ship was reacquired by the Navy 1 March 1950 and sailed for the Military Sea Transportation Service with a civilian crew. "General A. W. Brewster" made many voyages to Korea and Japan during the next 3 years, carrying more than 67,000 troops.

A typical voyage of this period was one that arrived in San Francisco on 25 May 1952 and was documented by photojournalists with the "San Francisco News-Call Bulletin". [cite web | url = http://content-backend-a.cdlib.org/view?docId=tf338n99v6&chunk.id=c041258 | title = Guide to the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin Newspaper Photograph Archive, ca. 1915-1965 | work = Online Archive of California | publisher = University of California | date = 2006 | accessdate = 2007-11-12 ]

In 1954 the ship was diverted to the coast of Indochina for Operation Passage to Freedom. During September and November "General A. W. Brewster" and other navy ships brought thousands of refugees out of the northern sector of Vietnam as that country was partitioned. Returning to San Francisco, the transport was placed in Reduced Operational Status in December 1954, and was returned to the Maritime Administration 26 July 1955 . "General A. W. Brewster" was placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, California, where she remained until being sold for commercial service in 1968. She was converted to a container ship and operated for Sea-Land Service, Inc. under the name SS "Philadelphia". She was sold to ship breakers in Taiwan in November 1987.

"General A. W. Brewster" received five battle stars for Korean conflict service.

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