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USNS General John Pope (T-AP-110) 

Please see below for item level images and donated collections containing photographs of USNS General John Pope (T-AP-110) 

USS General John Pope (AP-110) was launched under a Maritime Commission contract 21 March 1943 by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N. J.; sponsored by Mrs. Charles P. Gross; acquired by the Navy 2 July 1943; placed in ferry commission the same day for transfer to Baltimore for conversion to a transport by Maryland Dry dock Co., and commissioned in full 5 August 1943, Captain George D. Lyon in command.

After shakedown USS General John Pope (AP-110) sailed for Newport News 5 September 1943 with over 6,000 troops and civilians bound for Greenock, Scotland; and, after disembarking her passengers there, returned to Norfolk 25 September. In the months that followed, USS General John Pope (AP-110) sailed in support of the giant amphibious offensive on New Guinea's northern coast, spearheaded by Rear Admiral Barbey's famed VII Amphibious Force. On a 3-month round trip voyage out of San Francisco, beginning 23 January, she took troops to Guadalcanal, Auckland, and Noumea, and brought 1,300 men back to San Francisco 9 March. USS General John Pope (AP-110) then embarked another full complement of troops, including the 1st Filipino Infantry Regiment, and sailed 6 April for Noumea and Oro Bay, New Guinea.

In the early fall, another voyage out of San Francisco 14 August brought USS General John Pope (AP-110) on a troop rotation run to New Guinean ports; and subsequently, after embarking 5,000 Army troops at San Pedro, Calif., she sailed via Melbourne for Bombay. USS General John Pope (AP-110) next stood out from the Golden Gate once more 2 June 1945, this time bound for Marseilles, where 5,242 troops were embarked and taken to Manila. The transport returned to Seattle 17 August following this long voyage, but she was underway again 11 days later via Ulithi, Cebu, and Leyte for Yokohama, returning to San Francisco 8 October with over 5,000 veterans.

Finally, missions accomplished, USS General John Pope (AP-110) departed San Francisco 15 May bound for New York, where she decommissioned 12 June 1946 and was returned to WSA. Reinstated on the Navy List 20 July 1950, USS General John Pope (AP-110) was assigned to MSTS 1 August. During the Korean fighting she carried American troops to Japan and Korea to take part in the giant effort to hold back Communist aggression. Following the war, USS General John Pope (AP-110) continued to sail to Japanese and Korean ports on troop rotation duties, finally being placed in reduced operational status at Seattle 14 May 1955. The veteran transport was returned to the Maritime Administration and entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Wash., 5 September 1958.

USS General John Pope (AP-110) reactivated 17 August 1965 to serve again as a civilian-manned ship of MSTS, operating from San Francisco. She carries troops to bases in the Pacific and Far East, supporting the fight to stop Communist aggression in Vietnam. Mid-1967 found this veteran transport still performing this vital duty, and scheduled to continue to support the fight for freedom in southeast Asia.

For a complete history of USS General John Pope (AP-110) please see its DANFS page.