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{{Short description|United States Navy transport ship}}
{{other ships|SS Orizaba|Brazilian ship Duque de Caxias}}
{{Use
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
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|Ship name=USS ''Orizaba'' (ID-1536)
|Ship namesake=[[Orizaba, Veracruz]], Mexico
|Ship builder=*[[William Cramp & Sons]], [[Philadelphia]]
|Ship yard number=435
|Ship launched=26 February 1917 as ''Orizaba''
|Ship acquired=11 April 1918
|Ship commissioned=27 May 1918
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{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship flag=[[File:
|Ship name=SS ''Orizaba''
|Ship owner=[[Ward Line]]
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|Ship refit=1924
|Ship identification=*United States Official Number 216294
* Code Letters LKJM (1920–34)
* {{ICS|Lima}}{{ICS|Kilo}}{{ICS|Juliet}}{{ICS|Mike}}
* Code Letters WECX (1934–41)
* {{ICS|Whiskey}}{{ICS|Echo}}{{ICS|Charlie}}{{ICS|X-ray}}
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship decommissioned=23 April 1945
|Ship struck=20 July 1953
|Ship identification=[[Maritime call sign|Call sign]]: NUBY<ref>Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, ''U.S. Navy radio call sign book'', pp. 17–28</ref>
|Ship honors=1 [[battle star]], [[World War II]]
|Ship fate=*To [[Brazilian Navy]], 16 July 1945 at [[Tampa, Florida]] under [[Lend-Lease]];
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|Ship endurance=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity={{convert|35455|cuft}},<ref name=TSWW2 />
|Ship complement=323 officers and enlisted
|Ship time to activate=
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* '''World War II:'''
* 2,928
|Ship armament=*'''World War I:'''<ref name=navsrc>{{cite web |
* 4 × 5" guns
* 2 × 1 pounder
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==Description==
''Orizaba'' was {{convert|423|ft|0|in|m|2}} long between perpendiculars, with a beam of {{convert|60|ft|0|in|m|2}}. She had a depth of {{convert|15|ft|7|in|m|2}} and a draft of {{convert|35|ft|0|in|m|2}}. Propulsion was four steam turbines of 1,908 [[nominal horsepower|nhp]] driving twin screw propellers through single reduction gearing.<ref name=Orizaba33>{{cite journal |url=http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=33b0668.pdf |title=Lloyd's Register, Navires a Vapeur et a Moteurs |journal=Lloyd's Register |year=1933 |publisher=Lloyd's of London |access-date=27 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528052428/http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=33b0668.pdf |archive-date=28 May 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> She was fitted with {{convert|
== World War I ==
''Orizaba''—named after the town of [[Orizaba, Veracruz]], Mexico—was laid down for the [[Ward Line]] by [[William Cramp & Sons|William Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Building Company]] of [[Philadelphia]] and launched in February 1917.<ref name=DANFS-Orizaba /> In mid-1917 the [[United States Shipping Board]] (USSB) commandeered and received title to all private shipbuilding projects in progress, including the still-incomplete ''Orizaba'' and her sister ship ''Siboney''. Plans for both ships were modified for troop-carrying duties.<ref>Crowell and Wilson, p. 321.</ref> Upon ''Orizaba''
[[
Assigned to the Atlantic Transport Service, ''Orizaba'' carried over 15,000 troops in six convoy trips to France before the end of [[World War I]].<ref name=DANFS-Orizaba /> In one such voyage, ''Orizaba''
Four days later on 21 August at 08:30, ''Orizaba'', traveling with ''Siboney'', spotted a submarine in the act of submerging. ''Orizaba'' attempted to ram the sub and dropped depth charges, but there was no indication that the attack was successful.<ref name=Gleaves170>Gleaves, p. 170.</ref>
In December 1918, she was temporarily assigned to assist the French government in repatriating French, [[Belgian people|Belgian]], and Italian prisoners of war. Detached from that duty on 10 January 1919, she joined the [[Cruiser and Transport Force]] at [[Brest, France|Brest]], and in nine voyages returned over 31,700 troops to the United States. After the completion of transport duty service in the summer of 1919, she was decommissioned on 4 September and subsequently turned over to the [[United States Army|Army]] for further transport service as USAT ''Orizaba''. The boat served in that capacity until returned to the Ward Line in 1920.<ref name=DANFS-Orizaba />
According to the Statistical Department of the US Navy, ''Orizaba'' had the second-shortest average in-port turnaround time out of 37 US Navy transports used in World War I. The ship completed 15 round trips with an average turn-around time of just over 30 days per trip, while the overall Navy average was 39.8 days.<ref name=Stats>{{cite web |
==Post-war civilian service==
After ''Orizaba'' and ''Siboney'' were reacquired by the [[Ward Line]], ''Orizaba'' was registered as a merchant vessel. Her [[port of registry]] was [[New York City|New York]], and United States Official Number 216294 and [[Code Letters]] LJKM were allocated to her.<ref name=Orizaba33/> ''Orizaba'' and ''Siboney'' were placed in transatlantic service on New York–Cuba–Spain routes in 1920, with ''Orizaba'' calling at [[A Coruña|Corunna]], [[Santander, Cantabria|Santander]], and [[Bilbao]] in Spain. The two ships accommodated 306 first-class, 60 second-class, and 64 third-class passengers, with each ship making several trips on the route, but a lack of passengers (along with the grounding of ''Siboney'' at [[Vigo]] in September 1920)<ref>{{cite news |
By October 1921, ''Orizaba'' was placed in New York–Cuba–Mexico service, where business thrived, in part because of [[Prohibition in the United States]]. Ward Line cruises to Havana were one of the quickest and least expensive ways to what one author called "alcohol-enriched vacations".<ref name=Flayhart /> Three years later, the ship underwent a major refit that, among other things, lengthened her funnels.<ref>{{cite web |
By the early 1930s, ''Orizaba''
[[
In 1934, ''Orizaba'' was allocated the Code Letters WECX.<ref name=Orizaba34>{{cite journal |url=http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=34b0634.pdf |title=Lloyd's Register, Steamers and Motorships |journal=Lloyd's Register |year=1934 |publisher=Lloyd's of London |access-date=27 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221553/http://www.plimsollshipdata.org/pdffile.php?name=34b0634.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In April 1934, American actress [[Katharine Hepburn]] sailed from New York on ''Orizaba'', eventually ending up in [[Mérida, Yucatán]]. After her arrival there on 22 April, she filed for divorce from businessman [[Ludlow Ogden Smith|Ludlow ("Luddy") Ogden Smith]], whom she had married in December 1928. After the divorce was finalized she and her travel companion, Laura Harding, planned to spend a week in Havana and return to New York on the Ward Line ship {{SS|Morro Castle|1930|2}}.<ref>{{cite news |
Beginning in the mid-1930s, ''Orizaba'' often carried gold and silver bars from Veracruz to New York for the [[Federal Reserve Bank of New York]], [[Chase National Bank]], or for later transshipment to London. In October 1933 three [[short ton]]s (2.7 [[tonne]]s) of gold bars and coins were shipped on ''Orizaba'' for eventual delivery to London, prompting some to believe that gold was being smuggled into Mexico to take advantage of its policy of not charging [[Duty (economics)|duties]] on gold.<ref>{{cite news |
In mid-1939, ''Orizaba'' was chartered to [[United States Lines]] as one of five ships added to increase what was perceived as a slow rate of return of US citizens fleeing war-torn Europe.<ref>{{cite news |
== Pre World War II ==
{{Multiple image|direction=vertical|align=left|image1=USAT Orizaba.jpg|image2=USS Orizaba (AP-24).jpg|width=180|caption1=USAT ''Orizaba'' in port, 1941|caption2=USS ''Orizaba'' (AP-24) underway at sea painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 11F, c. 1944}}
After her reacquisition by the War Department, ''Orizaba'' completed one round trip to the [[Panama Canal Zone]]. On her return she put in for a refit by the [[Bethlehem Steel Company]] at New York. After she was transferred to the Navy on 4 June 1941, she was commissioned as ''Orizaba'' (AP-24) on 15 June 1941.<ref name=DANFS-Orizaba/>
=== The Preamble to Convoy WS-12X (the USA has not declared war on Japan or Germany yet) ===
Following several months of coastal operations, ''Orizaba'', now armed with two [[5"/38 caliber gun|{{convert|5|in|mm|adj=on}} guns]] and four [[3"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|adj=on}} guns]], departed New York in April 1942 on the first transatlantic run of her second world war. Sailing via [[Iceland]], she steamed to [[England]], [[Cape Town]], [[Recife]], and [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], [[Virginia]], from which she got underway for [[Bermuda]] and [[Puerto Rico]]. Returning to Norfolk in January 1943, she plied the [[East Coast of the United States|eastern seaboard]] for a month, then took up transatlantic duties again. Until July she traversed the ocean to [[Oran]], [[Algeria]], carrying troops over and prisoners of war back to New York.<ref name=DANFS-Orizaba />▼
The [[Atlantic Conference]] was held on 9 August 1941 in [[Placentia Bay, Newfoundland]], between Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Roosevelt. Besides the "official" agenda, Churchill hoped to obtain considerable assistance from the US, but the American President had his political hands tied. On 1 September 1941, Roosevelt received an urgent and most secret message asking for US Navy troopships manned by Navy crews and escorted by U.S.N. fighting ships to carry British troops for the purpose of reinforcing the Middle East. On 4 September the US destroyer, [[USS Greer (DD-145)]], came under an unsuccessful U-boat attack. Roosevelt gave authority to the US Navy to "shoot to kill". On 5 September the President assured the British leader that six vessels would be provided to carry twenty thousand troops and would be escorted by the American Navy.
The chief of Naval Operations ordered troop ships divisions seventeen and nineteen, on 26 September 1941, to prepare their vessels for approximately six months at sea. These transports were to load to capacity with food, ammunition medical supplies, fuel and water and were to arrive at Halifax, NS on or about 6 November and after the arrival of a British convoy from the UK were to load twenty thousand troops. The Prime Minister mentioned in his letter that it would be for the President to say what would be required in replacement if any of these ships were to be sunk by enemy action. Agreements were worked out for the troops to be carried as supernumeraries and rations to be paid out of Lend Lease Funds and officer laundry bills were to be paid in cash. All replenishments of provisions, general stores, fuel and water would be provided by the UK. Fuel and water would be charged for the escorts to the UK in Trinidad and Cape Town only. The troops would conform to US Navy and ships regulation. Intoxicating liquors were prohibited. It was further agreed that the troops were to rig and man their own anti-aircraft guns to augment the ships batteries.<ref name="RonTaylor">{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Ron |title=Convoy William Sail 12X |url=https://www.britain-at-war.org.uk/WW2/Convoy_William_Sail_12x/html/preparations.htm |website=Britain at War |access-date=2022-03-24}}</ref>
So, convoy WS-12X is most extraordinary. 30 days BEFORE the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and the German declaration of war on the USA on 11 December 1941; we have six American transports and American escort carrying British soldiers.
==== Convoy William Sail WS-12X ====
In early November, the troopship proceeded to [[City of Halifax|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]], to take on board British troops.<ref name="GordonSmithWS12X">{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Gordon |title=WS CONVOYS - July to December 1941 SAILINGS - WS12X |url=https://www.naval-history.net/xAH-WSConvoys04-1941B.htm |website=Naval History |access-date=2022-03-25}}</ref>
[[USS Wakefield (AP-21)|Wakekfield (AP-21)]], with 6,000 men embarked, and five other transports [[USS Mount Vernon (AP-22)|Mount Vernon (AP-22)]], [[SS America (1939)|West Point (AP-23)]], [[Orizaba|Orizaba (AP-24)]], [[USS Leonard Wood (APA-12)|Leonard Wood (AP-25)]] and [[SS President Roosevelt (1921)|Joseph T. Dickman (AP-26)]] got underway as Convoy WS12-X on 10 November 1941. Escorted by a strong screen – which, as far as [[Trinidad]], included {{USS|Ranger|CV-4|3}} – the [[convoy]] was destined for Basra, Iraq.
[[File:Convoy WS-12 en route to Cape Town, 1941.jpg|thumb|Convoy WS-12 en route to Cape Town, 1941]]
On 17 November 1941, the convoy reaches Trinidad. All ships were replenished, and the convoy departs Trinidad on 19 November 1941.
On 7 December at 2000, the convoy receives a radio communication of the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].<ref name="RonTaylor-H2C">{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Ron |title=Convoy William Sail 12X Halifax to Cape Town |url=https://www.britain-at-war.org.uk/WW2/Convoy_William_Sail_12x/html/halifax_to_cape_town.htm |website=Britain at War |access-date=2022-03-24}}</ref>
==World War II service==
=== Convoy WS12-X (continued) ===
On 9 December, convoy WS12-X arrived in Cape Town, South Africa.
At about 0800 on 13 December 1941, the troopships departed Cape Town headed for Bombay.
At 650 on 21 December 1941, the [[USS Mount Vernon (AP-22)]] and USS Orizaba detached from the convoy headed for Bombay, and are bound for Mombasa. The remainder of the convoy continued to Bombay under the escort of DORSETSHIRE, arriving on 27 December 1941.
=== 1942–1945 ===
▲Following several months of coastal operations, ''Orizaba'', now armed with two [[5"/38 caliber gun|{{convert|5|in|mm|adj=on}} guns]] and four [[3"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|3|in|mm|adj=on}} guns]], departed New York in April 1942 on the first transatlantic run of her
On 5 July she left Oran in [[Task Force|Task Force (TF)]] 81. The next day, she rendezvoused with TF 85 and on 9 July stood off [[Gela]], Sicily, disembarking troops into landing craft. On 11 July, she sustained slight damage in an enemy air attack and retired to Algeria the next day with casualties and prisoners on board. She returned to Sicily at the end of the month to discharge troops and cargo at [[Palermo]] and then, on the night of 1 August, weighed anchor and stood out for home.<ref name=DANFS-Orizaba />
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== Brazilian Navy service ==
[[
Assuming control of the vessel at Tampa on 16 July 1945, the [[Brazilian Navy]] renamed the veteran transport ''Duque de Caxias'' (U-11), the second ship of that navy named in honor of [[Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias]], the patron of the [[Brazilian Army]].<ref name=duque>{{cite web |
''Duque de Caxias'' headed to [[Naples]] and on 28 August 1945 left there with elements of the returning [[Brazilian Expeditionary Force]]. The ship arrived at [[Rio de Janeiro]] for the first time on 17 September 1945.<ref name=duque /> The ship then loaded American military stores from US bases in Brazil and sailed for New York, arriving on 10 November 1945, with plans to repatriate wounded Brazilian soldiers who had been recuperating in the US.<ref name=NYT-braziltransport>{{cite news |
On 31 July 1947, a day after sailing from Rio de Janeiro for Europe, oil spilled on the
In 1953, ''Duque de Caxias'' was converted into a [[training ship]], and in August of that year began a European and Mediterranean training cruise, which included a 12-day visit to New York in March 1954 as part of its homeward leg.<ref name=NYT-Skipper>{{cite news |
== Notes ==
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{{Refbegin}}
* {{DANFS}} <!-- link not provided because it's cited elsewhere-->
* {{cite book |
* {{cite book |
* {{cite book |
* {{Gleaves}}
* {{cite book |
* {{cite DANFS |author=Naval Historical Center |author
* {{cite DANFS |author=Naval
* {{cite book |
{{Refend}}
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[[Category:Transports of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Transport ships of the United States Army]]
[[Category:Ships built
[[Category:1917 ships]]
[[Category:World War I auxiliary ships of the United States]]
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