USAT Orizaba
From Our Contribution
 | |
 Orizaba under construction at William Cramp & Sons in Philadelphia, c. 1917 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | USAT Orizaba |
| Owner | New York & Cuna mailship Co. |
| Builder | Wm Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine building Co. |
| Launched | 1917 |
| Completed | 1918 |
| In service | 1918 |
| Out of service | 1953 |
| Fate | scrapped in 1963 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger Liner/Mail ship |
| Tonnage | 6,937 tons |
| Length | 443' 3" (136m) |
| Beam | 60' (18.29m) |
| Depth | 24' 4" (7.42m) |
| Propulsion | twin screw |
| Speed | 16 knots (29.6 km/h) |
| Capacity | 1,578 passengers |
Remarks
This ship was purchased by the US War Department in early 1941, but had also previously operated as a troopship during WW1 conveying American troops to and from Europe.
Underwent conversion in the Bethlehem Steel Shipyards at New York during April and May 1941. In June she was transferred tothe Navy and designated USS Orizaba (Ap 24) and spent the next few months in New York before sailing in April 1942 to England via Iceland. She returned to Norfolk via Capetown, and operated in the Atlantic until December 1943 when she sailed to the Southwest Pacific where she operated for the next four months visiting Samoa, Bora Bora, Noumea, Brisbane, Gladstone, Milne Bay and Goodenough Island.
She returned to San Francisco in Late March 1944, and after another tour of Pacific destinations underwent six week's of repairs in San Francisco. She continued to operate in the Pacific Theatre until March 1945 when she departed for Tampa, Florida. In late 1945 she was sold to the Brazilian Government and renamed Duquw De Caxias". She remained in their serevice until 1959 and was scrapped in 1963