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USNS General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116)
ex
 USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116) (1944 - 1946)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Victor - Romeo
 NJVR

USS General M. C. Meigs was manned by the US Coast Guard during World War II
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe Africa Middle East Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Second Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Europe and Asia clasps) - National Defense Service Medal
Third Row - Korean Service Medal (6) - United Nations Service Medal - Republic of Korean War Service Medal (retroactive)
General John Pope Class Transport:
  • Laid down, 22 September 1943, as a Maritime Commission type (P2-S2-R2) hull under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 674) at Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Kearny, N.J.
  • Launched, 13 March 1944
  • Acquired by the US Navy, 2 June 1944
  • Commissioned USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116), 3 June 1944, at Bayonne, N.J., CAPT. George W. McKean, USCG, in command
  • Decommissioned, 4 March 1946, at San Francisco, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register (date unknown)
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal
  • Custody assigned by the Maritime Commission to American President Lines
  • Reacquired by the Navy, 21 July 1950
  • Placed in service with the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) as USNS General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116)
  • During the Korean War USNS General M. C. Meigs participated in the following campaigns:
    Korean War Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Communist China Spring Offensive
    22 to 23 May 1951     		Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952
    13 to 16 May 1952
    5 to 6 July 1952
    15 August 1952
    25 to 27 November 1952
    UN Summer-Fall Offensive
    31 August to 1 September 1951
    8 to 9 October 1951
    17 to 18 November 1951     		Third Korean Winter
    9 to 10 January 1953
    27 to 28 February 1953
    2 to 3 March 1953
    21 to 22 April 1953
    Second Korean Winter
    4 to 5 April 1952     		Korean Summer-Fall 1953
    9 to 10 June 1953
    26 to 27 July 1953

  • Placed in reduced operational status in 1955
  • Placed out of service and transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 1 October 1958, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, WA.
    During 1971-72 the Olympic Reserve Fleet was phased out and Murphy Pacific Marine Salvage Company was
    contracted to tow Meigs to San Francisco. With Meigs under tow USNS Gear (T-ARS-34) reached the
    Pacific Ocean, just west of Cape Flattery, at 0300, 9 January 1972. Wind and high seas (a force 8 gale) caused the
    tow to sever setting Meigs adrift. Despite efforts of the crew of Gear and the Coast Guard, Meigs continued to drift,
    stranding on a rocky ledge breaking in two around a large rock pinnacle about 7 miles south of Cape Flattery at
    Portage Head. at approximately 48°16N 124°40W.
  • USNS General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116) received six battle stars for Korean War service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 11,450 t.(lt) 20,175 t.(fl)
    Length 622' 7"
    Beam 75' 6"
    Draft 25' 6"
    Speed 20.6 kts.
    Complement 465
    Troop Accommodations 5,142
    Armament
    four single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mounts
    sixteen 1.1" guns replaced by twenty single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Propulsion steam turbines, twin shafts, 17,000hp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USS General M.C. Meigs (AP-116)
    General M C Meigs 79k
    Namesake

    Montgomery Cunningham Meigs, born in Augusta, Ga., 3 May 1816, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1836. He served with the Corps of Engineers for a quarter of a century and in 1861 became Quartermaster General. In addition to equipping and supplying the Union Armies during the Civil War, General Meigs supervised the construction of the Washington Aqueduct and the dome and wings of the United States Capitol. After the Civil War, he was a member of the Commission for the Reform and Reorganization of the Army. General Meigs retired in 1882 and died in Washington, D.C., 2 January 1892.
    Digital ID: cwpbh 03709 Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs    		 Bill Gonyo
    General M C Meigs 114k Aerial view of USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116) underway in Hampton Roads, VA., 4 July 1944, soon after completion. Photographed from an aircraft assigned to Naval Air Station, Hampton Roads.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-235158 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 Robert Hurst
    General M C Meigs 66k Aerial view of USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116) underway in Hampton Roads, VA., 4 July 1944, soon after completion. Photographed from an aircraft assigned to Naval Air Station, Hampton Roads.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-235159 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    General M C Meigs 84k Aerial view of USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116) underway in Hampton Roads, VA., 4 July 1944, soon after completion.
    US Navy photo # NH 104632 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, Military Sealift Command collection.    		 Robert Hurst
    General M C Meigs 46k Aerial view of USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116) underway in the Atlantic Ocean east of Norfolk, VA. (position 36 56'N, 74 54'W), on 10 July 1944, while outbound on her first troop-carrying voyage. Photographed by an aircraft from Blimp Squadron 24 (ZP-24), based at Naval Air Station Weeksville, N.C.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-239229 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 Robert Hurst
    General M C Meigs 44k USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116), docked at the North Side Pier 4, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, Newport News, VA.; just prior to sailing.
    Official US Army photo produced by US Army Signal Corps, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, 5 July 1944. Photo now in the collections of the Library of Virginia. Image No. C2:2/20/011.    		 The Library of Virginia, US Army Signal Corps Photograph Collection
    General M C Meigs 46k USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116), (HR-524), in the stream off Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, Newport News, VA.
    Official US Army photo produced by US Army Signal Corps, Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, 1 September 1944. Photo now in the collections of the Library of Virginia. Image No. C2:2/20/020.    		 The Library of Virginia, US Army Signal Corps Photograph Collection
    General M C Meigs 127k USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116) at anchor, date and location unknown. Capt Jerry Mason USN
    General M C Meigs 114k USS General M. C. Meigs (AP-116) arriving in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 18 July 1945. Aboard were 4,931 Brazilian Air Force and Army troops. At right is Sugar Loaf Mountain. Photo from Capt Jerry Mason USN
    Description from Luis Gabriel, Brazil
    USNS General M.C. Meigs (T-AP-116)
    General M C Meigs 68k USNS General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116) after she joined Military Sea Transportation Service in July 1950 and before she received a modernization beginning in September 1953. Her appearance is little changed from World War II except for the removal of her armament.
    US Navy photo # NH 104661 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    General M C Meigs 62k USNS General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116) crew conducting an abandon ship drill while pierside at Seattle, WA., 1 November 1950. Note the metal life boat in the foreground.
    US Navy photo # NH 104662 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 Robert Hurst
    General M C Meigs 62k USNS General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116) moored pierside between July 1950 and September 1953, probably at Seattle, Washington, where she was based. Photographed by Balint. The original contemporary photo caption reads: "First M.S.T.S. North Pacific ship on which Naval Reserve of the 13th Naval District inaugurated training program enabling Volunteer Reservists to hold regularly scheduled drills was the U.S. Naval Ship (General M.C.) Meigs. Reservists earn points for promotion and retirement."
    US Navy photo # NH 104663 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    General M C Meigs 63k USNS General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116) "Cracks along under the Golden Gate Bridge, outward bound for the Far East," (quoted from the original caption released by Military Sea Transportation Service, Pacific). The photograph was taken between July 1950 and September 1953 from the south tower of the bridge.
    US Navy photo # NH 104664 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    General M C Meigs 62k USNS General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116) being assisted by three Army harbor tugs, 21 November 1950, probably at Seattle, WA. Except for the removal of armament, her appearance is little changed from World War II. She retains her wartime outfit of lifeboats served by Welin davits.
    US Navy photo # NH 104631 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, Military Sealift Command collection.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    General M C Meigs 65k USNS General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116) in San Francisco Bay, 26 January 1953, with a harbor tug standing by to assist.
    US Navy photo # NH 104665 by JO2 Troutt of the Military Sea Transportation Service, Pacific, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    General M C Meigs 102k USNS General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116) underway sometime between completion of her modernization in February 1954 and the conclusion of her last major voyage in May 1955. Note the large empty gun position forward and the rearranged lifeboats amidships.
    US Navy photo # NH 104629 by Chris Minerich of the Fort Lawton Photo Shop, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 Robert Hurst
    General M C Meigs 73k USNS General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116) underway sometime between completion of her modernization in February 1954 and the conclusion of her last major voyage in May 1955. Note the large empty gun position forward and the rearranged lifeboats amidships.
    US Navy photo # NH 104630 by Chris Minerich of the Fort Lawton Photo Shop, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 Robert Hurst
    General M C Meigs 85k Ex-General M. C. Meigs (T-AP-116) broken in two, on the rocks off Cape Flattery in January 1972. Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    View the USS / USNS General MC Meigs (AP-116 / T-AP-116)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office - General M. C. Meigs AP-116
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 2 May 2008