SS Windhuk
Encyclopedia
USS Lejeune (AP-74) was a German
cargo liner
that was converted to a US Navy troop transport during the Second World War
. Her original name was TS (Turbine Ship) Windhuk.
, Germany and completed in 1936. She was one of a pair of sister ship
s completed that year for Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie
: the other being TS Pretoria
.
In peacetime Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie operated Windhuk mainly between Hamburg, South-West Africa and South Africa
. Reports that she operated as a German raider
in the Second World War are said to be false. (Her sister ship, SS Pretoria, later served as a German hospital ship
during the closing stages of the War.)
for two months and then took refuge in harbour at Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
on 7th December 1939.
Windhuk was still in Santos in 22 August 1942 when Brazil broke ties with Germany and interned the ship. When her crew learned that she was to be interned, they sabotaged most of her machinery. They poured concrete into the main turbine engines. They drained the boilers of water and then lit the furnaces, which melted the boilers beyond repair. They cut her main shafts and bearings with high temperature metal cutting torches. They damaged all electric generators, refrigeration equipment, steering gear, small motors, etc. beyond repair. However, they made no attempt to scuttle
the ship.
Windhuk remained in Santos
until January 1943 when she was towed to Rio de Janeiro
for repairs.
In 1942 the US Government bought Windhuk from Brazil and sent two hundred US Navy personnel to Brazil to fit her with a new diesel engine. The work was not completed until March 1943, when she made a thirty-day voyage to Norfolk, Virginia
for further work and conversion to a troopship.
When she arrived in Norfolk, she had been stripped of most of her elegant furnishings such as mahogany and teak wood paneling. She was refitted as a troop transport, which took about a year to rectify all the sabotage by the German crew. While at Norfolk she was named USS Lejeune (AP-74), after USMC General John Archer Lejeune.
Lejeune made a total of ten round-trip transatlantic crossings before the end of the war, and a further nine crossings were made to the United Kingdom
, France
or Africa
in the months immediately after, until she returned to Norfolk 9 May 1946 for overhaul.
and Tsingtao, China, and to Yokosuka, Japan. She then sailed back to New York
, reaching her destination 29 August, and from there returned to San Francisco September 25.
on 2 October 1947, where she was decommissioned 9 February 1948 and placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet at Tacoma, Washington. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
in July 1957 and scrapped at Portland, Oregon
16 August 1966. Her ship's bell however was preserved, and in 1971 it was mounted on the flagstaff at Marine Base HQ Camp Lejeune.
During her US Navy career Lejeune transported more than 100,000 troops.
, the crew was interned (in stables converted into internment camps) in small towns far inland. They were used as a workforce, and during times off were able to play soccer and perform musical presentations.
Many married Brazilian women and decided to stay in Brazil
. After the war, some of the remaining crewmembers, especially older ones, returned to Germany. One group of former crew who stayed in Brazil after the war opened a restaurant in São Paulo
named after the ship, serving dishes from her former passenger menus.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
cargo liner
Cargo liner
A Cargo liner is a type of merchant ship which carried general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the nineteenth century, and eventually gave way to container ships and other more specialized carriers in the latter half of the twentieth...
that was converted to a US Navy troop transport during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Her original name was TS (Turbine Ship) Windhuk.
Civilian liner
Windhuk was built at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany and completed in 1936. She was one of a pair of sister ship
Sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class as, or of virtually identical design to, another ship. Such vessels share a near-identical hull and superstructure layout, similar displacement, and roughly comparable features and equipment...
s completed that year for Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie
Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie
The Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie was a shipping line, established in 1890 as an alternative to the existing transportation routes to that area, then dominated by Great Britain. In 1942 it and the Woermann-Linie were taken over by John T. Essberger....
: the other being TS Pretoria
TS Pretoria
TS Pretoria was a ship that had a long and varied career as first a German cargo liner, then a U-boat depot ship, hospital ship, British troop ship, Muslim pilgrim ship and finally an Indonesian naval accommodation ship.-Description:...
.
In peacetime Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie operated Windhuk mainly between Hamburg, South-West Africa and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Reports that she operated as a German raider
Merchant raider
Merchant raiders are ships which disguise themselves as non-combatant merchant vessels, whilst actually being armed and intending to attack enemy commerce. Germany used several merchant raiders early in World War I, and again early in World War II...
in the Second World War are said to be false. (Her sister ship, SS Pretoria, later served as a German hospital ship
Hospital ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....
during the closing stages of the War.)
Internment in Brazil
After the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Pretoria evaded the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
for two months and then took refuge in harbour at Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
on 7th December 1939.
Windhuk was still in Santos in 22 August 1942 when Brazil broke ties with Germany and interned the ship. When her crew learned that she was to be interned, they sabotaged most of her machinery. They poured concrete into the main turbine engines. They drained the boilers of water and then lit the furnaces, which melted the boilers beyond repair. They cut her main shafts and bearings with high temperature metal cutting torches. They damaged all electric generators, refrigeration equipment, steering gear, small motors, etc. beyond repair. However, they made no attempt to scuttle
Scuttling
Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull.This can be achieved in several ways—valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives...
the ship.
Windhuk remained in Santos
Santos (São Paulo)
-Sister cities: Shimonoseki, Japan Nagasaki, Japan Funchal, Portugal Trieste, Italy Coimbra, Portugal Ansião, Portugal Arouca, Portugal Ushuaia, Argentina Havana, Cuba Taizhou. China Ningbo. China Constanţa, Romania Ulsan, South Korea Colón, Panama* Cadiz, Spain...
until January 1943 when she was towed to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
for repairs.
In 1942 the US Government bought Windhuk from Brazil and sent two hundred US Navy personnel to Brazil to fit her with a new diesel engine. The work was not completed until March 1943, when she made a thirty-day voyage to Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
for further work and conversion to a troopship.
When she arrived in Norfolk, she had been stripped of most of her elegant furnishings such as mahogany and teak wood paneling. She was refitted as a troop transport, which took about a year to rectify all the sabotage by the German crew. While at Norfolk she was named USS Lejeune (AP-74), after USMC General John Archer Lejeune.
Transatlantic troop ship
Lejeune was fully commissioned in April or May 1944. On 11 June 1944, she began her wartime service in her new role as a US Navy troop transport with a voyage from Norfolk to Glasgow, Scotland with 4,460 soldiers aboard. Her troop capacity would later be increased to 4,650. Beginning on 12 July, she then made a trip from New York to Glasgow, with 207 officers and 4,307 Navy personnel. In December, she made an Atlantic crossing with elements of the 69th Infantry Division, which was destined to meet Soviet troops on the banks of the Elbe River deep within Germany five months later, in April 1945.Lejeune made a total of ten round-trip transatlantic crossings before the end of the war, and a further nine crossings were made to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
or Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
in the months immediately after, until she returned to Norfolk 9 May 1946 for overhaul.
Postwar troop service
On 28 September 1946 Lejeune resumed service. From 19 October 1946 to 1 August 1947, she made a total of four trips to the Pacific, from San Francisco to ShanghaiShanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and Tsingtao, China, and to Yokosuka, Japan. She then sailed back to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, reaching her destination 29 August, and from there returned to San Francisco September 25.
Decommissioning
USS Lejeune departed San Francisco for Bremerton, WashingtonBremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 38,790 at the 2011 State Estimate, making it the largest city on the Olympic Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap...
on 2 October 1947, where she was decommissioned 9 February 1948 and placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet at Tacoma, Washington. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
in July 1957 and scrapped at Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
16 August 1966. Her ship's bell however was preserved, and in 1971 it was mounted on the flagstaff at Marine Base HQ Camp Lejeune.
During her US Navy career Lejeune transported more than 100,000 troops.
German former crew
During internment in BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, the crew was interned (in stables converted into internment camps) in small towns far inland. They were used as a workforce, and during times off were able to play soccer and perform musical presentations.
Many married Brazilian women and decided to stay in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. After the war, some of the remaining crewmembers, especially older ones, returned to Germany. One group of former crew who stayed in Brazil after the war opened a restaurant in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
named after the ship, serving dishes from her former passenger menus.
External links
- Lejeune homepage.
- Lejeune AP-74 - DANFS Online.
- AP-74 Lejeune, Navsource Online.