A guide to the General Daniel L. Sultan (built 1943; transport) document collection, 1966-1968

Processed by: Historic Documents Department Staff (Bailey), March 2015.
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Building E, Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA 94123
Phone: 415-561-7030
Fax: 415-556-3540
SAFR_Historic_Documents@nps.gov
URL: http://www.nps.gov/safr
2015

A Guide to the General Daniel L. Sultan (built 1943; transport) document collection

HDC0377

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, National Park Service
2015, National Park Service

Title: General Daniel L. Sultan (built 1943; transport) document collection
Date: 1966-1968
Identifier/Call Number: HDC0377 (SAFR 17566)
Creator: Unknown
Physical Description: 1 linear ft.
Repository: San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Historic Documents Department
Building E, Fort Mason
San Francisco, CA 94123
Abstract: General Daniel L. Sultan (built 1943; transport) document collection (SAFR 17566, HDC 377) consists of materials from the United States Army Transport (U.S.A.T.) vessel. It contains thirteen 13 deck logs; damage reports; vessel plans; (food) recipe cards; two years of the ship's paper "The Sultan Gazette;" and miscellaneous ship papers. The deck logs are in oversized folders.The vessel was formerly known as the ADMIRAL W.S. BENSON. The collection is available for research use without restriction.
Physical Location: San Francisco Maritime NHP, Historic Documents Department
Language(s): In English.

Access

This collection is open for use unless otherwise noted.

Publication and Use Rights

Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the researcher's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

Processing Note

The descriptions in this collection guide were compiled using the best available sources of information. Such sources include the creator's annotations or descriptions, collection accession files, primary and secondary source material and subject matter experts. While every effort was made to provide accurate information, in the event that you find any errors in this guide please contact the reference staff in order for us to evaulate and make corrections to this guide.
Please cite the title and collection number in any correspondence with our staff.

Preferred Citation

[Item description], [Location within collection organization identified by Collection Number/Series Number/File Unit Number/Item Number], HDC0377 (SAFR 17566), General Daniel L. Sultan (built 1943; transport) document collection, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

Acquisition Information

SAFR-00001
This collection was transferred from Golden Gate National Recreation Area to San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.

Historical or Biographical Note

Decommissioned on June 3, 1946, and turned over to the Maritime Commission for disposal, the ADMIRAL W.S. BENSON was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 3 July 1946. It was then transferred to the Army Transport Service and renamed GENERAL DANIEL I. SULTAN in honor of the late General Daniel Isom Sultan, USA.
After operating with the Army Transport Service as USAT GENERAL DANIEL I. SULTAN, the ship was reacquired by the Navy on March 1, 1950 and reinstated on the Naval Vessel Register on the same day. Assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) as USNS GENERAL DANIEL I. SULTAN (T-AP-120), the transport, operating out of San Francisco, supported United Nations operations in Korea which came as a result of the North Korean invasion in June, 1950. She sailed from Sasebo for Pusan, South Korea, arriving on 31 July 1950, on her first run to that new war. She then returned to Yokohama, and sailed thence to San Francisco, reaching that port on 12 August.
She commenced her second trip to the Far East during the Korean War on 1 September and conducted two additional voyages during the fall and into the winter.
During 1951, GENERAL DANIEL I. SULTAN conducted nine voyages between San Francisco, the Hawaiian Islands, Marshalls, Guam and the Philippines; she maintained regular service to Far Eastern and Pacific ports in Japan, Okinawa, Guam, Formosa and the Philippines into the mid-1960s. Highlighting this period of service was the ship's coming to the aid of the typhoon-ravaged island of Guam.
During 1965, with increased American involvement in the war in Vietnam, the transport conducted troop lifts from San Francisco to Danang, South Vietnam, via Okinawa and Formosa (Taiwan). She departed her first troop lift on 2 August 1965, clearing San Francisco on that date and ultimately arriving at Danang on 28 August. Returning to San Francisco on 11 September, she conducted two more lifts before the year was out: the first to Vung Tau and the second to Qui Nhon. Over the first seven months of 1966, the GENERAL DANIEL I. SULTAN made cruises to ports in Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan and the Philippines.
Transferred to the custody of the Maritime Administration (MarAd) on 7 November 1968, for lay-up at the Suisun Bay reserve facility, GENERAL DANIEL I. SULTAN was transferred to that agency on 31 August 1969, and was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 9 October 1969. She was still at Suisun Bay, in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, into August 1987.

Collection Scope and Content

General Daniel L. Sultan (built 1943; transport) document collection (SAFR 17566, HDC 377) consists of materials from the United States Army Transport (U.S.A.T.) vessel. It contains thirteen 13 deck logs; damage reports; vessel plans; (food) recipe cards; two years of the ship's paper "The Sultan Gazette;" and miscellaneous ship papers. The deck logs are in oversized folders.The vessel was formerly known as the ADMIRAL W.S. BENSON. The collection is available for research use without restriction.

Collection Arrangement

The collection is arranged into 7 folders.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Logbooks
Ships--Maintenance and repair
Transports
United States. Army. Transportation Srv.
Logbooks