USS George Washington

The USS George Washington CVN 73 was an ocean liner built in 1908 at the Newport News Naval Yard for the Bremen-based North German Lloyd and was named after George Washington, who was the first President of the United States. The ship was officially launched from the AG Vulcan Stettin in Stettin, Germany on November 10th, 1908. The ship was also known as USS George Washington and USAT George Washington in service of the United States Navy and United States Army during World War I. In the years between WWI and WWII, the ship reverted to her initial name of the SS George Washington. During World War II the ship was known as both USAT George Washington and briefly as USS Catlin in a short second stint in the U.S. Navy. When the George Washington was launched in 1908 she was the largest German-built steamship and the third largest ship in the world at the time.

During World War I George Washington was interned by the neutral United States at that time when the U. S. was still neutral of course, until that country entered into the conflict in April 1917 and things had to change. The USS George Washington was seized by the United States and taken over for use as a troop transport by and for the U.S. Navy. The ship was commissioned as the USS George Washington and she sailed with her first load of American troops in December 1917. The ship was carrying around 48,000 passengers to France and returning about 34,000 back to the United States. The George Washington also carried U.S. President Woodrow Wilson to France twice for the Paris Peace Conference.

The USS George Washington was decommissioned in 1920 and handed over the United States Shipping Board where it was then reconditioned for passenger service. The newly reverted SS George Washington cruised in transatlantic passenger services for both the United States Mail Steamship Company and United State Lines for years to come. The ship was soon converted to oil boilers and then the ship was chartered to the U.S. Army as USAT George Washington and effectively cruised around the world in 1943. Later, the George Washington sailed in service to the United Kingdom from 1944 to 1947, and was laid up in Baltimore after ending her military duties. A severe fire in January of 1951 had damaged the ship badly and it was scrapped.

While crewmen aboard the George Washington were confident in their ship, they may have been endangered by a hazard onboard their own vessel that few could recognize at the time. Asbestos was used in nearly all areas of ship construction. The George Washington was no different. Asbestos was everywhere, particularly in insulation components and pipes or ducts within the ship. Those who worked in or around these areas, either in a ship crew or ship repair areas should be extremely careful of a possible exposure to asbestos material, which has been linked to a deadly cancer known as mesothelioma, as well as other respiratory diseases, and veterans diagnosed with mesothelioma should educate themselves regarding the many mesothelioma treatment options.

Last modified: December 09 2009.