Built in 1941 by Stockton Construction, Thornaby-on-Tees, the Mark 2 LCT 147 took part in the Invasion of North Africa in June 1943.

[1] LCT 147 was decommissioned in 1946, and transferred to the Italian Navy but was sold to commercial service later that year until being acquired by the Mossad LeAliyah Bet.

In 1946, the ship was acquired by the Mossad LeAliyah Bet, one of the primary forces resisting the strict British immigration quotas from 1934 to 1948.

[1] On 17 September 1947, Af Al Pi Chen departed Formia, Italy with 434 holocaust survivors crowded on board.

She was heading toward the southern part of Palestine when she was detected by a British aircraft and 4 Royal Navy destroyers were dispatched.

Af Al Pi Chen was decommissioned in 1958 and in 1968, she was moved ashore and became the centerpiece of the Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum in Haifa.