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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- SHIPS of the UNITED STATES ARMY --

USAT Marica (Transport, 1919)
Served as USS Marica (ID # 4031) in 1919.
Later became S.S. Lillian Luckenbach

USAT Marica was built at Chester, Pennsylvania, as an 8738 gross ton freighter for the Luckenbach Steamship Company of New York. Upon completion she was taken over by the Navy, converted to a transport, and placed in commission in June 1919 as USS Marica (ID # 4031). Following a few months' service returning U.S. service personnel from Europe, in mid-September 1919 she was decommissioned and turned over to the War Department for operation as the U.S. Army Transport Marica. She was soon returned to her owner, which reconverted her to a freighter and at some point renamed her Lillian Luckenbach. The ship's long commercial service lasted until 27 March 1943, when she was sunk off the U.S. East Coast in a collision with the S.S. Cape Henlopen.

This page features all the views we have concerning the U.S. Army Transport Marica and USS Marica (ID # 4031), which later became the civilian freighter Lillian Luckenbach.

Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

Photo #: NH 104806 USS Marica (ID # 4031) At anchor in 1919, while serving as a troop transport. The original photograph was printed on post card ("AZO") stock. Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2007. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Online Image: 39KB; 740 x 480 pixels
Photo #: NH 103127 USAT Marica (U.S. Army Transport, 1919) Contemporary photograph of an artwork, depicting the ship in heavy seas. Built for the Luckenbach Steamship Company, the freighter Marica was taken over by the U.S. Navy when completed, converted to a troop transport and placed in commission on 9 June 1919 as USS Marica (ID # 4031). She was decommissioned on 12 September 1919 and transferred to the War Department for employment as a U.S. Army Transport. Courtesy of Edwin T. Galvin, 2005. The original print came from the collection of the donor's father, William T. Galvin, a U.S. Coast Guardsman who had served in Marica's crew. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Online Image: 59KB; 740 x 515 pixels
Photo #: NH 104807 USS Marica (ID # 4031) Troops boarding the ship on 28 June 1919, for transportation from Europe to the United States. The original photograph was printed on post card ("AZO") stock. Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2007. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Online Image: 80KB; 740 x 475 pixels
Photo #: NH 106369 Ferry Lighter Rin Tin Tin Coming alongside USS Marica (ID # 4031) to transfer homeward bound troops of the First Division, in Brest Harbor, France on 23 August 1919. The original image is printed on post card ("AZO") stock. Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2008. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Online Image: 87KB; 740 x 495 pixels

NOTES:

Some images linked from this page bear obsolete credit lines citing the organization name: "Naval Historical Center". Effective 1 December 2008 the name should be cited as: "Naval History and Heritage Command".

If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

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Page made 26 November 2005
New image added 28 February 2009