SS Cape Perpetua

SS Cape Perpetua

History
Name	SS Cape Perpetua
Owner	US WAar Shipping Administration
Builder	Consolidated Steel Corporation, Wilmington, California
Launched	1943
Fate	sold for scrap
General characteristics
Type	Liberty ship C1-B Training Ship
Tonnage	7,189 tons
Length	417 ft 9 in
Beam	60 ft
Depth	draft 27 ft 7 in
Speed	14 knots
Capacity	2,060 passengers

Remarks

Immediately after construction as a standard C-lB type cargo vessel, the Cape Perpetua loaded at San Francisco for Suva and Noumea. On her rewturn to the US she went (in August) to the conversion yard-General Engineering & Drydock Co. Following conversion, she left San Francisco in late December 1943 and proceeded to Milne Bay, Goodenough Island, Gladstone, Sydney, Buna and Langemak, returning home in April 1944. After another voyage to Manus Island and Sydney, from which she returned in late July, the vessel touched at Seattle and then began a four months' tour in the Southwest Pacific, visiting Honolulu, Eniwetok, and Saipan.

After leaving San Francisco in early January 1945, the ship went by way of Los Angeles and Honolulu to Eniwetok, Leyte and Hollandia. From this trip she returned to San Francisco in late April and again departed from there in early May for a voyage that lasted three months and which took her to Hawaii, Eniwetok, Ulithi, Okinawa and Guam. This was followed by another journey to the Philippines from where the vessel returned to Seattle. The Cape Perpetua sailed from Puget Sound in December 1945, visited Okinawa and Yokohama, and returned to Seattle in late January 1946. After a month's repairs, she next sailed to Jinsen (Korea), Tokyo and Yokohama. The vessel returned to Seattle in April and left shortly for another voyage to Yokohama

Soldiers carried

Finschhafen to Brisbane 28 February - 7 March 1944

• Richard Barrett