ROCHAMBEAU AP 63

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.

Rochambeau Class Transport Built 1933 at Societe Provencals de Constructions Navales, La Ciotat, France MARÉCHAL JOFFRE (Commercial Service) Owned and operated by Societe des Services Contractuels des Messageries Maritimes Manned by the Free French after the fall of France 1940 Caught in Japanese attacks in the Philippines December 1941 Taken over by Maritime Commission April 20 1942 Transferred to U.S. Navy April 20 1942 USS MARECHAL JOFFRE Commissioned April 27 1942 USS ROCHAMBEAU AP-63 Renamed and designated Transport (AP) April 29 1942 Decommissioned March 17 1945 Struck from Naval Register March 31 1945 MARÉCHAL JOFFRE (Commercial Service) Returned to French custody, original name restored Scrapped in Osaka, Japan in 1960

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 name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

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1. Covers Page 1     (1945)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. 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.
 
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Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

Locy Type 2z

1945-03-15

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Locy Type 3z

1943-04-01

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Other Information

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons...
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal

NAMESAKE - French nobleman, Jean Baptiste Donation de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau (July 1 1726 - May 10 1807)
Revolutionary War Hero...
General Rochambeau arrived at Newport in the summer of 1780, a dim period in the Revolution. His own talents, coupled with the 5,500 man force he brought with him, were to help decide the final campaign of the war for the United States. Early in their collaboration, it was evident that General Rochambeau would work well with George Washington. The Frenchman was quick to acknowledge Washington's leadership over the allied French and Continental troops, and eagerly sought to cooperate with the Americans. Rochambeau maintained his own troops in an admirably disciplined manner, and at one point even lent $20,000 so that the American Army could pay its soldiers. It was Rochambeau who joined with Washington to press the campaign of 1781 against Cornwallis' forces at Yorktown, with the assurance that the French Navy would be on station to support the armies. While Rochambeau's fellow countryman, the able Admiral de Grasse, defeated the British fleet off the Virginia Capes, 10,000 French and American troops marched toward the final battle at Yorktown. When Cornwallis and his beleaguered army capitulated, General Rochambeau insisted that the surrender be made to the American forces. Nevertheless, without Rochambeau and his troops and the French Navy, the last great victory in the American struggle for independence, Yorktown, would not have been possible. On his return to France, Rochambeau served as Governor of Picardy and, from 1790 to 1792, commanded the Army of the North. Surviving the Reign of Terror, he died at Thore on May 10 1807

 

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