At the outbreak of W.W.I
in 1914, a number of German ocean liners were in American
ports and were detained. When the United Stated entered the
war they were then seized and converted to troop transports. The
SS Rheim was seized at Norfolk and renamed the SS Susquehanna. A number
of these ships were given Native American names. The Federich der
Grosse became the Huron and the Prinzess Irene the Pocahantas among
others.
The Susquehanna was placed
in commission September 5, 1917. She had a displacement of 16,950 tons
and an original maximum troop carrying capacity of 3300. She made eight
round trips to carry over 18,000 troops to Europe. She was also used to
return troops after the war ended November 11, 1918.
The above picture is
a postcard distributed to all the soldiers and sailors on
board by the Jewish Welfare Board. Frank Anderson was on this
ship returning from France.
For more information about troop ships see the
excellent web page by the
Swanson Grp
