HARRIS APA 2

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.

Harris Class Transport
Built 1921 at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp, Sparrows Point, MD
Launched 19 March 1921


1. PINE TREE STATE (Passenger Liner)
Delivered to the United States Shipping Board (USSB) 3 November 1921


2. PRESIDENT GRANT (Passenger Liner)
Renamed 1922. Lloyd's Register of Shipping lists owner as USSB
Official Number: 221633
Owner listed as Admiral Orient Lines starting 1926-7
Owner listed as American Mail Line Ld by 1929
Acquired by U.S. Navy July 17 1940


3. USS HARRIS AP-8
Commissioned August 19 1940


4. USS HARRIS APA-2
Reclassified Attack Transport (APA) February 1 1943
Decommissioned April 16 1946
Struck from Naval Register (Date unknown)
Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Lee Hall, VA., 3 July 1946

Sold July 20 1948 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. Harris Covers Page 1    (1941-46)

 

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	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

Civilian Service

 

USTP Seapost Duplex

1927-03-14

As SS President Grant

 

USTP Seapost Duplex

1934-09-15

As SS President Grant

US Navy Service

 

Locy Type FDPS F "FIRST DAY OF / POSTAL SERVICE" USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. H-14

1941-12-19

As AP-8
First Day of Postal Service, Cachet by - Walter Czubay

 

Locy Type F "COMMISSIONED / SEATTLE, WASH" USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. H-14

1941-11-05

As AP-8
Note: H-14 is seen dated November 5, 1941 with "COMMISSIONED/SEATTLE, WASH." in the killers, although all standard references report that she was commissioned in August. {USCS Postmark Catalog}

 

Locy Type 3 (A-BBT)

1946-01-21

As APA-2

 

Locy Type 3z

1945-03-20

Note:

 

Locy Type Fz USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. H-14a

1941-12-16

As AP-8
Censored wartime (WWII) use
Note: Struck before POE (1941-12-19) USCS Catalog shows use of this device as 1945

 

Other Information

HARRIS received the following awards during her Naval career: Combat Action Ribbon - Navy Unit Commendation - China Service Medal - American Defense Service Medal (with Fleet clasp) - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (w/ 1 Battle star) - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (w/ 9 Battle stars) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - Philippines Liberation Medal (3 awards).

NAMESAKE - Colonel John Harris, USMC (May 20 1790 - May 12 1864).
Harris was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps April 23 1814. He fought with a mounted detachment of Marines in the Florida Indian Wars 1836-37 and as part of the occupying force in Mexico near the close of the war. Harris was promoted to the office of Colonel Commandant of the US Marine Corps January 7 1859 on the eve of the Civil War. Colonel Harris died while serving as Commandant May 12 1864.

 

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