USS General A. W. Greely - A US Navy Transport Ship

Named for the famous Arctic Explorer, Adolphus Washington Greely (husband of Henrietta H. C. Nesmith), the "General A.W.Greely" was one of a class of 30 ships, classified as C4-S-A1. They were 523ft in length x 71.2ft beam, 10,654 gross tons, turbine engines located aft, 17 knots and with accommodation for up to 3,000 troops and a crew of 256.  The USS General A. W. Greely is sometimes referred to as: USNS General A. W Greely - 'USNS' for United States Naval Ship'.

Built by Kaiser in Richmond, California - Yard No.22, she was launched 5th Nov.1944 and commissioned for the US Navy on March 22nd 1945 as AP 141.

She sailed from San Pedro on her maiden voyage to Australia on April 16th. On March 20th 1946 she was handed over to the US Army, rebuilt to 12,665 gross tons and made seven voyages between Germany and the US with displaced persons.  While still assigned to the U.S. Army, she continued to carry troops and other personnel until March 1950, when she was reacquired by the Navy and assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) under the designation T-AP-141.

From the summer of 1950 to May 1951, USS General A.W. Greely made four voyages from the U.S. to Japan in support of Korean War needs. She then shifted to the Atlantic, where she transported personnel to and from Europe and provided other services for three more years. General A.W. Greely briefly operated in the Pacific from mid-1954 until she was placed out of service in March 1955.

Handed over to the Maritime Administration on Aug.29th 1959, she was laid up in the reserve fleet at Olympia, Wash.

After being laid up for well over a decade, General A.W. Greely was sold for commercial use. Converted to a container ship in 1968, she subsequently was renamed several times, becoming the 11,447 ton Hawaii Bear in 1969, and was used by Pacific Far East Line until 1975 when she was purchased by Farrell Lines Inc, New York, who renamed her Austral Glade in 1975, Pacific Enterprise in 1979 and Caribe Enterprise in 1982. She was sold for scrapping in 1986.

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