USS West Point (AP-23)
From Our Contribution
 Pre war image | |
 USS West Point (AP-23) sailing from Port Melbourne, Australia in February, 1943 AWM photo 029707 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | USS West Point (AP-23) |
| Owner | US Government |
| Builder | Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. |
| Launched | 31 Aug 1939 |
| Completed | Aug 1940 |
| In service | 22 Aug 1940 |
| Out of service | January 1994 |
| Out of service | Decommissioned 28 Feb 1946 |
| Fate | grounded while under tow and destroyed |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Troop carrier |
| Tonnage | 26,455 tons |
| Length | 723 ft |
| Beam | 93.25 ft |
| Depth | 32.75 ft |
| Propulsion | Twin screw |
| Speed | 24 knots (44.5 km/h) |
| Capacity | Crew of 57 officers and 912 enlisted men |
Remarks
Originally built as SS America under contract to the Maritime Commission at Newport News in Virginia. Entered service for the United State Lines on 22 Aug 1940 before being acquired by the US Navy on 1 Jun 1941. Commisioned as USS West Point (AP-23) on 16 Jun 1941 and fitted out for trooping. Could carry 587 Officers and 7,091 enlisted personnel. On May 28, 1942, the she received her “draft notice.” and was ordered to the shipyard at Newport News for conversion to a troopship. There was no time to gently remove the interior furnishing. Barges were brought alongside and the fine furnishings were tossed overboard. The color scheme was changed to Navy gray which quickly led to a new nickname, “The Grey Ghost.”
In continuous service from the USA's entry into the war, USS West Point carried more than 350,000 passengers. She covered more than 436,144 miles (726,907 kms), equal to 16 trips around the globe. The ship made as many as 24 crossings of the Atlantic in a single year. Her ports included Bombay, Marseilles, Capetown, Guadalcanal, Canal Zone, Naples, Liverpool, Nouméa, and Mers-el-Kébir.
Following the war she was converted for commercial service at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News. Re-acquired by the United States Line, she was renamed SS America. Sold to Chandris Shipping Line in October 1964, she was renamed SS Australis. Sold to Venture Cruise Lines in 1978, and renamed SS America (the third time she had carried that name). Sold to Chandris Shipping Line in 1980 and they renamed her SS Italis, but later the same year she was sold to Inter Commerce Corp., and renamed SS Noga. She was next sold to Silver Moon Ferries Ltd., in 1984 and renamed SS Alfredoss. Her final owners were the Chaophraya Transport Co. which purchased her in 1994, renaming her SS American Star.
In January 1994 at Garcey Beach Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, her usefulness virtually at an end, she was grounded and destroyed while under tow.