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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Merak (AF-21)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Bravo - Romeo - Sierra NBRS

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal

Mizar Class Stores Ship:

Laid down, date unknown, as the Passenger Liner SS Veragua at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Quincy, MA., for United Fruit Co.

Delivered to United Fruit Co, 5 August 1932

Acquired by the US Navy, 20 March 1942

Converted for Naval service at Todd Galveston Dry Dock Co., Galveston, TX.

Commissioned USS Merak (AF-21), 8 May 1942, at Galveston, CDR. Lawrence E. Divoll USN in command

Decommissioned, 21 June 1946, at New York, N.Y.

Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown

Returned to United Fruit Co., 21 June 1946, name reverted to SS Veragua

Sold in December 1958 to Elder & Fyffes, reflagged Great Britian

Renamed SS Sinaloa, 2 October 1964

Final Disposition, scrapped at Ghent, Belgium in March 1965

Specifications:
Displacement 7,068 t.(lt) 14,875 t.(fl)
Length 447' 10"
Beam 60'
Draft 24' 6"
Speed 19 kts. (max)

Cargo Capacity 2,030 DWT

refrigerated 147,180 Cu ft
Complement

Officers 18

Enlisted 220

Largest Boom Capacity 5 t.
Armament

one single 5"/51 cal gun mount

three single 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts

eight single 20mm AA gun mounts
Fuel Capacity NSFO 8,900 Bbls

Propulsion

two General Electric turbo-electric engines

three Babcock and Wilcox header-type boilers, 350psi 366°

three turbo-drive 500Kw 240 V D.C. Ship's Service Generators

two propellers, 11,000shp

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Source
USS Merak (AF-21)
	30k	*USS Merak* (AF-21)** underway, date and location unknown.	The 100th Infantry Division web site.
	124k	*USS Merak* (AF-21)** underway, 23 June 1943, location unknown. US Navy photo.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
	76k	*USS Merak* (AF-21)** off Norfolk Navy Yard, 20 September 1944. The two single 3"/50 guns on deck forward have been replaced by a single 3"/50 on a raised platform. US National Archives, RG-19-LCM, photo # 19-N-73129, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.	Robert Hurst
Merchant Service United Fruit Co. Elder & Fyffes Lines
09062108	247k	Post card image of United Fruit Co.'s cargo/passenger liner SS Veragua, pre or post WWI underway, date unknown. Photo from www.flickriver.com by photolibrarian	John Spivey
	168k	Elder & Fyffes' SS Sinaloa under way with the assistance of a tug, date and location unknown.	Gerhard Mueller-Debus
	267k	SS Sinaloa under way in harbor, date and location unknown.	Gerhard Mueller-Debus
	174k	SS Sinaloa moored pierside, date and location unknown.	Gerhard Mueller-Debus

USS Merak (AF-21)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	CDR. Divoll, Lawrence Eliott USN (USNA 1921-b)	8 May 1942 - 29 May 1942
02	CDR. Beattie, Thomas Tylor USN (USNA 1922)	29 May 1942 - 13 June 1943
03	LCDR. Cawthon, Joyce Clyde USN (USNA 1922)	13 June 1943 - ?
04	LCDR. Turpin, Edward Allen USNR	2 September 1944 - ?
05	LCDR. Ferrell, Frank Patten USNR	25 June 1945 - 5 January 1946
06	LCDR. Mangels, Merritt USNR	5 January 1946 - 21 June 1946


Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves

Crew Contact And Reunion Information
U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
MARAD Vessel History Database

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Back To The Stores Ship (AF) Photo Index

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 15 September 2023