General W A Mann (AP 112) - Naval Cruise Book

Page 9 text:

I 1 HE U.S.S. GENERAL W. A. MANN fAP112l is a 623 foot, 20,000 ton Navy transport, easily recognized by her two high tear-drop shaped stacks and her graceful clipper bow. With- out refueling or reprovisioning she is capable of carrying better than 5,500 people half-way around the world at a cruising speed of 20 knots. In twenty-two months of wartime service she trans- ported almost 100,000 passengers more than 186,000 nautical miles, on missions that took her to every continent and into almost every large body of water on the face of the earth. The Mann was built by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry- dock Company at Kearny, New Iersey, under the cognizance of the United States Maritime Commission. The blueprints identify her as U. S. N. C. Hull 270, Type P2, S2, R2. She was the third of a class of ten ships built by Federal to meet the expanding needs of the transportation service. Known as the General class, these ships have become a familiar sight to soldiers and sailors all over the world. 4 The Mann was launched on luly 18, 1943 at the Kearny Yard. She was christened by Mrs. Robert P. Patterson, wife of the Acting Secretary of War, in honor of General William A. Mann, organ- izer and first commander of the famous 42nd Rainbow Division of World War I. Present at the ceremony were Acting Secretary of War Patterson, Lt. General Brehon B. Sommervell, Command- ing General, Army Service Forces: and Brigadier General Iohn M. Franklin, Services of Transportation, U. S. Army. After completion and acceptance by the Maritime Commis- sion, the Mann was turned over to the Navy. On October 13, 1943 she was placed in temporary commission under the com- mand of Commander Robert Hall Smith, USN. On October 17th Captain Hall and a Navy pre-commissioning crew sailed her from New York to the Maryland Drydock Company Yard at Baltimore for conversion and outfitting in accordance with Navy require- ments. Upon arrival at Baltimore she was placed out of commis- sion pending completion of the conversion period. On November 16, 1943 the U.S.S. General W. A. Mann was placed in full commission as a Navy ship. In a simple ceremony at the Maryland Drydock Company Yard Commander Paul S. Maguire, USNR, took command, and a full Navy crew came aboard. It takes a lot of work to put a new ship into commission, es- pecially when three-quarters of her crew have never been to sea before. Only the plank owners, the men who made up the original ship's company, know how much it cost in extra hours and in back-breaking labor to mold an efficient organization out of 500 odd personalities first assigned to the ship. Long before the commissioning date the nucleus of the crew had been assem- bled. During the following weeks officers and men were sent to every available training school, the ship's organization book and battle bill were prepared, gun crews and damage control parties organized, watch, quarter, and station bills drawn up. Finally, on December 9th, she started a rugged shake-down cruise in Chesapeake Bay, and before Christmas of 1943 she was in all respects ready for sea.

Page 8 text:

1 I i '1 gi ' H 5 af 2.4 b ag gg I F 5 5 . Q , f 1 3 1 'i ' 4 1 . 1 5 1 J ' 1 i 1 , , Tv, - 4' T.-V V, , W ,pa--q V -hd, V V .,. , ,. ,. A

Page 10 text:

yr . , :,,, I, ' am. - - , , ,T f u . .', .JN ,, K.. 2 ,2 . -Y-E.1..jE , U V' H45 Qin., -'vw-fi Av-Im I f ' 2 Lil .nfs .-1. . . Q'-1 '- ,.mW.+,..-