Built in 1932 by Newport News Shipbuilding as a civilian passenger/cargo ocean liner for the Eastern Steamship Lines, the ship was in US coastal and Caribbean service prior to its acquisition by the US Maritime Administration in 1941.

[9] In 1941 the ship was being operated by the Alcoa Steamship Company in a route from New York to St. Thomas, Antigua, Trinidad and return by way of Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Croix, St.

One such event was the refusal of both the North African and European Theater commands to load helpless, non ambulatory, patients aboard unprotected ships subject to attack.

[18] On 30 March 1943, the Army's Surgeon General recommended Acadia be immediately registered as a hospital ship under the convention due to the urgency of the North African situation.

[19] On 6 May the State Department was notified of the designation and Acadia, not needing extensive conversion due to the previous ambulance ship role and requiring mainly new paint and markings.

[20] The quick conversion of Acadia is described by Private Martin Lipschultz: In June 1943 the Joint Chiefs of Staff had agreed that hospital ships would be the "normal means" of transporting helpless patients.

[22][23][note 1] Acadia, with a capacity for 788 patients and three surgical teams had no water ambulances was the larger of two hospital ships evacuating U.S. wounded from North Africa, but was too large to dock at Bizerte.