Moving the US Troops in 1917-19

[returning troops on ship]

Updated April 24, 2006

This page is part of my web pages concerning the picture postcards of WW I troopships. This page describes the troopships themselves and a bit about their history.

I have a copy of a book entitled A History of the Transport Service by Vice Admiral Albert Gleaves, U.S.N. It was published in 1921 and describes the incredible effort needed to transport millions of American troops both over to France and back home again. Several tables and illustrations from the book are available on this web site. The information may help if you are looking for a particular ship or wish to see the statistics behind this major war effort. Many of the ships shown on JWB postcards are present in these listings. Here is an excellent website with the content of the book.

Listings of Ships

The following images were scanned from the book mentioned above. These pages list the ships used to take troops over to France. These ships also took part in the return of the troops. Any of the German ships listed here were seized by the US after it's entrance into the War in 1917. (Note that other German ships were used to return troops, but those ships were given to the US as part of the post-War reparations.)

Part 1 of a table describing the ships used
at the start of the US troop transport effort. [124K GIF]

Part 2 of the table. [146K GIF]

Part 3 of the table. [72K GIF]

Map of North Atlantic showing routes and ports
used by the troopships. [351K GIF]

A number of German ocean liners were interned by the US at the start of the European war (1914). They were seized when the US entered the war (1917) and converted to troopships as quickly as possible, since the US did not have sufficient capacity to carry troops. The ships were renamed from their German names, when appropriate.

Book page listing German ships seized by the US. [253K GIF]

The following tables show the names of the ships, both German and US renaming. NOTE that this table does not show German ships taken as post-War reparations.

Ex-German (Early) Troopship Names

Original German Name New US Name
Amerika America
Barbarossa Mercury
Cincinnati Covington
George Washington George Washington
Frederich der Grosse Huron
Grosser Kurfurst Aeolus
Hamburg Powhatan
Kaiser Wilhelm II Agamemnon
Koenig Wilhelm Madawaska
Kronprinz Wilhelm Von Steuben
Kronprinzessin Cecile Mount Vernon
Neckar Antigone
President Grant President Grant
President Lincoln President Lincoln
Prinzess Irene Pocahontas
Rheim Susquehanna
Vaterland Leviathan

The same table, but sorted by the US ship name:

Original German Name New US Name
Grosser Kurfurst Aeolus
Kaiser Wilhelm II Agamemnon
Amerika America
Neckar Antigone
Cincinnati Covington
George Washington George Washington
Frederich der Grosse Huron
Vaterland Leviathan
Koenig Wilhelm Madawaska
Barbarossa Mercury
Kronprinzessin Cecile Mount Vernon
Prinzess Irene Pocahontas
Hamburg Powhatan
President Grant President Grant
President Lincoln President Lincoln
Rheim Susquehanna
Kronprinz Wilhelm Von Steuben

Foreign Ships

A number of foreign ships were also used to move US troops to and from France.

List of foreign ships used by the US as troopships. [126K GIF]

Ships Used for Troop Returning Only

The longer the American soldiers languished in Europe, the greater was the pressure to "bring the boys home". German ships given to the US as part of war reparations joined a large number of other (often just cargo) ships in the effort to move the troops home. Many of the cargo ships used were also ex-German.

List of German liners used for return only of US troops. [72K GIF]
List of various ships used for
return only of US troops [Part I]. [161K GIF]
Part II. [140K GIF]
Part III . [136K GIF]
Part IV . [69K GIF]

Some images are available of these ships. The links to the images follow:

Santa Olivia

Pannonia

Kentuckian

More Links

Troopship Postcards Page

Postal History Page

Contact Info

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