USAT J. W. McAndrew was a Type C3-P&C

Type C3 ship

Type C3 ships were the third type of cargo ship designed by the United States Maritime Commission in the late 1930s. As it had done with the Type C1 ships and Type C2 ships, MARCOM circulated preliminary plans for comment...

 troop ship for the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

The ship was built by the Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard of Baltimore in 1940 as SS Delargentino for the United States Maritime Commission

United States Maritime Commission

The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I...

 on behalf of the Mississippi Shipping Company in 1940. The ship was delivered to Mississippi Shipping in November 1940.

Delargentino was requisitioned by the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 as a transport

Cargo ship

A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...

 in June 1941 and would have been transferred to the Navy and named USS J. W. McAndrew (AP-47) in 1943, but this was cancelled. While serving as a U.S. Army transport ship in 1945, she collided with with the loss of several lives. Afterward, the ship was repaired, and eventually sold in 1948 to the Farrell Lines

Farrell Lines

Farrell lines Incorporated was named in 1948 after James A. Farrell Jr., and John J. Farrell, sons of James A Farrell Sr., president of US Steel. The company was previously known as American South African Lines . It was a passenger/cargo line in regular service from New York to South Africa...

 for commercial use under the name SS African Enterprise.

The ship was laid up as part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet

National Defense Reserve Fleet

The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...

 in October 1960, and was finally sold by the Maritime Administration (MARAD) on 9 April 1969. The ship was broken up

Ship breaking

Ship breaking or ship demolition is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for scrap recycling. Most ships have a lifespan of a few decades before there is so much wear that refitting and repair becomes uneconomical. Ship breaking allows materials from the ship, especially...

in Baltimore in February 1972.