Service History
The ship was built as the SS Dorchester, one of three identical ships built for the Merchants and Miners Transportation Company by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. Launched on March 20, 1926, she carried up to 314 passengers and a crew of 90 along the East coast between Miami and Boston.
Requisitioned by the Army, she was converted to a troopship by the Atlantic, Gulf and West Indies Steamship Company in New York, and fitted with additional lifeboats and life rafts, as well as four 20 mm guns, a 3"/50 caliber gun fore, and a 4"/50 caliber gun aft.
The USAT Dorchester entered Army service in February 1942, crewed by many of her former officers, including her master initially, and a contingent of Navy Armed Guards to man the guns and to handle communications.
Read more about this topic: USAT Dorchester
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