In 1942, mental and litter patients only traveled on British or Canadian Hospital Ships, as the United States had no such vessels at their disposal. Color Pictures from National Archives Collection. An amended T/O 8-534 was introduced in 1944, allowing for separate Medical Hospital Ship Platoons consisting of 25, 50, 75, 100, 250, and 500-bed units, with manpower strength varying from approximately 1 Officer & 4 EM (25-bed unit) to 6 Officers & 45 EM (500-bed unit). The Francis Y. Slanger had a bed capacity of 1,628 patients and a speed of 19 knots, it left New York P/E on 30 Jun 45 with destination the United Kingdom. Cross-Channel evacuation looked impossible to improve, and sea evacuation to the United States was reaching its maximum capacity. 120 dated 18 Dec 45. The Solace later participated in the following Pacific campaigns: Gilbert and Marshall Islands, the Marianas, the Western Caroline Islands, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. From mid-1942 onwards, the Medical Department advocated a 180-day evacuation policy (the overseas Theater would send home only those patients who were unlikely to return to duty within that time period). 3 Aug 43 – WDGO 52 dated 1 Sep 43, US Army Hospital Ship ‘USAHS Shamrock’, ex-Agwileon, built 1907 (former East coast passenger ship) – 14 knots – 543 patients – New York > N. Africa 4 Sep 43 – second career as Hospital Ship with previous service during WW1 as USS Comfort AH-3 – 202d Med Hosp Ship Co (decommissioned 18 Dec 45) Ambulatory patients to be returned to the ZI, and who could care for themselves, crossed the Atlantic on returning American Troopships OR British fast liners such as the ‘Queen Mary’ or the ‘Queen Elizabeth’! Commissioned 1 March 44 – US Navy Hospital Ship AH-10 ‘USS Samaritan’, ex-Chaumont, built 1920 (former troopship) – 14 ½ knots – 394 patients – Seattle > Pacific 8 Mar 44 (decommissioned 29 Aug 46) The 24 US Army-operated Hospital Ships made their first journey to the transatlantic Theaters in 1943, later, some were transferred to the Pacific, while others were decommissioned, no longer being needed for evacuation of patients from the European Theater. Thousands of warships were built by all sides in World War II, from battleships to minesweepers. The ship, with a capacity for 586 patients, and a speed of 11 knots, left New York P/E on 12 Aug 44 with destination the United Kingdom. In total 29 Hospital Ships had been authorized for the Army during WW2, but only 24 were in service when the war ended. Evacuation numbers were now rapidly increasing; 24,666 patients crossed the Atlantic by plane and ship in January 1945, another 29,743 went in February 1945, and 30,410 returned in March 1945 … the ETO Hospitalization and Evacuation crisis was now over; lighter battle casualties and the opening of extra continental General Hospitals produced a steadily growing of bed capacity … but though the crisis had been overcome, the last offensive against Germany would entail more problems, as medical groups became unable to assume their responsibilities – by the end of April 1945, the First United States Army controlled 216 German Military Hospitals, 4 German PW Camps, 22 DP Centers, and 3 RAMP Hospitals; it not only had to deal with combat forces, but also to care for prisoners of war and non-combatants, and arrange for their evacuation. In addition to this, the Navy, which initially did not plan to operate Hospital Ships under the Geneva Convention, had 15 Hospital Ships at the end of the war. Commissioned 28 Jan 45 – US Navy Hospital Ship AH-18 ‘USS Rescue’,ex-Saint John, built 1932 (former passenger ship) – 20 knots – 792 patients – New York > Pacific 6 Jun 45 (decommissioned 29 Apr 46) I and many others put time and effort into research, typing and design. There is a lot of information, spread over 455 pages - so we have worked hard to make it easy to find what you want. how good is your warship knowledge, find out with the Quiz under Misc , there are 29, graded from easy to hard. The 56th Station Hospital, the largest hospital in ABS, located in Casablanca, French Morocco, established and opened a special PW enclosure (between 4-14 May 1943 –ed) at Berrichid (approximately 19 miles from Casablanca) to receive and treat huge numbers of German and Italian PWs, mostly captured after the fighting ended in Tunisia (some 20,000 to 28,000 men –ed). Inter-service misunderstandings and rivalry, as well as incomplete specifications, and endless discussions, not only delayed the project, moreover it was even given a low priority! This also applied to the ‘USAHS Armin W. Leuschner’, ex-Willard A. Holbrook, built in 1921, and about to be reconverted and refitted at Mobile, Alabama. At Southampton, the Casualty Reception Center operated with the help of the 93d Medical Gas Treatment Battalion (CO > Colonel Joseph W. Palmer, MC), supported by elements of its own organic companies, as well as 1 Medical Sanitary and 2 Motor Ambulance Companies. The USS Comfort, AH-6 (21 Jun 44 – 19 Apr 46) arrives at Hollandia, New Guinea, Dec 44. Local Commanders of the different Service Commands, staffed and operated the Hospital Cars and Ambulances, used for removal of patients from ports of entry and transportation to the ZI Hospitals. Regardless of the number of Hospital Ships in service, it is important to note that the greater part of patients evacuated by water to the ZI was moved by Troop Transports, i.e. Shuttles ran between Cherbourg and Southampton. Voyage assignments were made by the Chief of Transportation in accordance with reports and lists of patients awaiting evacuation, and estimates of casualties likely to result from impending military operations. At the end of June 1945, a total of 481 Commissioned Officers, 29 Warrant Officers, 1,112 Nurses, and 4,351 Enlisted Men were assigned to Medical Hospital Ship Complements. 3 May 43 – WDGO 27 dated 3 Jun 43, US Army Hospital Ship ‘USAHS Acadia’, built 1932 (former East coast passenger ship) – 18 knots – 787 patients – New York > N. Africa 5 Jun 43 – 204th Med Hosp Ship Co (decommissioned 11 Feb 46) Please let me know if you, or someone you know, has memories or ship photos you would like to publish. Colonel Clifford H. Arnold, MC, was ordered to organize the ship’s medical complement. By far the oldest ship mentioned in the video is the Russian salvage lifting ship Kommuna, a ship so old it has served in three navies under two different names. Others are veterans of the Korean War and Vietnam War—Vietnam’s ships, in particular, were actually property of the South Korean Navy and were captured when North Vietnam conquered South Vietnam in 1975. LSTs received ample allowances of battle dressings, morphine, sulfa, whole blood, plasma, and penicillin, and on its outbound voyage each LST carried exchange units of blankets, litters, splints, plasma, and surgical dressings for the French beaches. USAHS Frances Y. Slanger, at Brooklyn Shipyards, ZI, where the former transport vessel was converted, early Jun 45. He died some years ago, in fact one of the the few things I still have of my Dads are his war medals. To counter the more important military uses for steel, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson approved the construction of 24 concrete ships. The Second World War ended in 1945, but you wouldn’t know it from the look of some navies. Once aboard the Hospital Carrier, litter cases had to be manhandled from top deck down ladders and narrow passages and transferred from stretchers to bunks, not an easy operation. A US Army Base (Base “G”) was set up at Hollandia, western New Guinea in mid-44 primarily to prepare and support future operations in the Philippines. Evacuation from the Anzio Beachhead took place by LST to offshore British and American Hospital Ships and Carriers too. In January 1942, the Army requested US$ 36 million for the construction of 6 Hospital Ships. As stated before, the problem was that in mid-1942, Hospital Ships simply did not exist! Read more: https://www.med-dept.com/articles/ww2-hospital-ships/. This particular Hospital Ship operated in North Africa (1943) and Southern France (1944). After the Battle of the Bulge, and the new and final offensive against Germany, extra patients began overcrowding many Hospitals placing a strain on personnel and bed capacity. Although it’s nice to imagine battleships with their giant 16-inch guns still operating today, the reality is that these ships—in addition to being obsolete—are manpower-intensive and expensive to operate. Non-transportable patients were sent to the holding units of the 28th Field and 46th Field Hospitals in Southampton. Note: another Hospital Ship was the ‘USAHS Howard A. McCurdy’ (named after the first DC Officer killed in this war –ed), ex-President Tyler, built in 1920, and converted in Boston, Massachusetts. Commissioned 20 Jun 45 – US Navy Hospital Ship AH-17 ‘USS Sanctuary’, ex-Marine Owl, C 4-S-B2 freighter hull completed as a Hospital Ship in 1944 – 17 ½ knots – 796 patients – Norfolk > Pacific 31 Jul 45 (decommissioned 15 Aug 46, recommissioned 15 Nov 66 for service in Vietnam, decommissioned 15 Dec 71, recommisioned 18 Nov 72, and finally decommissioned 26 Mar 75). During the Great War, Hospital Ships were mainly engaged in transport of sick and wounded military personnel from the Theaters of Operations to Hospital facilities at home. (following Hospital Ship Platoons have been identified: 1st – 2d – 3d – 4th – 5th – 6th – 7th – 8th – 9th – 10th – 11th – 15th – 16th – 23d – 26th – 27th – 28th – 29th – 30th – 31st – 32d – 33d – 34th – 35th – 36th – 37th – 38th – 40th – 451st – 452d – 453d – 454th – 466th – 468th – 481st – 485th – 487th – 504th – 506th – 511th – 512th – 520th – 521st – 524th – 528th – 531st – 532d – 533d – 534th – 537th – 539th – 540th – 541st – 542d – 543d – 544th – 546th – 547th – 548th – 549th – 550th – 553d – 554th – 556th – 557th – 558th – 559th – 560th – 562d – 564th – 565th – 568th – 571st – 573d – 576th – 578th – 581st – 584th – 585th – 593d – 597th – 598th – 599th – 601st – 606th – 608th – 609th – 618th – 619th – 620th – 621st – 622d – 623d – 624th – 627th – 630th – 642d – 643d –644th – 647th – 648th – 650th – 663d – 664th – 674th – 675th – 681st – 690th – 697th – 704th – 710th – 712th – 716th – 719th – 733d – 738th – 739th – 748th – 759th – 778th – 785th – 788th – 808th – 821st – 824th – 830th – 832d – 848th – 872d – 874th – 882d – 885th – 905th – 920th – 923d – 926th – 927th – 930th – 975th – 987th). 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