John B. Lennon was operated by the Smith-Johnson Steamship Corporation under a charter with the Maritime Commission and War Shipping Administration.

[9] In late July 1944 she shifted her operations to sail in convoys between ports on the southern coast of England and the Baie de la Seine in northern France.

She then transited the Suez Canal and sailed independently through the Red Sea to Aden, then up the Persian Gulf to spend some time at Khorramshahr, Iran.

Finally, between August and December 1945 the ship made two voyages between ports in the United States, and France, Italy and North Africa,[5] presumably as part of Operation Magic Carpet, the effort to return millions of U.S. troops home.

John B. Lennon was sold into commercial service in 1947, and under her new owners the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF) was renamed Strasbourg.