USS Mercury

USS Mercury may refer to:

USS Mercury (ID-3012)

USS Mercury (ID-3012) was a United States Navy transport ship during World War I. She was formerly the Norddeutscher Lloyd liner SS Barbarossa built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, Germany, in 1897, and operated by the North German Lloyd Line.

At the outset of World War I the ship was interned by the United States and, when that country entered the conflict in 1917, was seized and converted to a troop transport. After decommissioning by the U.S. Navy, the ship was turned over to the Army Transport Service and then to the U.S. Shipping Board. She was sold for scrapping in February 1924.

History

SS Barbarossa

SS Barbarossa was built by Blohm & Voss, Hamburg, Germany, in 1896, for the North German Lloyd Line. She operated on both North Atlantic crossings and the Bremerhaven-Australia route.

With the outbreak of World War I, she took refuge in Hoboken, New Jersey, and was interned by the United States. She was seized when the United States entered the war 6 April 1917.

U.S. Navy transport

USS Mercury (AK-42)

USS Mercury (AK-42) was a cargo ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for delivering necessary goods and equipment to ships and stations in the war zone.

Service career

The fifth ship to be named Mercury by the Navy, AK-42 was launched as SS Lightning by Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Go., Kearny, New Jersey, 15 July 1939; sponsored by Mrs. Royal S. Copeland; purchased on the ways by Moore McCormack Lines and placed in operation by them as SS Mormactern 30 October 1940; acquired by the Navy 20 June 1941; converted, and commissioned as Mercury 1 July 1942, Lt. Comdr. G. W. Graber, Merchant Navy (United Kingdom), in command.

Throughout her World War II service, Mercury operated in the Pacific Ocean, beginning with long runs from the west coast to the South Pacific and ending with underway replenishments for the fast carrier forces. The converted merchantman completed her maiden wartime voyage at San Francisco, California, 27 September 1942 having carried a mixed cargo, which included drummed petroleum products, landing mats, dynamite, engineering equipment, and food, to Noumea and Guadalcanal. Over the next 15 months she continued to carry essential materiel to the South Pacific, supporting Allied forces as they pushed through the Solomons and the Gilberts.