SS ''Alexander Majors'' was a

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

built for the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The co ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The ship was named in honor of

Alexander Majors Alexander Majors (October 4, 1814 – January 13, 1900) was an American businessman, who along with William Hepburn Russell and William B. Waddell founded the Pony Express, based in St. Joseph, Missouri. This was one of the westernmost points e ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

who with

William Hepburn Russell William Hepburn Russell (1812–1872) was an American businessman. He was a partner, along with Alexander Majors and William B. Waddell, in the freighting firm Russell, Majors, and Waddell and the stagecoach company the Central Overland Califo ...

and William B. Waddell founded the

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. During its 18 months of opera ...

. The ship was assigned by the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...

Isthmian Steamship Company The Isthmian Steamship Company was a shipping company founded by US Steel in 1910. Isthmian Steamship was the brainchild of US Steel President James A. Farrell, who had connections with the maritime industry through his father's trade as a ship ...

of New York who operated it throughout World War 2. ''Alexander Majors'' was Laid down on 27 December 1943, launched on 20 January 1944 and completed on 4 March 1944, with the hull No. 2262 as part of the

Emergency Shipbuilding Program The Emergency Shipbuilding Program (late 1940 – September 1945) was a United States government effort to quickly build simple cargo ships to carry troops and materiel to allies and foreign theatres during World War II. Run by the U.S. Maritim ...

Attacked

''Alexander Majors'' was part of the supply ships that supported the

Battle of Leyte The Battle of Leyte (; ; ) in the Pacific campaign of World War II was the amphibious invasion of the island of Leyte in the Philippines by American forces and Filipino guerrillas under the overall command of General Douglas MacArthur, who fou ...

from 7 October to 26 December 1944 in the Pacific war campaign of World War II. On November 12, 1944 ''Alexander Majors'' was at anchor west of

Dulag, Leyte Dulag (IPA: ʊ'lag, officially the Municipality of Dulag (; ), is a municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 48,992 people. This coastal town has 11,007 hectares of land and lies ...

Leyte Gulf Leyte Gulf, also known simply as the Leyte, is a gulf in the Eastern Visayan region in the Philippines. The bay is part of the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean, and is bounded by two islands; Samar in the north and Leyte in the west. On the ...

, when an

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

plane Plane most often refers to: * Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft * Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface * Plane (mathematics), generalizations of a geometrical plane Plane or planes may also refer to: Biology * Plane ...

dropped an

aerial bomb An aerial bomb is a type of Explosive weapon, explosive or Incendiary device, incendiary weapon intended to travel through the Atmosphere of Earth, air on a predictable trajectory. Engineers usually develop such bombs to be dropped from an aircra ...

about from the ship. Her

United States Navy Armed Guard The United States Navy Armed Guard was a force of United States Navy gunners and related personnel established during World War II to protect U.S. merchant shipping from enemy attack.World War II U.S. Navy Armed Guard and World War II U.S. Merc ...

shot the plane down. In the afternoon another

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

plane attacked ''Alexander Majors''. The plane hit a second plane that crashed into ''Alexander Majors''

mainmast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light ...

. The plane exploded, killing two crew and blowing the cargo cover off

cargo hold 120px, View of the hold of a container ship A ship's hold or cargo hold is a space for carrying cargo in a ship or airplane compartment. Description Cargo in holds may be either packaged in crates, bales, etc., or unpackaged (bulk cargo). Acc ...

s #3 and #4. Fire starting in the two cargo holds. The Armed Guards help shoot down the third plane. The explosion blew some of the crew overboard. The explosion knocked out the ship fire fighting gear. But a Navy LCI fire fighting ship was able to come alongside and put out the fire in the two cargo holds. The cargo in hold #3 and #4 was a complete loss, kapok

life jackets A personal flotation device (PFD; also referred to as a life jacket, life preserver, life belt, Mae West, life vest, life saver, cork jacket, buoyancy aid or flotation suit) is a flotation device in the form of a vest or suit that is worn by a u ...

in #3 took days to put out. ''Alexander Majors'', still operational, continued to defend off more planes. She destroyed a plane on November 24. There were 160 more attacks from November 4 to December 4, but she survived each. Her burnt two cargo holes, deck,

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

and two

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

were repaired or replaced. The kamikaze attack was at 11°11'N, 125°05'E. In addition to the two crewmen killed, one seaman was hit by shrapnel metal, one Armed Guard was hospitalized at

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

, 11 Armed Guards and two

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

were burnt by the fire. At the end of the war, she was turned over to the

Army Transportation Service The United States Army Transport Service (ATS) was established as a sea-going transport service that was independent of the Navy Department. ATS operated army transport ships for both troop transport and cargo service between United States ports ...

and was operated as a

troop ship 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 to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

to bring home vets as part of

Operation Magic Carpet Operation Magic Carpet was the post–World War II operation by the U.S. War Shipping Administration (WSA) to repatriate over eight million American military personnel from the European (ETO), Pacific, and Asian theaters. Hundreds of Libert ...

. The Army Transportation Service renamed her the SS ''Alexander Majors'' USAT.

Post war

After the war, in 1947, she was sold to a private party, Soc.di Nav.Italia in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and operated as an Italian flagship. She was renamed SS ''Tritone'' In 1972 she was laid up at Trieste. In 1973 she was scrapped at

Sant'Angelo in Vado Sant'Angelo in Vado is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Pesaro and Urbino, in the Italy, Italian region of Marche. Geography The municipality is about west of Ancona and about southwest of Pesaro. The Metauro river flows through ...

References

External links

U.S. Maritime Service Veterans
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander Majors Liberty ships Ships built in Richmond, California 1944 ships

Attacked

Post war

See also

References

External links