PRESIDENT JACKSON APA 18

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

President Jackson Class Transport Keel Laid 2 October 1939 - Launched 7 June 1940 Delivered to American President Lines 25 October 1940 Acquired by US Navy 30 June 1941 USS PRESIDENT JACKSON AP-37 Commissioned Transport (AP) 16 January 1942 USS PRESIDENT JACKSON APA-18 Reclassified Attack Transport (APA) 1 February 1943 USNS PRESIDENT JACKSON T-AP-18 Transferred to Military Sea Transportation Service 22 October 1949 Decommissioned 6 July 1955 Struck from Naval Register 1 October 1958 Transferred 1 December 1958 to Maritime Commission for disposal Sold 23 April 1973 for scrap - Delivered 15 May 1973

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. USS President Jackson AP-37 Covers Page 1     (1942-1943)
2. USS President Jackson APA-18 Covers Page 1     (1943-1948)
3. USS President Jackson T-APA-18 Covers Page 1     (1949-1955)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

---

Post Office Established 2 February 1942 - Disestablished 1 February 1955

 

Locy Type FDPS 3 (A-BTT)

1942-02-04

AP-18. First Day of Postal Service, cachet by Tazewell G. Nicholson. From the Bob Govern collection.

 

Locy Type FDPS 3z (BTB)

1942-02-04

AP-18. First Day of Postal Service, cachet by Tazewell G. Nicholson. From the Bob Govern collection.

 

Locy Type 2f(nu) USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. P-46

1948-08-03

APA-18. Add-on cachet by Michael Hebert (Mh Cachets)

 

Locy Type 2t(nu)

1947-11-20

APA-18

 

Locy Type 2z

1946-11-08

APA-18

 

Locy Type 2z*

1944-04-07

APA-18. Censored, WWII use

 

Locy Type 3 (A-BTT)

1947-04-15

APA-18

 

Locy Type 3z (BTB)

1942-05-01

AP-37

 

Locy Type 9efu ("U.S." President Jackson)

1946-10-30

As APA-18. Cachet by Walter G. Crosby

 

Locy Type 9v

1943-05-10

APA-18. Mark from the back of the cover.

 

Locy Type 9x

1946-11-08

APA-18

 

Locy Type Fz USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. P-46a

1943-12-21

APA-18. Censored, WWII use

 

Locy Type PPBz USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. P-46b

1943-05-10

APA-18

 

Locy Type SL

1942-02-04

AP-18. First Day of Postal Service, cachet by Tazewell G. Nicholson. From the Bob Govern collection.

 

Other Information

USS PRESIDENT JACKSON earned the Combat Action Ribbon (2 awards), the Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon (8 awards), the China Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 9 Battle stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp), the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal w/ 4 Battle stars, the Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon, the Philippines Liberation Medal (2 awards), the United Nations Service Medal and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - Andrew Jackson (15 March 1767 – 8 June 1845)
Jackson was the seventh President of the United States (1829–1837). He was military governor of Florida (1821), commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans (1815), and eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy. A polarizing figure who dominated American politics in the 1820s and 1830s, his political ambition combined with widening political participation, shaping the modern Democratic Party. His legacy is now seen as mixed, as a protector of popular democracy and individual liberty, checkered by his support for Indian removal and slavery. Renowned for his toughness, he was nicknamed “Old Hickory”. As he based his career in developing Tennessee, Jackson was the first president primarily associated with the American frontier.

The ships sponsor was Mrs. William G. McAdoo.

 

---

 

If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.

 

---

Copyright 2026 Naval Cover Museum