1942: The Launch of a Troopship in Mississippi

November 20, 1942

Nearly a year after the United States’ entry into World War II on the side of the Allies, a vessel constructed by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation (now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. [HII]) for military use was launched.

This Friday ceremony was held at the company’s shipyard in the city of Pascagoula, Mississippi. Hundreds of people turned out to watch Katherine Beverly Lanier (1887-1962), wife of Ingalls Shipbuilding president Monro B. Lanier (1886-1970), christen the new troopship.

This vessel was originally named SS Pass Christian after another city in Mississippi. After being acquired by the U.S. Army Transportation Service in June 1943, however, she was renamed USAT Fred C. Ainsworth. A surgeon and military officer, Fred C. Ainsworth (1852-1934) served as adjutant general (chief administrative officer) of the Army from 1904 to 1912.

During the remainder of World War II, USAT Fred C. Ainsworth was deployed for the most part as a transport ship for troops in the Pacific Theater. This ship remained in the Army fleet until March 1950, when she was transferred to the U.S. Navy and placed in service with that military branch’s Military Sea Transportation Service. This vessel was redesignated as USNS Fred C. Ainsworth (T-AP-181). The prefix USNS stands for “United States Naval Ship” and is used to identify non-commissioned vessels that belong to the Navy.

Over the next several years, USNS Fred C. Ainsworth was extensively used for various transportation duties overseas. The military operations in which this ship took part included the Incheon landings, a 1950 amphibious invasion and battle of the Korean War that resulted in major victory for the United Nations Command against North Korea.

The ship was placed out of service in November 1959 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register in July 1961. She was ultimately scrapped in November 1973. (The accompanying photo of USNS Fred C. Ainsworth was taken off the coast of San Francisco in 1955.)

Photo Credit: Public Domain

For more information on the troopship originally called SS Pass Christian and eventually redesignated as both USAT Fred C Ainsworth and USNS Fred C. Ainsworth (T-AP-181), please check out https://www.navsource.net/archives/09/22/22181.htm