USS Martha Washington (ID-3019)
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USS ''Martha Washington'' (ID‑3019) was a
transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...
for the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
named for Martha Washington, the first
First Lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...
. She was originally
ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...
SS ''Martha Washington'' for the
Austro-American Line The Cosulich Line, formally the Cosulich Societa Triestina di Navigazione, is a steamship line that was based in Trieste, Italy. The company had been founded in 1889 by Antonio F. Cosulich's son as a family business. In 1903 as Unione Austriaca di ...
before the war. Before and after her Navy service she was the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
transport USAT ''Martha Washington''. The liner was sold to the Italian Cosulich Line in 1922. In 1932, when Cosulich was absorbed into
Italia Flotte Riunite Italian Line and from 1992 Italia Line, whose official name was Italia di Navigazione S.p.A., was a passenger shipping line that operated regular transatlantic services between Italy and the United States, and Italy and South America. During ...
( en, United Fleets Italy), the ship was renamed SS ''Tel Aviv''. The ship was scrapped in 1934.


Early career

''Martha Washington'' was launched in 1908 by Russell & Co. of
Port Glasgow Port Glasgow ( gd, Port Ghlaschu, ) is the second-largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19,426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16,617 persons. The most recen ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
for the Austro-American Line (formal name: Unione Austriaca di Navigazione). The liner sailed between
Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
and
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. On the evening of 20 November 1911, while steaming in the
Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...
from
Patras ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...
and headed for New York, ''Martha Washington'' came under fire from an Italian
battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
for a period of ten minutes, with shells falling within one ship length (approximately ) of the liner. According to the captain of the liner, the Italians, fighting against Turkey in the Italo-Turkish War, mistook ''Martha Washington'' for a
Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...
ship. The ship was allowed to pass unharmed after the crew used a signal lamp to communicate her identity to the Italians. At the outbreak of World War I, ''Martha Washington'' was interned at Hoboken,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, in 1914.


World War I

After the United States entered the war, ''Martha Washington'' was taken over by the U.S. Army Quartermaster Department on 6 April 1917. The former liner was acquired by the Navy in November 1917. She was commissioned on 2 January 1918.


Transporting troops to France

Two months of round‑the‑clock effort restored the ship to seaworthiness and modified her as a troop transport. ''Martha Washington'' sailed on eight wartime voyages carrying troops to France, embarking a total of 24,005 passengers. Sailing as a part of the
Cruiser and Transport Force The Cruiser and Transport Service was a unit of the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet during World War I that was responsible for transporting American men and materiel to France. Composition On 1 July 1918, the Cruiser and Transport Force was ...
, ''Martha Washington'' sailed from New York on 10 February on her first of voyage carrying troops to France with Navy transports , , and , and Army transport , under escort of the cruiser . ''Martha Washington'' arrived back at New York on 14 March. Leaving New York again on 23 March, she convoyed with , , ''Finland'', and cruiser ''Pueblo'', arriving in France on 4 April. ''Martha Washington'' and ''Powhatan'' returned to the U.S. on 22 April. ''Martha Washington'' next departed Newport News on 30 April 1918 with ''Powhatan''. Rendezvousing with the two transports was a convoy sailing from New York consisting of , , , and ''Finland'' (now a Navy transport). provided the convoy with protection until its arrival in France on 12 May. ''Martha Washington'' returned to Virginia on 1 June. Departing Newport News on 10 June, ''Martha Washington'' sailed with , ''Powhatan'', ''Matsonia'', and British troopship . Meeting up with ''Manchuria'' which sailed from New York, the convoy—escorted by cruisers and , and destroyer —reached France on 18 June. ''Martha Washington'' returned to the U.S. on 30 June. Departing Newport News once again for France on 10 July, ''Martha Washington'', accompanied by ''Aeolus'', ''Powhatan'', and ''Matsonia'', joined with the New York contingent—Navy transports and ''Manchuria'', and steamers , , and —and arrived in France on 21 July. Cruiser ''Seattle'' and destroyers , , , and served as escorts on the eastbound crossing. ''Aeolus'' and ''Matsonia'' joined ''Martha Washington'' in arriving in Virginia on 5 August. With ''Manchuria'', ''Henderson'', ''Aeolus'', , and steamer , ''Martha Washington'' sailed from Newport News for France on 14 August. and ''Matsonia'', sailing from New York, joined the convoy, which was escorted by cruisers , ''Seattle'', and ''Frederick''. Records of this convoy are sketchy, but ''Henderson'' and ''Matsonia'' are known to have arrived in France on 25 August, and the other ships probably arrived around that same time. Upon ''Martha Washington'' 's return to the U.S. she shifted to New York. After embarking 3,029 troops, ''Martha Washington'' departed again on 15 September sailing with , , , ''Finland'', ''Powhatan'', and steamer ''Ulua''. ''Martha Washington'' 's New York group met up with a Virginia group of Navy transports ''Aeolus'' and ''Koningen der Nederlanden'', and steamers ''Patria'' and . Escorts—consisting of
battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
, cruisers and ''Pueblo'', and destroyers , , and ''Stringham''—helped to ensure the safe arrival of all ships in France on 28 September. ''Finland'' and ''Pocahontas'' accompanied ''Martha Washington'' on her return journey and arrived at New York on 12 October. Beginning what would be her final wartime crossing, ''Martha Washington'' sailed with ''Aeolus'' and Italian steamer on 21 October from Newport News. Navy transport ''Pocahontas'' and
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian steamer , sailing from New York, and escorts ''New Hampshire'', , ''South Dakota'', , and filled out the convoy, which arrived on 4 November.Crowell and Wilson, p. 619. Returning to the U.S. five days after the
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
, ''Martha Washington'' made eight additional voyages—from 26 November 1918 to 11 November 1919—returning 19,687 troops and passengers from foreign ports. During her seventh voyage she also disembarked 945 interned
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
aliens at
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. On her final voyage she arrived at Brest on 14 August and received new orders to transport an American relief mission to
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. Under the leadership of
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
James Harbord Lieutenant General James Guthrie Harbord (March 21, 1866 – August 20, 1947) was a senior officer of the United States Army and president and chairman of the board of RCA. Early life Harbord was born in Bloomington, Illinois, the son of Geo ...
, U.S. Army, the mission spent the first two weeks in September at
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
and after arriving at Batum, Russia, on 18 September, spent the following three weeks there. In this period of civil turmoil, ''Martha Washington'' brought 324
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
n and
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
refugees to Constantinople. Sailing for the United States on 15 October, she called at
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
,
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, and Brest before arriving at New York on the first anniversary of the Armistice signing. She was decommissioned on 18 November 1919 and was turned over to the War Department.


Later career

In November 1922, ''Martha Washington'' was sold to the Cosulich Line. Around the time that line was absorbed into the state-owned
Italia Flotte Riunite Italian Line and from 1992 Italia Line, whose official name was Italia di Navigazione S.p.A., was a passenger shipping line that operated regular transatlantic services between Italy and the United States, and Italy and South America. During ...
in 1932, ''Martha Washington'' was renamed ''Tel Aviv''. The liner was scrapped in 1934.


Notes


References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martha Washington Ships built on the River Clyde Ocean liners World War I passenger ships of Austria-Hungary World War I auxiliary ships of the United States Transport ships of the United States Army Transports of the United States Navy Passenger ships of Italy 1908 ships