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Identification Numbered Ships Photo Archive

Mercer (ID 3837)



Civilian call sign (1919):
Love - Pup - Jig - Nan
Freighter:

  • The first Mercer was built in 1918 by the Federal Shipbuilding Co., Hackensack River (Kearney), NJ
  • Acquired by the Navy 16 January 1919 and commissioned USS Mercer (ID 3837) the same day
  • Decommissioned 26 May 1919 at New Orleans, LA
  • Returned to the United States Shipping Board 3 June 1919
  • Transferred to Great Britain in 1941 and renamed Empire Kangaroo
  • Renamed Parthenia in 1946
  • Transferred to Italian registry in 1949 and renamed Erminia Mazzella
  • Renamed Pina Onorato in 1951
  • Scrapped in 1958 at La Spezia, Italy.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 13,130 t.
  • Length 411' 6"
  • Beam 55'
  • Draft 27'
  • Speed 10.5 kts.
  • Complement 60
  • Propulsion: Three single ended boilers, one 2,500shp General Electric steam turbine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    SS Mercer
    Mercer 316k Mrs. R. McGregor, sponsor of the Mercer, prepares to help launch the ship by striking the bow of the ship with the traditional bottle of Champaign in 1918 at the Federal Shipbuilding Company in Kearny, New Jersey
    Photo from the Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia, PA    		 Bill Gonyo
    Mercer 66k Photographed by Lionel Dottin, probably at the yard of her builder, Federal Shipbuilding Company, Kearney, New Jersey, after completion but before commencing her Naval service
    U. S. Navy photo NH 102029    		 Naval Historical Center
    Mercer 104k Photographed on 29 December 1918 by her builder, Federal Shipbuilding Company, Kearny, New Jersey
    National Archives photo from Shipscribe    		 Robert Hurst
    Mercer 41k Probably photographed around the time the ship was inspected by the Third Naval District in January 1919
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 105618
    Mercer 111k Photographed on 14 January 1919 by her builder, Federal Shipbuilding Company, Kearny, New Jersey
    National Archives photo from Shipscribe
    USS Mercer (ID 3837)
    Mercer 103k In drydock, possibly in a European port, 1919
    U. S. Navy photo NH 386    		 Naval Historical Center
    Mercer 82k View from off the ship's bow while she was in drydock, possibly in a European port, 1919. Note her anchor chains and what appears to be a paravane skeg attached to the lower part of her stem
    U.S. Navy photo NH 49901
    Mercer 80k Crewmen standing on the ship's fantail, 1919
    U.S. Navy photo NH 49902
    Mercer 111k Crewmen leaving the ship for liberty in a European port, 1919
    U. S. Navy photo NH 84504
    Mercer 111k Ship's officers standing beside her gangway, while she was drydocked in a European port, 1919
    U. S. Navy photo NH 84505
    SS Pina Onorato
    Mercer 1141k Underway between 1951 and 1958.
    Donation of Captain Stephen S. Roberts, USNR (Retired), 2008
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 105651    		 Robert Hurst
    View the Mercer (ID 3837)
    DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command website
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