WILLIAM P BIDDLE APA 8

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Heywood Class Transport
Keel Laid (Date unknown) for the British government as WAR SURF
Completed 1919 under USSB contract as ECLIPSE
Acquired by Baltimore Mail Steamship Co. c1929 and renamed CITY OF HAMBURG
Acquired by Panama Pacific Lines 1939 and renamed CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO
Acquired by U.S. Navy 1940 and converted for Naval Service


1. USS WILLIAM P. BIDDLE AP-15
   Placed in Reduced Commission November 13 1940 - February 3 1941
   Commissioned (Full) as Transport (AP) February 3 1941
   
   
2. USS WILLIAM P. BIDDLE APA-8
   Reclassified Amphibious Attack Transport (APA) February 1 1943
   Decommissioned April 9 1946
   
   Struck from Naval Register June 5 1946
   Sold 1957 for scrap

 

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. William P. Biddle Covers Page 1    (1941-42)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

Locy Type FDPS 3 (A-BBT) "FIRST DAY / CANCEL"

1941-04-08

As AP-15. First Day Postal Service, Cachet by Dr. S. E. Hutnick

 

Locy Type FDPS 3 (A-BBT) "FIRST DAY / CANCELLATION"

1941-04-08

As AP-15. First Day of Postal Service. Cachet by Jacques Minkus.

 

Locy Type 3z (BBT)

1943-12-05

As APA-8. Sailor mail.

 

Locy Type 9v

1941-05-17

AP-15. FDC of USS Calypso AG-35, cachet by Tazewell G. Nicholson

 

Locy Type 9fw

1941-06-07

As AP-15. Cachet by Tazewell G. Nicholson

 

Locy Type 9x

1941-04-28

As AP-15. Cachet by Dr. S. E. Hutnick

 

Locy Type Fz USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. W-31

1941-06-07

As AP-15. Cachet by Tazewell G. Nicholson

 

Other Information

USS WILLIAM P. BIDDLE earned the American Defense Medal (with Fleet clasp), the American Campaign Medal, the Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal w/ 2 Battle stars, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 5 Battle stars, the World War II Victory Medal and the Philippines Liberation Medal w/2 stars during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - Major General William P. Biddle, USMC (December 17 1853 - February 24 1923).
MajGen Biddle was a veteran of the Spanish-American War, Boxer Rebellion, Philippine-American War and World War I.
MajGen Biddle was the 11th Commandant of the Marine Corps, 1911-1914.

 

---

 

If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.

 

---

Copyright 2024 Naval Cover Museum