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USS Merrimack (AO-37)
Encyclopedia
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USS Merrimack (AO-37) (ex-Caddo) was one of five Kennebec
-class fleet oilers (also known as a type T2 tanker
) built during World War II
for service in the United States Navy
, named after the Merrimack River
.
The Merrimack was laid down as Caddo under Maritime Commission contract on 12 September 1940 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Sparrows Point, Maryland. It was launched on 1 July 1941 and acquired by the U.S. Navy from Socony-Vacuum Oil Company (later Mobil Oil) on 31 December 1941. She was renamed Merrimack on 9 January 1942, and commissioned 4 February 1942, Capt. William E. Hilbert in command.
to Montevideo
, Uruguay
, and from ports along the U.S. east coast to staging areas in the British Isles and the Mediterranean. Her primary duty was fueling the escorts which protected Allied convoys from German U-boat
s.
Merrimacks most memorable crossing began on 23 October 1942 from Hampton Roads
when she sailed with the Southern Attack Group of the Western Naval Task Force for "Operation Torch
", the invasion of North Africa. Twice during the passage she refueled the ships of the task force. A heavy storm broke on 4 November threatening the landings, but Admiral H. Kent Hewitt kept to the original plan. Its mission was to capture the harbor at Safi, Morocco
, to cut off French forces in southern Morocco
, and to enable the landing of General Patton's
tanks for operations against Casablanca
.
For more than a year and a half after the landings in Morocco, Merrimack carried oil to support operations in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and France. On her transatlantic voyages, besides oil, she carried passengers and a wide variety of equipment including PT boat
s, patrol craft, and aircraft. While steaming toward Casablanca on 22 June 1943, she joined minesweeper in rescuing 113 survivors from the Lot, a French oiler that had been torpedoed.
Merrimack departed Norfolk, Virginia
, on 14 October 1944 for the Panama Canal
and Ulithi
, arriving on 1 December. Allied forces were retaking the Philippines and preparing for operations even closer to the Japanese home islands. Merrimack joined the 3rd Fleet's At-Sea Logistics Support Group to fuel the fast carrier task force
. She began the new year supporting raids on Formosa
on 3 and 4 January 1945. The U.S. carriers struck enemy airbases on Luzon
, Philippines, on 6 and 7 January to help neutralize Japanese resistance to the invasion of that strategic island which began on the beaches of Lingayen Gulf
on the 9th. Naval aircraft which she supported returned to Formosa on the 15th and hit targets along the China coast the following day. They again lashed out at Formosa on the 21st.
From 16 February through 2 March, Merrimack supported the ships covering the landings on Iwo Jima
. During the fight for Okinawa, Merrimack alternated between fueling ships involved directly in the landings, and the aircraft carriers during raids to on the Japanese home islands.
After Okinawa was secured, the 3rd Fleet concentrated on operations against Japan itself. From 10 through 29 July 1945, Merrimack supported raids of overwhelming force on Japanese targets which hastened the end of the war. Following Japan's capitulation 15 August, Merrimack made several cruises between the west coast and the Far East bringing oil for ships supporting the occupation of Japan and operating along the coasts of China and Korea. She was assigned to Military Sea Transportation Service in October 1949, shortly before beginning pre-inactivation overhaul. Merrimack was decommissioned on 8 February 1950 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Orange, Texas
.
When North Korea
n forces invaded South Korea
in 1950, Merrimack was recommissioned on 6 December 1950. Assigned to MSTS, the fleet oiler served the Atlantic Fleet, making periodic deployments to the Mediterranean until she was decommissioned on 20 December 1954, and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego. She was stricken from the Navy List
on 4 February 1959, transferred to the Maritime Administration, and placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
at Beaumont, Texas
. The Merrimack was disposed of by MARAD exchange on 19 March 1982. It was sold to Eckhardt & Co. GmbH, Hamburg
, for scrapping, and delivered on 29 March 1982 at Beaumont.
Merrimack received eight battle stars for World War II service.
USS Merrimack (AO-37) (ex-Caddo) was one of five Kennebec
USS Kennebec (AO-36)
|-External links:...
-class fleet oilers (also known as a type T2 tanker
T2 tanker
The T2 tanker, or T2, was an oil tanker constructed and produced in large quantities in the United States during World War II. The largest "navy oilers" after the T3s at the time, nearly 500 of them were built between 1940 and the end of 1945....
) built during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
for service in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, named after the Merrimack River
Merrimack River
The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
.
The Merrimack was laid down as Caddo under Maritime Commission contract on 12 September 1940 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Sparrows Point, Maryland. It was launched on 1 July 1941 and acquired by the U.S. Navy from Socony-Vacuum Oil Company (later Mobil Oil) on 31 December 1941. She was renamed Merrimack on 9 January 1942, and commissioned 4 February 1942, Capt. William E. Hilbert in command.
Service history
Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, the new fleet oiler spent the next two and a half years steaming the Atlantic seaways carrying oil for Allied ships from Argentia, NewfoundlandArgentia, Newfoundland and Labrador
Argentia is a community on the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on a flat headland located along the southwest coast of the Avalon Peninsula on Placentia Bay...
to Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, and from ports along the U.S. east coast to staging areas in the British Isles and the Mediterranean. Her primary duty was fueling the escorts which protected Allied convoys from German U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s.
Merrimacks most memorable crossing began on 23 October 1942 from Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
when she sailed with the Southern Attack Group of the Western Naval Task Force for "Operation Torch
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started on 8 November 1942....
", the invasion of North Africa. Twice during the passage she refueled the ships of the task force. A heavy storm broke on 4 November threatening the landings, but Admiral H. Kent Hewitt kept to the original plan. Its mission was to capture the harbor at Safi, Morocco
Safi, Morocco
Safi is a city in western Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean. The capital of the Doukkala-Abda Region, it has a population of 282,227 , but is also the centre of an agglomeration which has an estimated 793,000 inhabitants ....
, to cut off French forces in southern Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, and to enable the landing of General Patton's
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
tanks for operations against Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
.
For more than a year and a half after the landings in Morocco, Merrimack carried oil to support operations in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and France. On her transatlantic voyages, besides oil, she carried passengers and a wide variety of equipment including PT boat
PT boat
PT Boats were a variety of motor torpedo boat , a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "Devil Boats".The original pre–World War I torpedo boats were...
s, patrol craft, and aircraft. While steaming toward Casablanca on 22 June 1943, she joined minesweeper in rescuing 113 survivors from the Lot, a French oiler that had been torpedoed.
Merrimack departed Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, on 14 October 1944 for the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
and Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
, arriving on 1 December. Allied forces were retaking the Philippines and preparing for operations even closer to the Japanese home islands. Merrimack joined the 3rd Fleet's At-Sea Logistics Support Group to fuel the fast carrier task force
Fast Carrier Task Force
The Fast Carrier Task Force was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific Ocean theatre of World War II.The Fast Carrier Task Force was known under two designations. The Navy made use of two sets of upper command structures for planning the upcoming operations...
. She began the new year supporting raids on Formosa
Formosa
Formosa or Ilha Formosa is a Portuguese historical name for Taiwan , literally meaning, "Beautiful Island". The term may also refer to:-Places:* Formosa Strait, another name for the Taiwan Strait...
on 3 and 4 January 1945. The U.S. carriers struck enemy airbases on Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, Philippines, on 6 and 7 January to help neutralize Japanese resistance to the invasion of that strategic island which began on the beaches of Lingayen Gulf
Lingayen Gulf
The Lingayen Gulf is an extension of the South China Sea on Luzon in the Philippines stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central...
on the 9th. Naval aircraft which she supported returned to Formosa on the 15th and hit targets along the China coast the following day. They again lashed out at Formosa on the 21st.
From 16 February through 2 March, Merrimack supported the ships covering the landings on Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
. During the fight for Okinawa, Merrimack alternated between fueling ships involved directly in the landings, and the aircraft carriers during raids to on the Japanese home islands.
After Okinawa was secured, the 3rd Fleet concentrated on operations against Japan itself. From 10 through 29 July 1945, Merrimack supported raids of overwhelming force on Japanese targets which hastened the end of the war. Following Japan's capitulation 15 August, Merrimack made several cruises between the west coast and the Far East bringing oil for ships supporting the occupation of Japan and operating along the coasts of China and Korea. She was assigned to Military Sea Transportation Service in October 1949, shortly before beginning pre-inactivation overhaul. Merrimack was decommissioned on 8 February 1950 and entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Orange, Texas
Orange, Texas
Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18,643. It is the county seat of Orange County, and is the easternmost city in Texas. Located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, it is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur...
.
When North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n forces invaded South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
in 1950, Merrimack was recommissioned on 6 December 1950. Assigned to MSTS, the fleet oiler served the Atlantic Fleet, making periodic deployments to the Mediterranean until she was decommissioned on 20 December 1954, and entered the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego. She was stricken from the Navy List
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 4 February 1959, transferred to the Maritime Administration, and placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
National Defense Reserve Fleet
The National Defense Reserve Fleet consists of "mothballed" ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States of America during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises.The NDRF is...
at Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
. The Merrimack was disposed of by MARAD exchange on 19 March 1982. It was sold to Eckhardt & Co. GmbH, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, for scrapping, and delivered on 29 March 1982 at Beaumont.
Merrimack received eight battle stars for World War II service.