This collector of old cameras in Central MA also develops any old film he discovers: how cool is that, I ask you? Damn cool.
(No idea if this is him, it’s just one of the photos. Because I’m a jerk, I’ve cropped and photoshopped these, but his site features the photos exactly as they were developed.)
This particular batch features photos apparently taken by a US serviceman on his way home from Italy at the very end of WW2. The third photo is of the United States Hospital Ship Algonquin:
The Algonquin was initially chartered by the United States as a Troop Transport Ship. However, in July 1943 she was acquired by the United States Army for conversion to a Hospital Ship operated by the US Army Transport Service (ATS). The ship was sent to the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company in Mobile, Alabama in July 1943 and the conversion was completed in January 1944.
At the end of January 1944, the US Army Hospital Ship (USAHS) Algonquin, with a full crew of seaman and medical personnel from the 203rd Hospital compliment on board, the ship departed New Orleans, Louisiana for Gibralter. Upon arrival, the ship was cleared to sail to Oran, Bizerte, then finally to Naples, Italy before returning to Charleston, South Carolina on March 28, 1944. Because of problems identified on this first voyage, the Algonquin dropped down to the Merrill Stevens Dry-dock and Repair Company in Jacksonville, Florida for repairs. The ship spent the most part of April 1944 at the shipyard. Once repairs were completed, the ship returned to Charleston, South Carolina, her designated homeport.
…
On 29 May 1945, the Algonquin departed Charleston and made four more quick trips to Europe and back to Charleston. However, on her last return in September 1945, she began returning to New York, Stapleton Pier 16, Staten Island. From the new homeport in New York, the USAHS Algonquin would make two more trips to Naples, Leghorn, and Marseilles in late 1945.
There are some cool photos of one of these Naples to NY trips - it’s interesting to see the progression from war-damaged Italy with sunken ships in its harbors to the Statue of Liberty…
Here’s another that appealed to me.
(via chicagoboyz)
3 Comments
My father was a medical officer aboard the Algonquin from it’s initial sailing from
my father was a medic on the Algonquin… I wish I had some way to contact those who were with him…
While I wouldn’t want to just hand out another commenter’s email address, if you want to ask the other commenter above for any information he might have, I’d be happy to forward something to him - maybe he’d respond to you?
You might also try getting in touch with the person who authored the history of the Algonquin that I linked to above… the four or five links at the bottom of the left-side navigation there lead to pages featuring email addresses of people who’ve contributed information about the Algonquin, and they might prove helpful as well.
Good luck!