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SS BELLE OF THE WEST

Posted by MARIE on December 26, 2009, 7:48 pm

I found a bunch of pictures of the crew and ship SS Belle of the West, 1944 in Los Negros Manus ..The men are named in the picture and it looks like a Liberty ship...I can not find and mention of this ship. I'd love to see if any of the crew are still alive and get these pict to them or to a place they can be saved. Thank you Marie

Re: SS BELLE OF THE WEST

Posted by Jim Leedle on June 7, 2015, 10:52 pm, in reply to "SS BELLE OF THE WEST"

I served in the engine room on the Belle from Oct44 to Mar 45

Re: SS BELLE OF THE WEST

Posted by Rick Pitz on December 27, 2009, 11:30 am, in reply to "SS BELLE OF THE WEST"

Hi.

A little bit of background on the Belle of the West. She was a type C2 general purpose cargo ship. She was specifically a type C2-S-B1, of which there were 123 built, with a gross weight of 6,230 tons. Not sure which shipyard built the Belle of the West, as the C2-S-B1 was built in three different yards (2 in Calif and one in NJ).

Many of the C2 ships, like the Belle of the West, were named after early Clipper Ships (the Clipper Ship Belle of the West was launched in late 1850's).

As you indicated, there is little info on this ship. Many of the C2's were acquired by the Army and the Navy and renamed during the war, and that was my first thought about the Belle of the West. However, the Armed Guard Web site has several entries for Armed Guards who indicated that they served on the Belle of the West, so she clearly operated as such during (at least) part of the war. The usual reliable sources for information (like www.convoyweb.org) do not contain info on her, so the above is the best info I can provide at this time.

Good luck hunting!

Rick

Re: SS BELLE OF THE WEST

Posted by Ron Carlson on December 30, 2009, 5:21 pm, in reply to "Re: SS BELLE OF THE WEST"

Further to Rick's message, BELLE OF THE WEST was built by Moore Dry Dock Company, Oakland, California, completed on July 8, 1944. In 1947 she was sold and renamed AGWIQUEEN, renamed again in 1949 to SEABORNE, to SANTA MARIANA in 1957, to SANTA CLARA in 1962, to THUNDERHEAD in 1963, and was finally scrapped in 1969. See http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/2large/inactive/moore.htm and scroll down to hull number 274.

As Rick suggests, the Armed Guard website lists several men who served in BELLE OF THE WEST: Roger B. Gookim, who served from April 1944 to March 1946, Leonard A. Keim, who served from July 1944 to April 1945, Sherman Laister and Jerome Simon who were aboard the ship in 1945, and Omar T. Smith, onboard February – September 1945. Do any of these names appear on the back of the photograph in question? Of course there would have been many other crew members, including the names you have. But tracing any of these men at this late date would be very difficult, even if any are still living.

Ron Carlson, Webmaster

Re: SS BELLE OF THE WEST

Posted by Patty on December 21, 2014, 5:45 pm, in reply to "Re: SS BELLE OF THE WEST"

Am doing some ancestry research and have a image of a page from the S.S. Belle of the West that left Port Said (Cairo) in May of 1946. My Dad was a passenger. How can I obtain more information? My Dad is the only name on the page titled, "LIST OF UNITED STATES CITIZENS" because he was born in the U.S. in 1910 but at some point, his Mom took him back to Italy (she died shortly thereafter and he was orphaned).

Re: SS BELLE OF THE WEST

Posted by MARIE on December 27, 2009, 12:38 pm, in reply to "Re: SS BELLE OF THE WEST"

Rick, thank you :-) I found a batch of photos from WWII. One of the photos has "The Crew of Bell of the West" 1944 with all their names on the back, also picts of them watching movies on the ship and fishing. I'd love to see if any of the guys still alive would like these. I also called the people who run a Victory ship on the East coast and left a message about the photos. I have a copy of the same pict they have on their web site, but again mine has all the names of the men in the photo. Again thank you so much for your quick response. I found these pict. years ago in an antique store in Lebec Calif. I hate the thought of history being destroyed. Marie Andrews

Re: SS BELLE OF THE WEST

Posted by Janet Williams on October 10, 2013, 5:29 pm, in reply to "Re: SS BELLE OF THE WEST"

I would love to have a copy of that picture. My dad served aboard her during WWII

Re: SS BELLE OF THE WEST

Posted by Gary Vincent on January 5, 2011, 10:10 am, in reply to "Re: SS BELLE OF THE WEST"

I know a former crew member of the Belle of the West. Mr. Bob Pasley of Bellevue, WA. He is now 84 years old. He was a crew member from the time it left the west coast. Bob was onboard when the ship was under attack at Okinawa. I am sure he would love to see a photo of his former crew members.
Gary

Re: SS BELLE OF THE WEST

Posted by marie andrews on January 5, 2011, 3:00 pm, in reply to "Re: SS BELLE OF THE WEST"

I would love to talk to him, I sent most of the photos to the Victory ship museum in Pennsylvania. They would also love to hear from him! please give him my phone number 213 215 0145 or e mail

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