S.S. Orizaba, a 7652 gross ton (11,293 tons displacement) passenger liner, was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company. She was requisitioned by the Navy when nearing completion in April 1918 and, in late May, was placed in commission as the U.S. Navy transport Orizaba (ID # 1536). During the remaining months of World War I the ship made six trips across the Atlantic, carrying over 15,000 American service personnel to France. Following the November 1918 Armistice, Orizaba briefly assisted in repatriating former prisoners of war. Early in 1919 she made the first of nine voyages transporting U.S. veterans home from the former combat zone. In early September 1919, after the completion of this important task, Orizaba was decommissioned and transferred to the U.S. Army. She was later returned to her owners and commenced commercial activity.
Early in 1941 Orizaba was purchased by the War Department and rejoined the U.S. Army Transportation Service. She made one voyage as USAT Orizaba, and was then turned over to the Navy, which placed her in commission as USS Orizaba (AP-24) in mid-June 1941. She served actively in the Atlantic area during the next two-and-a-half years, making voyages to, among other places, South Africa, Brazil, Iceland, England, North Africa, and the Caribbean area. Late in 1943 the veteran steamship passed through the Panama Canal to begin operations in the War's other great theater. From then until the Spring of 1945 Orizaba carried out vital transportation missions throughout the vast Pacific Ocean. Decommissioned in April 1945, she was overhauled for transfer abroad under the Lend-Lease program. Recommissioned in mid-July of that year as the Brazilian Navy's Duque de Caxias, she performed transport and training roles until 1960.
This page features, and provides links to, all the views we have concerning USS Orizaba (ID # 1536, later AP-24) and the U.S. Army Transport Orizaba.
For other images related to this ship, see:
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.
The following photographs show USS Orizaba (ID # 1536) during 1918-1919:
The following photographs show Orizaba as an Army Transport and as a U.S. Navy ship (AP-24) during the World War II era:
Photo #: NH 103119 USAT Orizaba (U.S. Army Transport, 1918) Halftone reproduction of a photograph taken in 1941, during the ship's brief service as a U.S. Army Transport. She was transferred to the Navy in June of that year and became USS Orizaba (AP-24). Copied from the book "Troopships of World War II", by Roland W. Charles. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 54KB; 740 x 415 pixels |
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Photo #: 19-N-25782 USS Orizaba (AP-24) Off the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Virginia, 29 October 1941. She appears to be painted in Camouflage Measure 12 (Graded System). Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 60KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 80-G-54532 USS Orizaba (AP-24), foreground Steams in convoy with other troopships and an oiler, in the Atlantic Ocean, 27 July 1943. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 86KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 66876 USS Orizaba (AP-24) Underway at sea, circa 1944. The ship is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 11F. Courtesy of the Mariners Museum, Newport News, Virginia. Ted Stone Collection. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 143KB; 740 x 615 pixels |
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In addition to the images presented above, the National Archives appears to hold at other views of USS Orizaba (AP-24). The following list features some of these photographs:
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 Orizaba (AP-24) underway at sea, 11 June 1943. Photographed by Fleet Air Wing 9 (FAW-9). Starboard broadside surface view, with the ship making good speed. Sea is calm; sky is cloudy. Orizaba is painted in horizontal two-tone camouflage (possibly Measure 22). USS Orizaba (AP-24) underway off the U.S. East Coast (position 36 52'N, 75 40'W) at 1035 Hrs while steaming on course 265, 8 December 1943. Photographed from a blimp of squadron ZP-14, based at Naval Air Station Weeksville, North Carolina. Part of the blimp's engine is visible in the upper right corner of the image. Starboard broadside (somewhat toward the stern) aerial view. Orizaba is still painted wearing horizontal two-tone camouflage (possibly Measure 22). USS Orizaba (AP-24) underway in the vicinity of San Francisco, California, 20 April 1944. Photographed from a blimp of squadron ZP-32, based at Naval Air Station Moffet Field, California. Starboard broadside (slightly toward the bow) aerial view. Orizaba is now painted painted dark overall (probably Camouflage Measure 21).
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 in this box 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". |
For other images related to this ship, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 27 October 2005
New image added 15 April 2007