USS Dorothea L. Dix, a 11,625-ton transport, was built at Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1940 as the merchant steamship Exemplar. From April 1941 to April 1942 she was the British flag freighter Empire Widgeon and, a few months after her return to U.S. custody, was taken over by the War Department and converted to a transport. The ship was transferred to the Navy and placed in commission as USS Dorothea L. Dix in September 1942. In November she participated in the invasion of Morocco, then made two voyages carrying Soldiers from the United States to Algeria. She was part of the force that assaulted Sicily in July 1943, opening the long campaign to liberate Italy. For most of the rest of 1943 and the first months of 1944 Dorothea L. Dix transported men and equipment to North Africa and the United Kingdom.
In April 1944 Dorothea L. Dix began training in British waters for the forthcoming invasion of France. During the Normandy operation she took part in the 6 June 1944 landings on "Omaha" Beach. The transport then returned to the Mediterranean Sea, where she landed troops as part of the invasion of southern France in mid-August, and shuttled more combat forces from Italy to France over the next few months.
Dorothea L. Dix was sent to the Pacific late in 1944 to begin transportation duties in support of the war against Japan. During the remaining eight months of the conflict, and the first half-year of peace, she carried troops and other passengers to Hawaii, the Aleutian Islands, Okinawa, the central Pacific, and the Philippines, as well as bringing men home from the western Pacific. USS Dorothea L. Dix was decommissioned at New York in April 1946 and turned over to the Maritime Commission. She soon rejoined her original owners, the American Export Lines, and was again named Exemplar. The veteran ship was sold for scrapping in December 1968.
This page features all the views we have concerning USS Dorothea L. Dix (AP-67).
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: 80-G-215096 USS Dorothea L. Dix (AP-67) Underway on 10 July 1943, the first day of the invasion of Sicily. A paravane is visible near the waterline about a third back from the bow. Photographed from USS Ancon (AGC-4). Note: the date 10 July 1943 is from the original caption. Since a full set of landing craft is embarked, it is possible that the photograph was taken earlier. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 88KB; 740 x 605 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 99114 USS Dorothea L. Dix (AP-67) Halftone reproduction of a photograph taken during World War II, showing the ship in port. Copied from the book "Troopships of World War II", by Roland W. Charles. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 53KB; 740 x 410 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 86624 USS Dorothea L. Dix (AP-67) Photographed circa 1945. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1976. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 51KB; 740 x 515 pixels Note: This is a rather fuzzy image. |
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Photo #: 80-G-31424 North Africa Invasion, November 1942 U.S. Navy ships off the Phosphate Pier at Safi, Morocco, on 10 November 1942. Beach "Red" is in the left background. Beach "Blue" is in the left center, with the harbor in the center and the town of Safi at right. Ships present are (from left to right center): USS Dorothea L. Dix (AP-67), USS Calvert (AP-65), USS Harris (AP-8), USS Lyon (AP-71) and USS Housatonic (AO-35). Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 68KB; 740 x 615 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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In addition to the views referenced above, the National Archives appears to hold other photographs of USS Dorothea L. Dix (AP-67). The following listing describes some of these images:
The images listed below are NOT in
the Naval Historical Center's collections.
DO NOT try to obtain them using the procedures described in our
page "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions".
USS Dorothea L. Dix (AP-67) in harbor, circa 1942. Photo was received by the Naval Photo Science Laboratory in March 1944. Port broadside surface view. The ship is painted in horizontal two-tone camouflage, with the dark lower area following the ship's sheer line. USS Dorothea L. Dix (AP-67) underway at sea, steaming south at 15 knots, 17 April 1945. Photographed from a blimp of squadron ZP-33. Starboard broadside aerial view, somewhat toward the stern. The ship is painted in disruptive pattern camouflage.
Reproductions of these images should be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system for pictures not held by the Naval Historical Center. The images listed above are NOT in the Naval Historical Center's collections. DO NOT try to obtain them using the procedures described in our page "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions". |
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 7 February 2004