Talk:USS George F. Elliott (AP-105)

An interesting example

The history of the Delta Line's Delbrasil illustrates one of the less understood aspects of "civilian types" in USN service during the war. Some were never "owned" by the Navy even though commissioned and fully Navy manned. It also illustrates some of the interactions between the United States Maritime Commission (MC) and its wartime "sibling," the War Shipping Administration (WSA) that were closely related during the war under their common head, Emory S. Land. This particular ship was the result of close cooperation of the corporate officials and MC in the MC fleet renovation program. The cited July 1940 issue of Pacific Marine Review notes the cooperation in building the first new cargo passenger liner meeting new regulations, customized for Delta Line's route and operations. Then came the war and all oceanic commercial vessels came under WSA powers to allocate with WSA taking title to some hulls for the MC. At war's end WSA dissolved and MC assumed the ownership role. Thus Delbrasil was built under MC sponsorship, owned and operated by the company operating as Delta Lines, taken over by WSA under wartime powers with Delta Lines as WSA's agent (a common arrangement) and then allocated to the Navy with the company retaining ownership, despite commissioning and renaming, until title was transferred to WSA on 4 February 1944. On dissolution of WSA the ship's title remained with the MC until sold private 22 December 1948. Then, just under four years later, on 22 September 1960, the ship was a trade in to the then Maritime Administration on a new hull. Palmeira (talk) 15:38, 23 July 2014 (UTC)