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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Merrimack (T-AO-37)
ex
 USS Merrimack (AO-37) (1942 - ?)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - India - Hotel - Delta
 NIHD
JANAP Tactical Voice Radio Call Sign - Lilac (N)ovember - Section 6A of JANAP 119(F) 1968
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Second Row - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal (1) - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (4) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row- Navy Occupation Medal - National Defense Service Medal - Philippines Liberation Medal
Kennebec Class Fleet Oiler:
  • Laid down, 12 September 1940, as SS Caddo, a Maritime Commission type T2-SO) tanker hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 143), at Bethlehem Steel Shipyard, Sparrows Point, MD.
  • Launched, 1 July 1941
  • Acquired by the US Navy from Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., New York City, N.Y., 31 December 1941
  • Renamed Merrimack 9 January 1942
  • Commissioned USS Merrimack (AO-37), 4 February 1942, CAPT. William E. Hilbert, USN in command
  • During World War II USS Merrimack was first assigned to the Europe-Africa-Middle East Theater and later to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign
    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    North African occupation
    Algeria - Morocco landings, 9 to 11 November 1942     		Luzon operation
    Formosa attacks, 3 to 4, 15 and 21 January 1945
    Luzon attacks, 6 and 7 January 1945
    China Coast attacks, 16 January 1945
      Iwo Jima operation
    Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 16 February to 2 March 1945
      Okinawa Gunto operation
    5th and 3d Fleet raids in support of Okinawa Gunto operation, 26 March to 3 June 1945
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 4 to 21 June 1945
      3rd Fleet operations against Japan,, 10 to 29 July 1945

    Following World War II USS Merrimack was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    2 September to 11 December 194513 to 26 December 1946
    11 May to 26 July 194616 to 18 November 1948
    13 December 1946 to 12 December 1947 
    1 to 11 May 1948 
    23 to 26 November 1948 

  • Decommissioned, 8 February 1950
  • Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Texas Group, Orange, TX.
  • Recommissioned, 6 December 1950
  • Assigned to Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), date unknown, designation remained USS hull number changed to T-AO-37, Navy commander in command
  • Decommissioned, 20 December 1954 at San Diego, CA.
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 4 February 1959
  • USS Merrimack earned five battle stars for World War II service
  • Transferred, to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX.
  • Final Disposition, disposed of by MARAD (Trade-In Exchange Program), 29 March 1982, to Eckhart & Co., scrapped in Germany
    Specifications:
    Displacement 6,013 t.(lt) 21,580 t.(fl)
    Length 501' 5"
    Beam 68'
    Draft 30' 9"
    Speed 16.7 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 19
    Enlisted 220
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    four single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    four twin 20mm AA gun mounts
    Largest Boom Capacity 5 t.
    Cargo Capacity 14,750 DWT
    Oil 109,600 Bbls
    Gasoline 689,000 Gals
    Fuel Capacity
    NSFO 9,860 Bbls
    Propulsion
    one Westinghouse geared turbine
    two Foster Wheeler "P" type boilers, 420psi 725°
    double Westinghouse Main Reduction Gears
    Ship's Service Generators
     one turbo-drive 50Kw 240V D.C.
     two turbo-drive 300Kw 240V A.C.
    single propeller, 12,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed By
    Merrimack
    091903729    		 229k
    Namesake
    Merrimack - The Merrimack River (or Merrimac an occasional earlier spelling) is a 117-mile-long 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 Gulf of Maine at Newburyport.
    The Merrimack River at Pembroke, New Hampshire
    Map of the Merrimack River watershed. created based on USGS data by ©Karl Musser.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Merrimack 83k USS Merrimack (AO-37) underway off the east coast of the United State, 8 October 1943.
    US National Archives photo 80-G-87115, a US Navy photo from the collections NARA II.    		 Tracy White
    Merrimack 091903730 177k USS Merrimack (AO-37) underway off the coast of the United State, 10 December 1943.
    US National Archives 80-G-212221 a US Navy photo taken by an airship from LTA Squadron ZP-22 from NAS Houma, LA., now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Rick Davis
    Merrimack 43k USS Merrimack (AO-37) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo         		William Toohey for his father
    Bill Toohey SK1, USN 1947, USS Merrimack
    Merrimack 125k USS Merrimack (AO-37) at anchor, circa 1945, location unknown.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command, photo # NH 73251, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green and Robert Hurst
    Merrimack
    091903727    		 368k Aerial view of USS Merrimack (AO-37) about to pass under the Golden Gate Bridge while entering San Francisco Bay. Note Camp Kirby Cove, Marin County in the background, circa 1946-47.
    U.S. Navy photo from the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum    		 Darryl Baker and
    Tommy Trampp
    Merrimack 091903731 150k USS Merrimack (AO-37) underway alongside USS Hornet (CV-12), circa March 1945.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-308209, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Rick Davis
    Merrimack
    091903728    		 171k USS Merrimack (AO-37) refueling USS Ticonderoga (CV-14), 21 July 1945, in TG38.3.
    Photo by George Silk, Life Magazine. Used for educational and non-commercial purpose.    		 John Chiquoine
    USS Merrimack (AO-37)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Hilbert, William Edward, USN (USNA 1919) 4 February 1942 - 25 September 1943
    02CDR. MacKerracher, Robert Archibald, USN (USNA 1923)25 September 1943 - 24 September 1944
    03CAPT. Bailey, Vaughan, USN Ret. (USNA 1912)24 September 1944 - April 1946
    04CAPT. Zemmer, Harold Maurice, USN (USNA 1927) :RADMApril 1946 - April 1947
    05CDR. Thurston Jr., Charles Edward, USN (USNA 1934)1949 - 2 August 1950
     Decommissioned2 August 1950 - 6 December 1950
    06LCDR. Talbot Jr., Wallace Lee, USN1954 - 20 December 1954
    07CDR. Turner, Thomas Andrew, USN (USNA 1941)? - 29 November 1957
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Fleet Tankers Association
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    USS Merrimack (AO-37) 1947 Around the World Cruise
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 15 December 2023