Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Mercy (AH-4)
ex
USS Mercy (ID-1305) (1917 - 1920)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
World War I Victory Medal

Mercy Class Hospital Ship:

Built in 1907 as SS Saratoga for the Ward Line of New York City, by William Cramp and Sons, Philadelphia, PA.

Acquired by the War Department in 1917, for service as a transport

Purchased by the Navy from the War Department, 27 September 1917

Converted to a Hospital Ship at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Commissioned USS Mercy, 24 January 1918

USS Mercy served along the US East Coast until November 1918, then began the first of four trips to France to bring home casualties of the just-concluded First World War fighting

Designated (AH-4), 17 July 1920

Decommissioned, 1 December 1924 at Philadelphia, PA.

Recommissioned, 26 November 1925

Decommissioned, 23 March 1934 for loan to the Philadelphia branch of the Public Relief Administration

Struck from the Naval Register, 20 August 1938

Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 16 March 1939 to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore, MD.

Specifications:
Displacement 9,450 t.(lt)
Length 429' 10"
Beam 50' 2"
Draft 23' 4"
Speed 15 kts.
Complement 420
Patient Capacity 221
Propulsion system unknown

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Source
USS Mercy (ID-1305)
	99k	*USS Mercy* (ID-1305** in port, probably when first commissioned, circa early 1918. The harbor craft tied to her starboard side appears to be US Navy Floating Derrick No.5. US Navy photo # NH 60260 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center	Robert Hurst
	126k	*USS Mercy* (ID-1305** passing under the Brooklyn Bridge in early 1918, shortly after being placed in commission. US Navy photo # NH 46235 photographed by N.Moserfrom and from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center	Robert Hurst
	104k	*USS Mercy* (ID-1305** in port during World War I, while painted in "dazzle" type camouflage. The photograph is crudely color tinted. US Navy photo # NH 100914-KN from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center	Robert Hurst
	64k	*USS Mercy* (ID-1305** anchored at St. Nazaire, France, during 1918. US Navy photo # NH 46238 Photograph taken by E.J. Kelty and from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center	Robert Hurst
	52k	*USS Mercy* (ID-1305** alongside a wharf at Brest, France, during 1918. US Navy photo # NH 46237 Photograph taken by E.J. Kelty and from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center	Robert Hurst
	52k	*USS Mercy* (ID-1305** anchored off New York City, during World War 1. US Navy photo # NH 46239 Photograph taken by E.J. Kelty and from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center	Robert Hurst
	63k	*USS Mercy* (ID-1305** underway, date and location unknown.	Submitted by Elaine C. Witty, Charpentier, photo from the collection of Gerald M. Charpentier
	68k	*USS Mercy* (ID-1305** at anchor, date and location unknown. Photo from "U.S. Warships of World War One", courtesy Paul H. Silverstone.	Robert Hurst
	63k	Motor launch comes alongside *USS Mercy* (ID-1305)** to transfer patients, circa 1918. Note embarkation ladder US Navy photo # NH 2674-B.	US Naval Historical Center
	75k	Bringing patients aboard *USS Mercy* (ID-1305)** from a motor launch, circa 1918. Note embarkation ladder. US Navy photo # NH 2674-A.	US Naval Historical Center
	76k	*USS Mercy* (ID-1305)** crew members at St. Nazaire, France, pose with a loan "thermometer", showing that the ship's crew has gone "over the top" with their subscriptions to the Victory Loan, circa late 1918 or early 1919. US Navy photo # NH 41735 by E.J. Kelty.	US Naval Historical Center
	57k	*USS Mercy* (ID-1305)** at anchor with a tug or minesweeper alongside, possibly in European waters at the conclusion of World War I.	Robert M. Cieri
	78k	*USS Mercy* (ID-1305** in harbor, circa 1919.at right, in a Pacific Coast harbor with several battleships and a Canadian destroyer either HMCS Patriot or HMCS Patrician in the foreground. US Navy photo # NH 69511 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center	Robert Hurst
	80k	*USS Mercy* (ID-1305)** at anchor circa 1919, location unknown. from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center	Robert Hurst
USS Mercy (AH-4)
	112k	*USS Mercy* (AH-4)** underway, 21 August 1922, place unknown.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret
	47k	*USS Mercy* (AH-4)** at San Pedro, CA., circa 1920s.	Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
	92k	*USS Mercy* (AH-4)** in port, circa the early 1920s. US Navy photo # NH 103246 from the collection of Commander Haines H. Lippincott, USN(ChC).	US Naval Historical Center
	59k	*USS Mercy* (AH-4)** at anchor, date and place unknown. US Navy photo	Naval Hospital Corps School Web Site
	116k	*USS Mercy* (AH-4)** at anchor, date and place unknown.	Submitted by Jon Burdett A Griffin photo
	71k	*USS Mercy* (AH-4) at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 22 May 1927. Note that Mercy** was not painted with hospital ship markings at that time. US National Archives photo # 80-G-175236 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.	US Naval Historical Center
	133k	*USS Mercy* (AH-4)** in harbor, circa 1927. The ship is painted white, without hospital ship markings. US Navy photo # NH 46234 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center	Robert Hurst
	69k	*USS Mercy* (AH-4) at anchor in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the submarine USS S-7 (SS-112)** passes off her starboard side, February 1928 US Navy photo # NH 41897 Photograph by Tauzin and from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center	Robert Hurst
	39k	*USS Mercy* (AH-4)** entering Vancouver Harbor, 5 August 1931. US Navy photo from DANFS.	Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.