# USS Consolation > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/USS_Consolation > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/USS_Consolation.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Consolation > Source revision: 1327302705 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) United States Navy hospital ship USS Consolation (AH-15) USS Consolation (AH-15) off Korea in May 1952 History United States Name Marine Walrus (1944) Consolation (1944–1960) Hope (1960–1974) Builder Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company at Chester, Pennsylvania Sponsored by Mrs. H. C. Wilson Acquired 30 August 1944 Commissioned 22 May 1945 Decommissioned 30 December 1955 Honors and awards 10 Battle stars for Korean War service Fate Scrapped 1975 General characteristics Class & type Haven-class hospital ship Displacement 11,141 tons (light) 15,000 tons (full load) Length 520 ft (160 m) Beam 71 ft 6 in (21.79 m) Draft 24 ft (7.3 m) Propulsion Geared turbine engines, single screw Speed 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) Capacity 802 beds Complement 564 **USS *Consolation* (AH-15)** was a [*Haven*-class](/source/Haven-class_hospital_ship) [hospital ship](/source/Hospital_ship) originally in service with the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) from 1945 to 1955. In 1960 she was chartered to the [People to People Health Foundation](/source/Project_HOPE) and renamed [SS *Hope*](/source/SS_Hope) and served for another 14 years until being scrapped in 1975. *Consolation* was built as *Marine Walrus* in 1944 by [Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.](/source/Sun_Shipbuilding_and_Dry_Dock_Co.), [Chester, Pennsylvania](/source/Chester%2C_Pennsylvania). Sponsored by Mrs. H. C. Wilson; acquired by the Navy 30 August 1944; converted at [Bethlehem Steel Co](/source/Bethlehem_Steel)., [Hoboken, New Jersey](/source/Hoboken%2C_New_Jersey); and commissioned 22 May 1945. With a bed capacity of 802 and a complement of 564, *Consolation* joined the Pacific Fleet to provide hospital services, consultation, preventive medicine and casualty evacuation. Arriving on station in the [Pacific](/source/Pacific) after [Victory over Japan Day](/source/Victory_over_Japan_Day), *Consolation* was assigned to establish a shore screening station and field hospital to screen Allied [POWs](/source/POW) at [Wakayama](/source/Wakayama_(city)), [Honshū](/source/Honsh%C5%AB). She transferred 1,062 [POWs](/source/POW) to [Okinawa](/source/Okinawa_Island) and returned to serve as the base hospital for [Honshū](/source/Honsh%C5%AB) and then [Nagoya](/source/Nagoya), Japan during the Allied occupation of Japan. *Consolation* returned to San Francisco to undergo a brief overhaul from 23 November 1945 until 6 December 1945. From March until October 1946 she served as a transport from the canal zone to New York. From October 1946 she remained in commission, although inactive, until the outbreak of the Korean War. [Navy nurse](/source/United_States_Navy_Nurse_Corps) and patients in Ward C-3, 1950 Departing Norfolk 14 July 1950, *Consolation* arrived at [Korea](/source/Korea) 16 August to care for the wounded until 6 April 1954. During this conflict she was the first hospital ship outfitted with a helicopter landing pad, 60 feet (18 m) in length, during 1951. In August she participated in [Operation "Passage to Freedom"](/source/Operation_Passage_to_Freedom) to return French troops from Vietnam to France, then returning to [Korea](/source/Korea) until March 1955. She was decommissioned on 30 December 1955. *Consolation* received 10 [battle stars](/source/Battle_stars) for [Korean War](/source/Korean_War) service. On 16 March 1960 *Consolation* was chartered to the People to People Health Foundation and renamed SS *Hope*, an acronym for Health Opportunity for People Everywhere. She sailed in September 1960 on her first cruise to Indonesia bringing modern medical treatment and training to that country. Later cruises to underdeveloped areas of the world included South Vietnam, Peru, Ecuador, Guinea, Nicaragua, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Jamaica, and Brazil. *Hope* was retired in 1974 after eleven voyages. ## References - *This article incorporates text from the [public domain](/source/Public_domain)*[Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships](/source/Dictionary_of_American_Naval_Fighting_Ships)*. The entry can be found [here](https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/consolation.html).* - This article incorporates [public domain material](/source/Copyright_status_of_works_by_the_federal_government_of_the_United_States) from [*Consolation* (AH-15)](https://www.nvr.navy.mil/nvr/getHull.htm?shipId=3270) at the *[Naval Vessel Register](/source/Naval_Vessel_Register)*. - Boone, Joel T., VADM (May–June 2001). ["Birth of the Helo Deck"](https://archive.org/stream/NavyMedicineVol.92No.3May-june2001/NavyMedicine2001-05#page/n25/mode/2up). *Navy Medicine*. **92** (3): 24–27.{{[cite journal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_journal)}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_multiple_names:_authors_list)) v t e Haven-class hospital ships Haven Benevolence Tranquillity Consolation Repose Sanctuary Preceded by: USS Refuge Followed by: USS Rescue List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy v t e Type C4-S-B ships C4-S-B1 Marine Eagle C4-S-B2 Marine Angel Marine Beaver Marine Devil Marine Dolphin Marine Dragon Marine Fox Marine Hawk Marine Lion Marine Owl Marine Panther Marine Raven Marine Robin Marine Walrus Marine Wolf C4-S-B5 Aquarama Marine Arrow Marine Fiddler Marine Flyer Marine Runner --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [USS Consolation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Consolation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Consolation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.