S. S. Brazil As most of you know, the 119
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As most of you know, the 119th Infantry Regiment and the 197th F.A. Bn, making up the 119th Regimental Combat Team, and the Division Artillery Headquarters sailed out of the Boston Port of Embarkation on 12 February 1944, and landed at Liverpool on 22 February 1944, and it was a part of the largest convoy to ever cross Atlantic up to that time. Here is an interesting history of the S.S. Brazil. The S.S. Brazil was originally commissioned in 1928, and was a luxury liner serving mostly in the Pacific in her pre-war days. She was originally named The S.S. Virginia, a 20,614 gross ton capacity, and as a passenger liner, was built at Newport News, Virginia in 1928 for the Panama- Pacific Line, which operated a service from New York to San Francisco via Havana and the Panama Canal. As part of the formation by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, of the “Good Neighbor Fleet”, the S.S. Virginia and her two sister ships, the S.S. California and the S.S. Pennsylvania, were sold to the Maritime Commission in 1937, rebuilt with one funnel instead of two, and renamed the S.S. Brazil, the S.S. Uruguay and the S.S. Argentina respectively, and placed on the South American route serving ports between New York and Buenos Aires, under the operation of the Moore-McCormack Lines. In March 1942, the S.S. Brazil became a War Shipping Administration troop transport, operated by Moore-McCormack. During WWII she made over 30 overseas voyages from the United States ports of New York and Boston and others on the Atlantic coast. Among these was a voyage in early 1944, carrying the 119th Regimental Combat Team, composed of the 119th Regiment and the 197th F.A. Battalion, and in addition, the Headquarters of the 30th Division Artillery completed the troops aboard on this voyage. After the end of the war the S.S Brazil was assigned to operate in the Pacific, where she had also operated during a part of 1943, before being assigned duty in the Atlantic. She called at San Francisco in September 1945 for repairs, and again in January 1946 before retuning to the Atlantic for further service. In March of 1946, the S.S. Brazil became a part of the Army’s “war bride fleet” which brought wives and children of U.S. servicemen from Europe to the United States. She was released from Army control in August of 1946 for reconversion to civilian service, and rejoined the Moore-McCormack fleet in May of 1948 on the South American route. The S.S. Brazil was placed in the Maritime Administrations James River, Virginia reserve fleet in December of 1957, and was sold for scrapping in January of 1964. Thus ended the historic life of the S.S. Brazil. Directory: history docs history docs -> World war II history docs -> Command Post Headquarters 30th Infantry Division history docs -> Isambard kingdom brunel assembly Download 5.05 Kb. Share with your friends:
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