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''American Legion'' was built for the United States Shipping Board (USSB), one of the planned World War I troop transports converted before construction into passenger and cargo vessels, the Emergency Fleet Corporation Design 1029 ships. The ship was laid down as ''Koda'' and perhaps assigned the name ''Badger State'' at one point, but renamed ''American Legion'' before launch and one of only a few of the design not taking a state nickname. Originally operated by the USSB's agents and the Munson Steamship Line the ship saw commercial service until laid up 13 March 1939. With the United States entry into World War II ''American Legion'' was formally transferred to the War Department for use as an Army transport on 19 December 1939 operating as USAT ''American Legion'' until transfer to the Navy 22 August 1941. The Navy commissioned the ship USS ''American Legion'' initially classifying the ship a transport with hull number AP-35. On 1 February 1943 the Navy reclassified the ship as an attack transport () with hull number APA-17. ''American Legion'' decommissioned on 28 March 1946 and was sold for scrap 5 February 1948. ==Construction== ''American Legion'' was a steel-hulled, twin-screw passenger and cargo steamship, laid down as yard hull number 242 on 10 January 1919 under a United States Shipping Board (USSB) contract at Camden, New Jersey, by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation. The name was the result of efforts by William J. Brown, an Emergency Fleet Corporation inspector and member of the American Legion, who inspected the hull, proposed its name change to the Pennsylvania American Legion conference with passage of a resolution which was immediately publicized. A week from that publication the ship was launched as ''American Legion'' on 11 October 1919 with the wife of one of the United States Senators from Pennsylvania, Mrs. Joseph S. Frelinghuysen christening the ship. The ship, a type known in commercial service as "535's" for their length overall, was assigned the United States official number 221478. The ship was one of three intended to become Army transports already under construction at the yard: hull 240 ''Wenatchee'', hull 241 ''Sea Girt'' and hull 242 ''Koda''. Of those one had been launched and a second was ready for launch when the USSB changed plans from troop transports to completion as passenger ships. At some point ''American Legion'' may have been assigned the name ''Badger State'' by USSB in conformance with the majority of the ships of the design but the three ships begun as Army transports when the design changed to passenger-cargo ships remained the only ones not formally assigned the state nicknames.〔McKellar only shows ''Koda'' and that name is shown along with two other ships, hull 240, ''Wenatchee'' (apparently initially ''C. M. Schwab'') and hull 241, ''Sea Girt'' that was completed as ''Southern Cross'', of the early New York Shipbuilding group of this type. Later references begin associating the name ''Badger State'' with the ship launched as ''American Legion'' and a few mention ''Badger State'' being the name at launch. The "State" names were assigned to new construction of this type intended from the start as commercial ships and ''Badger State'' may have been briefly assigned retroactively before efforts of the American Legion resulted in the name given for the organization. Contemporary sources make it clear the ship was launched as ''American Legion''. A close look at the period shows proposed names existing only on paper in a number of cases.〕 In any case, the ship was launched as ''American Legion'', a name exceptionally kept throughout the ship's career, and was delivered to the USSB upon completion on 15 July 1921. Before delivery ''American Legion'' and ''Sea Girt'', soon to become ''Southern Cross'', were modified for tropical service carrying about 300 first class passengers. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「SS American Legion (1919)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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