SS TRANSGLOBE (MARINE WOLF)

This vessel has had a singular and renowned service in both WWII and the Vietnam War as indicated by the numerous awards and accolades bestowed upon her.

Background

She was originally designed for Lykes Brothers Steamship Company.  In 1941 her design was taken over and modified by the US Maritime Commission. Three shipyards, produced variations of the C-4 design:

-Kaiser  Richmond Shipyard, CA, 

-Kaiser Vancouver Shipyard, WA.

-Sun SB &DD,  Chester,  PA. 

 

The C4s were the largest of the Maritime Commission WWII cargo ships, all were single screw, 9900 SHP, and capable of 17 kts.  In all, 75 C4 vessels were constructed.  The MARINE WOLF was of the C4-S-B2 design (hospital-transport). Only Fourteen of this class were built and all by Sun SB &DD.  Her hull number was 343, her keel was laid, 3/1/43.  She was launched 9/18/43 and delivered 6/30/44.

World War II Service

Following a three week shakedown voyage which began July 5, 1944, she successfully completed seven convoys from East Coast ports (New York and Boston) to Southampton and LeHavre successfully transporting 13,524 GIs through the U-boat gauntlet.  During the period April 12 to October 7^th, 1945 she was placed in cross-channel “shuttle service” between LeHarve and Southampton.   In a letter of commendation from Headquarters, Southampton Port of Embarkation, she was commended for having made 105 crossings, ten were prior to V-E day during which the threat of enemy submarines and mines were constant. In all she transported  201,294 passengers which included troops, repatriated prisoners of war, reinforcements and a large number of casualties which was a record unsurpassed by any other merchant vessel during WWII. Following the war she operated briefly from West Coast Ports to Hawaii and the Far East until August 5, 1946, when a main turbine failure at sea brought her back to San Francisco Ca.   Her career ended, she was in lay up until the Vietnam Conflict.   

Vietnam Service

In 1960 she was taken out of lay up and sold to Globe Waterways Inc.  a subsidiary of the Hudson Waterways Inc. / Seatrain Lines Group of companies and converted at the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company into a Roll-On Roll Off vessel.  On July 18, 1962 she began a new career under charter to the government carrying military cargo between the Brooklyn Army Base – and Bremerhaven.

On February 12, 1966, she departed New York under reassignment to Vietnam Service where she was placed once again on “shuttle- service” - this time between Naha, DaNang and Saigon.   Her Vietnam Service continued from 1966 to 1972 during which time she amassed an impressive record of distinguished service as shown by the following:

-          She became the most decorated of all US merchant vessels during this War.   On Oct.27, 1968,  in a ceremony attended by Rear Admiral Rapp and other high ranking military officers, Maj. General Horner, CG 2^ND Logistics Command presented the vessel’s master with  plaque depicting Four Battle Stars and the Purple Heart with Three Clusters acknowledging service under fire on four occasions and the loss of a crewmember. 

 

-          Her ubiquitous twice monthly presence on the Saigon River, with flack jacketed crew, sandbagged bridge and engine room console, armed marines at bow and stern, swift boats alongside and helicopters overhead made her a most desirable target for the Viet Cong.  A December 1968 article appearing in a publication of the Master Mates & Pilots related that the TRANSGLOBE was not only “Top on the VCs Most Wanted List’” but the first vessel to be attacked with a new type of VC rocket adopted from a Soviet 122 mm rocket intended to disrupt shipping on the river known as the “FlyingTrashCan” News of this incident was reported in an Oct. 18, 1968 article appearing in Time Magazine entitled “Guarding the Gauntlet”.

 

-          During one attack which resulted in the critical injury and subsequent death of a crewmember, a hair-raising helicopter rescue was made from the vessels hydraulic stern cargo ramp lowered parallel to the water as the vessel continued along the river at dead slow ahead. 

 

-          During her six years of continuous service, she was never off hire and never failed to meet her schedule.  She typically delivered to Saigon and DaNang upwards of 130 semitrailers, tanks, half tracks, and other military vehicles loaded in Naha and returned fully loaded with damaged military vehicles for repair.

 

-          Her record for cargo delivery was unsurpassed by any vessel in the Vietnam Conflict just as her WWII record was unsurpassed for the numbers of troops, repatriated prisoners and passengers carried.