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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS Meriwether (APA-203)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Papa - November - Kilo
 NPNK
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Haskell Class Amphibious Transport:
  • Laid down, 27 July 1944, as a Maritime Commission type (VC-2-S-AP5) hull under a Maritime Commission contract (MCV 671) at Kaiser Shipbuilding Corp, Vancouver, WA.
  • Launched, 18 October 1944
  • Commissioned USS Meriwether (APA-203), 7 December 1944, CAPT. Angus M. Cohan USN, in command
  • During World War II USS Meriwether was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    TransRon Twenty, COMO. H.W. Graf USN (15);
     TransDiv Fifty-Eight and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Okinawa Gunto operation
    Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, 1 to 5 April 1945

  • Following World War II USS Meriwether was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 2 September to 23 October 1945
  • Decommissioned, 14 August 1946, at San Francisco
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, Stockton, CA.
  • Permanent custody transferred to MARAD, 30 September 1958, laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Struck for the Naval Register, 1 October 1958
  • USS Meriwether earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 8 May 1975, to Union Minerals & Alloys, delivered, 20 June 1975
    Specifications:
    Displacement 6,873 t.(lt) 14,837 t (fl)
    Length 455'
    Beam 62'
    Speed 19 kts.
    Complement
    56 Officers
    480 Enlisted
    Troop Accommodations
    86 Officers
    1,475 Enlisted
    Cargo Capacity 2,900 DWT
    non-refrigerated 150,000 cu. ft
    Boats
    two LCMs
    one open LCPL
    one covered LCPL (Captain's Gig)
    two LCPRs
    eighteen LCVPs
    Armament
    one 5"/38 dual-purpose gun mount
    one quad 40mm AA gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    ten single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Propulsion
    one Allis-Chalmers geared turbine
    two Combustion Engineering header-type boilers
    three turbo-drive 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    single propeller, 8,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Meriwether 111k USS Meriwether (APA-203) preparing to refuel USS William J. Pattison (APD-104) before Meriwether and Pattison entered Tokyo Bay, 26 August 1945. Photos by James Ray Cannon USS William J. Pattison Cathy Petersen
    Meriwether 116k
    Meriwether 72k USS Meriwether (APA-203) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Eric L. Seibert in memory of his father
    Warren F. Seibert USS Meriwether
    Meriwether 135k USS Meriwether (APA-203) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Bob Holliday
    Meriwether 99k USS Meriwether (APA-203) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Bob Holliday
    Meriwether
    100320306    		 376k Top of deck house of USS Meriwether (APA-203) with USS Magoffin (APA-199) and USS Lubbock (APA- 197) forward of Meriwether on 1 August 1946 at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA.,all three being prepared for decommissioning.
    Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum, file name: APA 203 2787-46, US Navy Photo , 1 August 1946    		 Darryl Baker
    Meriwether
    100320307    		 298k Workmen building cover over USS Meriwether (APA-203) at Mare Island Navy Yard, 5 August 1946
    Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum, file name: APA 203 2788-46, US Navy Photo , 1 August 1946    		 Darryl Baker
    USS Meriwether (APA-203)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. Cohan, Angus Meade, USN (USNA 1921)7 December 1944 - 11 June 1946
    02LCDR. Wilson, Gerald Westley, USN11 June 1946 - 14 August 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
    Action Report - Landing of Occupation Forces, Nagasaki Japan, September 1945
    MARAD Vessel History Data Base
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Amphibious Ship Type Index Back To The Attack Transport (APA) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 1 January 2021