USAT ''Thomas H. Barry'', formerly SS ''Oriente'', was a Ward Line ocean liner that became a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

in the Second World War. She was intended for transfer to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and assigned the hull number AP-45, but was not transferred and remained with the Army.

History

Building and civilian service

Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company built ''Oriente'' for Ward Line as a sister ship to . ''Oriente'' was completed in 1930, two months after ''Morro Castle''. Each ship was long, measured and had

turbo-electric transmission A turbo-electric transmission uses electric generators to convert the mechanical energy of a turbine ( steam or gas) into electric energy, which then powers electric motors and converts back into mechanical energy that power the driveshafts. T ...

, with

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

twin

turbo generator A turbo generator is an electric generator connected to the shaft of a steam turbine or gas turbine for the generation of electric power. Large steam-powered turbo generators provide the majority of the world's electricity and are also use ...

s supplying current to propulsion motors on twin propeller shafts. The two liners carried passengers between New York and

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba. In 1934 a fire destroyed ''Morro Castle'', killing 135 people. ''Oriente'' remained in Ward Line service until 1941.

Army service

''Oriente'' was among the ships designated for Army among the 28 merchant vessels (21 for the Navy and seven to the Army) requisitioned by the Maritime Commission's Division of Emergency Shipping announced on 4 June 1941. The ship was purchased and delivered to the

US War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

on 14 June 1941 and renamed USAT ''Thomas H. Barry'' designated as a troopship. The ship was one of the relatively few transports owned, rather than bareboat chartered, by the Army. ''Thomas H. Barry'' was one of seven transports hurriedly assembled in New York and sailing late on 22 January 1942 (23 January GMT) in what was then the largest troop movement attempted, movement Poppy Force, also designated Task Force 6814, under General

Alexander Patch General Alexander McCarrell Patch (November 23, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in both world wars, rising to rank of general. During World War II, he commanded U.S. Army and Marine Corps ...

to secure New Caledonia (codename Poppy) on the vital South Pacific link to Australia. The seven ships had a troop capacity of almost 22,000. Task Force 6814 was later organized in New Caledonia as the

Americal Division The Americal Division was an infantry division of the United States Army during World War II and the Vietnam War. The division was activated 27 May 1942 on the island of New Caledonia. In the immediate emergency following Pearl Harbor, the Un ...

. On 29 September 1941 the acting chief of naval operations, Rear Admiral Royal E. Ingersoll, sent a memorandum to the chief of the

Bureau of Navigation The Bureau of Navigation, later the Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection and finally the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation — not to be confused with the United States Navys Bureau of Navigation — was an agency of the United ...

, listing a number of Army transports, including ''Thomas H. Barry'', that were to be "eventually taken over by the Navy." Prewar plans had called for the transfer; however, the Army retained the right to obtain additional shipping if required. Delays in Navy manning and conversion and the demands of actual wartime conditions made the mass transfer unfeasible with the Navy concentrating on ships for combat loading and the "attack" transports, and the Army concentrating on convoy loading. ''Thomas H. Barry'' was later given the Navy designation AP-45 but was never taken over by the Navy and remained under Army control through the end of World War II. ''Barry'' was one of three transports, the others being and , sailing from the

New York Port of Embarkation The New York Port of Embarkation (NYPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for the movement of troops and supplies from the United States to overseas commands. The command had facilities in New York and New Jersey, roughly covering the ...

for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

on 31 May 1942 implementing "double bunking," whereby two men were assigned one bunk in order to increase capacity up to the maximum allowed by lifesaving equipment and other safety rules. On the morning of 21 October 1945 at approximately 40.41º north, 67.18º west, about east of New Bedford, Massachusetts, in heavy fog ''Barry'' rammed and cut in two the 233-ton fishing trawler ''Medford'', with one person on the trawler killed, six missing, and ten survivors picked up by ''Barry''. The transport, destined for Le Havre, France, with over 3,000 passengers comprising Red Cross workers, civilians, and occupation troops, returned to New York with a damaged bow for dry-docking. The trawler had recently been one of those acquired by the Navy for offshore antisubmarine patrol and returned to be purchased by a New Bedford company.

Laidup and disposal

In the mass transfer of Army ships to the Navy, ''Thomas H. Barry'' was declared surplus to Navy needs; title was transferred to the Maritime Commission on 12 December 1949 with the ship laid up in the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

on the James River, Virginia, on 24 January 1950. She remained there until 4 November 1957, when removed by the

Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding C ...

, which had purchased the ship for $276,780 for scrap on 21 October.

References

External links

Thomas H. Barry (AP-45)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas H. Barry 1930 ships Ships built in Newport News, Virginia Ships of the Ward Line Transport ships of the United States Army Turbo-electric steamships