USS Consolation (AH-15)
Encyclopedia
USS Consolation (AH-15) was a Haven-class hospital ship
originally in service with the United States Navy
from 1945 to 1955. In 1960 she was chartered to the People to People Health Foundation and renamed and served for another 14 years until being scrapped in 1975.
The USS Consolation (AH-15) was built as MARINE WALRUS in 1944 by Sun Shipbuilding and dry Dock Co., Chester, Pa. 11,141 tons. 520 x 71.6 x 24. 18 knots. Sponsored by Mrs. H. C. Wilson; acquired by the Navy 30 August 1944; converted at Bethlehem Steel Co
., Hoboken, N.J.; and commissioned 22 May 1945. CDR P. S. Tambling in command.
With a bed capacity of 802 and a complement of 564, the Consolation joined the Pacific Fleet to provide hospital services, consultation, preventative medicine and casualty evacuation. Arriving on station in the Pacific after Victory over Japan Day
, the Consolation was assigned to establish a shore screening station and field hospital to screen Allied POWs at Wakayama, Honshū
. She transferred 1,062 POWs to Okinawa and returned to serve as the base hospital for Honshū
and then Nagoya, Japan
during the Allied occupation of Japan. Consolation returned to San Francisco to undergo a brief overhaul from 23 November 1945 until 6 December 1945. From March until October 1946 she served as a transport from the canal zone to New York. From October 1946 she remained in commission, although inactive, until the outbreak of the Korean War.
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Departing Norfolk 14 July 1950, Consolation arrived at Korea
16 August to care for the wounded until 6 April 1954. During this conflict she was the first hospital ship outfitted with a helicopter landing pad, 60 feet in length, during 1951. In August she participated in Operation “Passage to Freedom” to return French troops from Vietnam to France, then returning to Korea
until March 1955. She was decommissioned on 30 December 1955.
Consolation received 10 battle stars for Korean war
service.
On 16 March 1960 Consolation was chartered to the People to People Health Foundation and renamed , an acronym for Health Opportunity for People Everywhere. She sailed in September of 1960 on her first cruise to Indonesia bring modern medical treatment and training to that country. Later cruises to underdeveloped areas of the world included South Vietnam, Peru, Ecuador, Guinea, Nicaragua, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Jamaica, and Brazil.
She was retired in 1974 after eleven voyages.
Haven class hospital ship
The Haven class of hospital ships was built for the United States Navy during World War II. Haven-class ships also served in the Korean War and the Vietnam War...
originally in service with the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
from 1945 to 1955. In 1960 she was chartered to the People to People Health Foundation and renamed and served for another 14 years until being scrapped in 1975.
The USS Consolation (AH-15) was built as MARINE WALRUS in 1944 by Sun Shipbuilding and dry Dock Co., Chester, Pa. 11,141 tons. 520 x 71.6 x 24. 18 knots. Sponsored by Mrs. H. C. Wilson; acquired by the Navy 30 August 1944; converted at Bethlehem Steel Co
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation , based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based U.S. Steel. After a decline in the U.S...
., Hoboken, N.J.; and commissioned 22 May 1945. CDR P. S. Tambling in command.
With a bed capacity of 802 and a complement of 564, the Consolation joined the Pacific Fleet to provide hospital services, consultation, preventative medicine and casualty evacuation. Arriving on station in the Pacific after Victory over Japan Day
Victory over Japan Day
Victory over Japan Day is a name chosen for the day on which the Surrender of Japan occurred, effectively ending World War II, and subsequent anniversaries of that event...
, the Consolation was assigned to establish a shore screening station and field hospital to screen Allied POWs at Wakayama, Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
. She transferred 1,062 POWs to Okinawa and returned to serve as the base hospital for Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
and then Nagoya, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
during the Allied occupation of Japan. Consolation returned to San Francisco to undergo a brief overhaul from 23 November 1945 until 6 December 1945. From March until October 1946 she served as a transport from the canal zone to New York. From October 1946 she remained in commission, although inactive, until the outbreak of the Korean War.
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
16 August to care for the wounded until 6 April 1954. During this conflict she was the first hospital ship outfitted with a helicopter landing pad, 60 feet in length, during 1951. In August she participated in Operation “Passage to Freedom” to return French troops from Vietnam to France, then returning to Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
until March 1955. She was decommissioned on 30 December 1955.
Consolation received 10 battle stars for Korean war
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
service.
On 16 March 1960 Consolation was chartered to the People to People Health Foundation and renamed , an acronym for Health Opportunity for People Everywhere. She sailed in September of 1960 on her first cruise to Indonesia bring modern medical treatment and training to that country. Later cruises to underdeveloped areas of the world included South Vietnam, Peru, Ecuador, Guinea, Nicaragua, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Jamaica, and Brazil.
She was retired in 1974 after eleven voyages.