USAT Etolin
From Our Contribution
 USAT Etolin entering New York with troops 1919 while named USS Matsonia | |
| File:.jpg | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | USAT Etolin |
| Builder | Newport News Ship Building Company |
| Launched | 1913 |
| Fate | scrapped in 1957 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger Liner |
| Tonnage | 16,800 tons |
| Length | Length 501' 4" |
| Beam | Beam 58' 1" |
| Depth | Draft 29' |
| Speed | 17 knots (31.49 km/h) |
Remarks
Built as a Passenger Liner she was originally named the SS Matsonia, and served during WW1 (1918-19) as a troopship with that name under the control of the US Navy. She made six trips to Europe from the US before the Armistice, and after the Armistice made eight journeys returning US troops to America. Decommissioned in September 1919, she was returned to her owners. In March 1937 she was sold to Alaskan interests and renamed Etolin. Pressed into service again during WW2 (1940 - 46) when she was chartered by the Army as a Troop Transport.
From July 1943 until the end of the war she operated in the Pacific theatre. Turned over to the War Shipping Administration in April 1946, and laid up in the James River, she was scrapped at Baltimore in 1957. Armament: Four 6" mounts, two 1-pounders, and two machine guns.