The USS Solace (AH-5) was originally built in 1927 as the passenger liner SS Iroquois by Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Newport News, Virginia. As a civilian vessel, she served as a passenger ship and was chartered in 1931 by the Los Angeles Steamship Company to fill in on the Los Angeles-San Francisco-San Diego route. The ship passed through the Panama Canal twice in 1931, from June to December. Acquired by the U.S. Navy from Clyde Mallory Steamship Line on 22 July 1940, she was renamed USS Solace (AH-5) and converted into a hospital ship at Atlantic Basin Iron Works, Brooklyn, N.Y. She was commissioned on 9 August 1941 under the command of Captain Benjamin Perlman. The vessel was an unarmed hospital ship, painted white with red crosses, and played a notable role during the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Despite her inability to participate in combat, she evacuated wounded from the battleship Arizona and other damaged ships, capturing a historic moment during the attack. Throughout World War II, USS Solace primarily served as a mobile hospital, operating across the Pacific theater. She was stationed at key locations such as Pago Pago, Tongatapu, Auckland, and various islands including Espiritu Santo, Roi, Saipan, Eniwetok, Guam, and Iwo Jima. She provided medical care and evacuated thousands of wounded from major campaigns, including the Battle of Tarawa, the Mariana Islands, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Her capacity was often exceeded during intense periods of combat, evacuating hundreds of casualties at a time. USS Solace's service was distinguished by her role in saving lives amidst fierce battles, earning her seven battle stars for her wartime contributions. After the war, she participated in Operation Magic Carpet, repatriating U.S. veterans, before being decommissioned in March 1946. She was later sold to Turkish Maritime Lines in 1948 and renamed SS Ankara. During dismantling, her x-ray room was found to contain lead, which was repurposed for the construction of a mosque in Istanbul. The vessel remains a significant example of the U.S. Navy’s wartime hospital fleet, symbolizing medical aid and humanitarian service during World War II.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.