SS ''St. Olaf'' was a Liberty ship built in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She was named after

St. Olaf Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...

, the

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingdoms ...

from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title

Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae Rex Perpetuus Norvegiæ (Latin), i.e. ''Norway's Eternal King'') is a term for King Olaf II of Norway, also known as Saint Olaf (''Olav den hellige'') . Background In written sources, the term ''Perpetuus rex Norvegiæ'' appears from the second ...

(English: Eternal/Perpetual King of Norway) and canonised at

Nidaros Nidaros, Niðarós or Niðaróss () was the medieval name of Trondheim when it was the capital of Norway's first Christian kings. It was named for its position at the mouth (Old Norse: ''óss'') of the River Nid (the present-day Nidelva). Althou ...

, by Bishop Grimkell, one year after his death in the

Battle of Stiklestad The Battle of Stiklestad ( no, Slaget på Stiklestad, non, Stiklarstaðir) in 1030 is one of the most famous battles in the history of Norway. In this battle, King Olaf II of Norway () was killed. During the pontificate of Pope Alexander III, ...

Construction

''St. Olaf'' was laid down on 6 January 1942, under a

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

(MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 33, by the

Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard The Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard of Baltimore, Maryland, was a shipyard in the United States from 1941 until 1945. Located on the south shore of the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River which serves as the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, Ba ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland; and was launched on 12 April 1942.

History

She was allocated to Union Sulphur Co.Inc., on 20 May 1942. On 22 November 1943, she was purchased by the United States Department of War to be converted to a hospital ship. From 23 November to late July 1944, she was converted at Simpson Yard, in Boston, by

Bethlehem Steel Co. The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

She was commissioned USAHS ''St. Olaf'' in July 1944. She had been given the name ''Jasmine'' but this wasn't used. During the war, ''St. Olaf'' operated in the European-African-Middle East and Asiatic-Pacific Theaters. She was decommissioned in November 1945. She was refit at Standard Shipbuilding Co., San Pedro, California, to a transport ship, for returning military personnel and their dependents from Alaska, to Seattle, Washington. She was recommissioned USAT ''St. Olaf'' in 1946, and again decommissioned in June 1947. On 24 June 1947, she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Astoria, Oregon. She was sold for scrapping on 1 April 1963, to

Zidell Explorations, Inc. The Zidell Companies are a group of family-owned companies based in Portland, Oregon. They include Zidell Marine, a ship construction company which, from 1961 until 2017, specialized in the building of barges, and Tube Forgings of America Inc. ...

, for $62,023.26. She was removed from the fleet on 12 April 1963.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:St. Olaf Liberty ships Ships built in Baltimore 1942 ships Hospital ships of the United States Army Transport ships of the United States Army