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{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=
|Ship caption=USS ''Joseph T. Dickman'' (APA-13) in the process of disembarking troops, c. 1943
}}
{{Infobox
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|Ship country=United States
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|Ship renamed=''President Pierce'', ''President Roosevelt'', USS ''Joseph T. Dickman''
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=6 July 1921<ref>{{cite journal |last=Marine Review |year=1922 |title=1921 Construction Record of U.S. Yards |journal=The Marine Review |volume=52 |issue=February |page=75 |location=New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rW8-AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA75 |accessdate=17 August 2015}}</ref>
|Ship completed=January 1922
|Ship acquired=(by the Navy) 27 May 1941
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|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=Six [[battle star]]s for World War II service
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap, 9 January 1948
|Ship notes=
}}
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|Ship speed=17 [[knot (unit)|knots]]
|Ship range=
|Ship capacity=*Troops: 95 Officers, 1,961 Enlisted
*Cargo: 170,000 cu ft, 2,600 tons |Ship complement=Officers 58, Enlisted 635
|Ship boats=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=4 x [[3"/50 caliber gun|3"/50 caliber]] dual-purpose gun mounts, 2 x twin [[Bofors
|Ship armour=
|Ship armor=
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'''
==
''Joseph T. Dickman'' was built as ''Peninsula State'' for the [[United States Shipping Board]] by the [[New York Shipbuilding Corporation]] of [[Camden, New Jersey]], in 1921 and 1922. She began transatlantic service for [[United States Lines]] in 1922, and soon afterward in May was renamed ''President Pierce''. In August 1922 the ship was renamed ''President Roosevelt'', a name she carried during her many years of passenger service.
[[File:SS President Roosevelt liner postcard c1920s.jpg|thumb|left|SS ''President Roosevelt'' as seen on a contemporary postcard]]
In January 1926, ''President Roosevelt'' was involved in the rescue of the crew of the British [[cargo ship]]
In the summer of 1928, the American Olympic Team sailed on
On 30 January 1932, the Italian ocean liner {{SS|Roma|1926|2}} rammed ''President Roosevelt'' at [[New York City|New York]], inflicting severe damage on ''President Roosevelt''.<ref name=Times010232a>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Casualty reports |date=1 February 1932 |page=19 |issue=46045 |column=F }}</ref>
In 1939 agreement was reached with the [[American Electric Launch Company]] (Elco) to purchase a British Power Boat 70-footer (later named PT9), as a template for American production under licence. PT9 was taken by ''President Roosevelt'' to Elco’s works at New London, Connecticut. On 3 October Scott-Paine met President Roosevelt and senior Elco representatives at the White House to authorize the creation of a new naval arm, the PT Boat Squadrons. Production started at a new Elco factory at Bayonne, New Jersey in January 1940.▼
In 1935, she transported U.S. delegation athletes to the [[1935 Maccabiah Games]] in Palestine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1935/03/21/93681022.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|title=Sail for Palestine Meet; Three More Athletes Leave for the Maccabiah Games|website=timesmachine.nytimes.com}}</ref>
▲== Military career ==
▲In 1939 agreement was reached with the [[American
==Pre-World War II service==
The new transport got underway 26 June 1941 for Hampton Roads, and until August she took part in [[amphibious warfare|amphibious]] training exercises off [[Onslow Beach]], N.C. After these important landings, which helped develop the tactics and equipment to be used later with such great success, ''Joseph T. Dickman'' returned to [[New York]] 14 August. She then moved to [[Boston]] for further conversion, remaining there until 1 October.▼
After the [[Battle of France]] began, the [[United States Department of State|State Department]] sent the ''President Roosevelt'' to [[Galway, Ireland]] in late May 1940 to pick up Americans who wanted to come home from the British Isles.<ref name="davis19400522">{{Cite news |url=https://archive.org/details/1940RadioNews/1940-05-22-CBS-Elmer-Davis--The-News-Allies-Counter--Retake-Arras.mp3 |title=CBS Elmer Davis & The News Allies Counter & Retake Arras |last=Davis |first=Elmer |date=1940-05-22 |publisher=CBS News}}</ref> Taken over by the [[United States Department of War|War Department]] in October 1940, it was renamed ''Joseph T. Dickman'' and converted to a [[troopship]] by [[Atlantic Basin Iron Works]] of [[Brooklyn]]. The ship was subsequently transferred to the Navy 27 May 1941 and further converted to Navy use at [[New York Navy Yard]]. She commissioned at the Navy Yard (as AP-26) on 10 June 1941.
▲The new transport got underway 26 June 1941 for Hampton Roads, and until August she took part in [[amphibious warfare|amphibious]] training exercises off [[Onslow Beach]], N.C. After these important landings, which helped develop the tactics and equipment to be used later with such great success, ''Joseph T. Dickman'' returned to [[New York City|New York]] 14 August. She then moved to [[Boston]] for further conversion, remaining there until 1 October.
''Joseph T. Dickman'' arrived [[Bombay]] via [[Trinidad]] and [[Cape Town]] 27 December 1941 and debarked troops. Departing 10 January, she retraced her steps to New York, arriving 28 February 1942 for the installation of new boats and lowering equipment. After leaving the yard in April the ship underwent tests in [[Hampton Roads]] before departing 11 May for transport duties in the Caribbean. She stopped at [[San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]] and [[Bermuda]] to debark troops before returning to Norfolk 27 May 1942.▼
=== Preamble to Convoy WS-12X (the US had not yet declared war) ===
The [[Atlantic Conference]] was held on August 9, 1941 in [[Placentia Bay, Newfoundland]], between Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt. Besides the “official” agenda, Churchill hoped to obtain considerable assistance from the US, but the American President had his political hands tied. On 1 September 1941, Roosevelt received an urgent and most secret message asking for US Navy troopships manned by Navy crews and escorted by U.S.N. fighting ships to carry British troops for the purpose of reinforcing the Middle East. On 4 September the US destroyer, [[USS Greer (DD-145)]], came under an unsuccessful U-boat attack. Roosevelt gave authority to the US Navy to “shoot to kill”. On September 5 the President assured the British leader that six vessels would be provided to carry twenty thousand troops and would be escorted by the American Navy.
The chief of Naval Operations ordered troop ships divisions seventeen and nineteen, on 26 September 1941, to prepare their vessels for approximately six months at sea. These transports were to load to capacity with food, ammunition medical supplies, fuel and water and were to arrive at Halifax, NS on or about 6 November and after the arrival of a British convoy from the UK were to load twenty thousand troops. The Prime Minister mentioned in his letter that it would be for the President to say what would be required in replacement if any of these ships were to be sunk by enemy action. Agreements were worked out for the troops to be carried as supernumeraries and rations to be paid out of Lend Lease Funds and officer laundry bills were to be paid in cash. All replenishments of provisions, general stores, fuel and water would be provided by the UK. Fuel and water would be charged for the escorts to the UK in Trinidad and Cape Town only. The troops would conform to US Navy and ships regulation. Intoxicating liquors were prohibited. It was further agreed that the troops were to rig and man their own anti-aircraft guns to augment the ships batteries.<ref name="RonTaylor">{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Ron |title=Convoy William Sail 12X |url=https://www.britain-at-war.org.uk/WW2/Convoy_William_Sail_12x/html/preparations.htm |website=Britain at War |access-date=2022-03-24}}</ref>
So, convoy WS-12X is most extraordinary. It sailed 30 days before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and the German declaration of war on the US on 11 December 1941. These were six American transports and an American escort carrying British soldiers.
==== Convoy William Sail WS-12X ====
Stores were loaded at [[Norfolk, Virginia]] in October and in early November, the troopship proceeded to [[City of Halifax|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], to take on board British troops.<ref name="GordonSmithWS12X">{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Gordon |title=WS Conboys – July to December 1941 Sailings – WS12X |url=https://www.naval-history.net/xAH-WSConvoys04-1941B.htm |website=Naval History |access-date=2022-03-25}}</ref>
[[USS Wakefield (AP-21)|Wakekfield (AP-21)]], with 6,000 men embarked, and five other transports [[USS Mount Vernon (AP-22)|Mount Vernon (AP-22)]], [[SS America (1939)|West Point (AP-23)]], [[Orizaba|Orizaba (AP-24)]], [[USS Leonard Wood (APA-12)|Leonard Wood (AP-25)]] and Joseph T. Dickman (AP-26) got underway as Convoy WS12-X on 10 November 1941. Escorted by a strong screen – which, as far as [[Trinidad]], included {{USS|Ranger|CV-4|3}} – the [[convoy]] was destined for Basra, Iraq.
[[File:Convoy WS-12 en route to Cape Town, 1941.jpg|thumb|Convoy WS-12 en route to Cape Town, 1941]]
On 17 November 1941, the convoy reaches Trinidad. All ships were replenished, and the convoy departs Trinidad on 19 November 1941.
On December 7 at 2000, the convoy receives a radio communication of the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].<ref name="RonTaylor-H2C">{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Ron |title=Convoy William Sail 12X Halifax to Cape Town |url=https://www.britain-at-war.org.uk/WW2/Convoy_William_Sail_12x/html/halifax_to_cape_town.htm |website=Britain at War |access-date=2022-03-24}}</ref>
==World War II Service==
=== Convoy WS12-X (continued) ===
On 9 December 1941, convoy WS12-X arrived in Cape Town, South Africa.
At about 0800 on 13 December 1941, the troopships departed Cape Town headed for Bombay.
At 650 on 21 December 1941, the [[USS Mount Vernon (AP-22)]] and [[USS Orizaba]] detached from the convoy headed for Bombay, and are bound for Mombasa. The remainder of the convoy continued to Bombay under the escort of DORSETSHIRE, arriving on 27 December 1941.
''Joseph T. Dickman'' arrived [[Bombay]] 27 December 1941 and debarked troops.
▲
''Joseph T. Dickman'' carried further reinforcements to Caribbean bases in June, and spent July on amphibious exercises in [[Chesapeake Bay]]. Training and additional conversion to increase her boat capacity continued into October, when the ship prepared for [[Operation Torch]], the invasion of North Africa. As part of the Western Naval Task Force, ''Joseph T. Dickman'' got underway from Norfolk 24 October to take part in the first amphibious invasion ever launched across an entire ocean. Arriving in the transport area of [[Fedhala]] early 8 November, she began the debarkation. She remained off shore until [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[submarine]] attacks forced her seaward 12 November.
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As the successful invasion was consolidated, however, ''Joseph T. Dickman'' entered [[Casablanca]] harbor 15 November and completed unloading. Two days later she was underway for Norfolk, arriving 30 November 1942.
=== 1943 ===
After embarking troops and taking on cargo, ''Joseph T. Dickman'' departed 27 December 1942 for the Pacific via the [[Panama Canal]]. She stopped at [[Nouméa]] and [[Brisbane]] before sailing for Norfolk again, where she arrived 10 March 1943. During this voyage, on 1 February 1943, the ship was reclassified APA-13.
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The next major amphibious operation in the campaign to regain Italy was slated for [[Salerno]]; and, after training, ''Joseph T. Dickman'' arrived off the beaches with Hall's Southern Attack Force 9 September. Rockets from an LCS attached to the ship helped clear the way for the first wave of boats, and, after receiving near misses from shore batteries, the transport debarked her troops and returned to Mers el Kebir.
As the battle to consolidate the beachhead began, ''Joseph T. Dickman'' returned with reinforcements to Salerno 6 October. She made two other follow-up voyages from Africa to Italy, the final one with over 1,000 French troops. The ship sailed 30 November 1943 for Norfolk by way of [[Scotland]].
=== 1944 === Upon her arrival 1 January 1944, the ship underwent battle repairs; and, after embarking troops, sailed 11 February 1944 for [[Glasgow]]. During the next few months the ship was engaged in intensive training for the giant [[Normandy invasion]], scheduled for June. Sailing from England 5 June, she arrived off [[Utah Beach]] early the next day and landed her troops without a mishap. On the afternoon of [[D-Day]], she steamed to [[Portland Harbour|Portland]] with casualties, later making a shuttle voyage to the beaches 14 June as troops moved inland to liberate France. Upon arriving Mers el Kebir 10 July 1944, ''Joseph T. Dickman'' began preparations for still another landing, this time in southern France.
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After exacting training operations, she sailed from Sicily 13 August 1944, arriving off the Delta Force beaches next day to debark her troops. After smooth and skillful unloading, she steamed to [[Naples]], arriving 17 August. In the weeks that followed, ''Joseph T. Dickman'' made five follow-up voyages to southern France from Mediterranean staging points as the Allies pressed northward. The veteran ship sailed from Mers el Kebir 25 October for the United States, arriving Boston 8 November.
''Joseph T. Dickman'', after taking part in every major amphibious operation in the European-African theater
===Pacific War===
====1945====
▲=== Pacific War ===
She sailed 24 January 1945 with troops for [[Guadalcanal]], arriving via [[Espiritu Santo]] 12 February. There she began training operations for the [[invasion of Okinawa]]. From 21–27 March the transports made final preparations at [[Ulithi]], sailing the latter date for the last and greatest of the Pacific invasions. The troops stormed ashore 1 April, but the transport remained off the beaches helping to ward off air attacks while unloading cargo until 9 April. She then sailed to [[Saipan]], and continued to [[Pearl Harbor]], where she anchored 25 April 1945.
''Joseph T. Dickman'' arrived at San Francisco with veterans 30 May. After two troop voyages to Pearl Harbor, the ship remained at the Navy Yard there for conversion to a casualty evacuation ship for the projected invasion of Japan. Emerging 10 August, she was en route to San Francisco when the fighting ended 14 August 1945.
''Joseph T. Dickman'' then sailed for the [[Philippines]] 24 August; and, upon arrival in [[Manila]] 17 September, took on American and Allied soldiers who had been prisoners of the Japanese for transportation to the United States. Coincidentally, four British enlisted men came on board, who after 3½ years in a prison camp were returning to the United States on the same ship which had carried them from Halifax to Bombay in 1941.
The ship reached San Francisco 16 October. Assigned to [[Operation Magic Carpet]], ''Joseph T. Dickman'' made a voyage to Pearl Harbor, returning to [[Seattle]] 2 December 1945
==Post World War II==
==Awards==▼
She moved south to San Francisco 13 January 1946. The ship steamed to [[Suisun Bay]] in March, decommissioned 7 March, and was returned to the [[Maritime Commission]] 22 January 1947, who transferred her to the [[National Defense Reserve Fleet]], [[Suisun Bay]], [[Benicia, California]]. She was sold on 9 January 1948 to the Kaiser Co. for scrapping.
▲==Awards==
*[[American Defense Service Medal]]
*[[European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]] with four [[battle stars]]
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==References==
{{reflist}}
*[http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/auxil/ap26.txt USS ''Joseph T. Dickman'' (APA-13)], DANFS Online
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/03/03013.htm APA-13 ''Joseph T. Dickman''], Navsource Online
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==External links==
{{Commons category|USS Joseph T. Dickman (APA-13)}}
* [http://www.sfmx.org/publications/abandonpainting.php Marine Exchange] page about the rescue of the crew of ''Antinoe''
* [http://www.greatships.net/presidentroosevelt.html Images of the SS ''President Roosevelt'']
* [https://www.gjenvick.com/OceanTravel/Brochures/USL-1924-NYC-PLY-CER-SOU-BRE.html USL – New York – Plymouth – Cherbourg – Southampton – Bremen – 1924] United States Lines digitized travel brochure from 1924 with multiple interior photos of the ''Roosevelt''
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{{Design 1029 ships}}
{{Harris class attack transport}}
{{1932 shipwrecks}}
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[[Category:Design 1029 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built
[[Category:1921 ships]]
[[Category:Design 1029 ships of the United States Army]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1932]]
[[Category:Harris-class attack transports]]
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]]
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