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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Don Mc Grogan

USS Mercy (I) (AH-4)
ex
 USS Mercy (I) (ID #1305) (1917 - 1920)
 USAT Saratoga (1917)


International Radio Call Signs,

1917 - USS Mercy (ID#1305)
NKK
Nan - King - King
1931 - USS Mercy (AH-4)
NEKM
Negative - Easy - King - Mike
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

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, commissioned USAT Saratoga
  • 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, 6 August 1929 at Philadelphia
  • Loaned, 23 March 1934, 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
    eight single ended boilers
    two 4,250hp vertical triple expansion steam engines
    two shafts
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Merchant Service
    Mercy 93k SS Saratoga in port with a steam lighter and a small Dutch cargo ship alongside, circa 1917.
    US Navy photo # NH 105601 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command    		 Robert Hurst
    Mercy 105k SS Saratoga in port, location unknown, sometime between 1910 and 1915, SS Saratoga was acquired by the War Department for use as a transport, but was commissioned as the hospital ship USS Mercy (ID #1305) in January, 1918. Note the naming error in the original caption.
    Library of Congress photo # LC-B2- 2472-1    		 Mike Green
    Mercy 125k SS Saratoga under way, circa 1909. The Saratoga was acquired by the War Department for use as a transport, but was commissioned as the hospital ship USS Mercy (ID #1305) in January, 1918. In July, 1920 the ship was designated (AH-4)
    Library of Congress, LC-D4-22611    		 Mike Green
    USS Mercy (ID-1305)
    Mercy
    NH # 60260    		 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 photos # NH 60260 and NH # 90712 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command    		 Robert Hurst
    Mercy
    NH # 90712    		 165k
    Mercy 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.Moser from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 Robert Hurst
    Mercy 191k USS Mercy (ID #1305) under way date and location unknown.
    US National Archives Identifier 45496306 received 21 March 1919.    		 David Wright
    Mercy 116k CAPT. Norman J. Blackwood, (MC) USN (Commanding), seated, second from right with the Officers of USS Mercy (ID #1305) in May 1918. Note wicker chairs. US Navy History and Heritage Command photo # NH 53317 Bill Gonyo
    Mercy 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
    Mercy 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
    Mercy 74k USS Mercy (ID-1305) at anchor, circa 1918, location unknown.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command, photo # NH-49824, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Mercy 176k USS Mercy (ID-1305) at anchor, circa 1918, location unknown.
    U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery photo.    		 Bill Gonyo
    Mercy 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
    Mercy 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
    Mercy 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
    Mercy 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
    Mercy 233k The 44th Ambulance Company and 9th Evacuation Ambulance Company on the dock, at St. Nazaire, France, 7 January 1919. unloading patients from ambulances to USS Mercy (ID #1305), The men on stretchers were carried over the rail and placed aboard ship. This was Mercy's first of four trips to France to bring home casualties.
    US Army Signal Corps photos courtesy of the National Museum of Health and Medicine.    		 Michael Rhode, Archivist / Curator, US Navy BUMED Communications Directorate (M09B7) Office of Medical History
    Mercy 287k
    Mercy 214k
    Mercy 231k
    Mercy 222k
    Mercy 227k Casuals aboard USS Mercy (ID #1305) at St. Nazaire bound for America, 7 January 1919.
    US Army Signal Corps photo courtesy of the National Museum of Health and Medicine.    		 Michael Rhode, Archivist / Curator, US Navy BUMED Communications Directorate (M09B7) Office of Medical History
    Mercy 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
    Mercy 227k USS Mercy (ID #1305) at St. Nazaire with 500 casualties aboard, 7 January 1919, ready to sail for America.
    US Army Signal Corps photos courtesy of the National Museum of Health and Medicine.    		 Michael Rhode, Archivist / Curator, US Navy BUMED Communications Directorate (M09B7) Office of Medical History
    Mercy 216k USS Mercy (ID #1305) moored pierside, 27 February 1919, at Bassens, Bordeaux, France.
    US Army Signal Corps photos courtesy of the National Museum of Health and Medicine.    		 Michael Rhode, Archivist / Curator, US Navy BUMED Communications Directorate (M09B7) Office of Medical History
    Mercy 281k USS Mercy (ID #1305) moored pierside, 27 February 1919, at Bassens, Bordeaux, France while stretcher cases are carried aboard ship.
    US Army Signal Corps photos courtesy of the National Museum of Health and Medicine.    		 Michael Rhode, Archivist / Curator, US Navy BUMED Communications Directorate (M09B7) Office of Medical History
    Mercy 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
    Mercy 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
    Mercy 80k USS Mercy (ID #1305) at anchor circa 1919, location unknown.
    US Navy photo # NH 49824 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 Robert Hurst
    Mercy 57k USS Mercy (ID #1305) underway in harbor, location unknown.
    US Navy photo # NH 61538 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 Robert Hurst
    Mercy 146k The marriage of Horace M. Folsom, Pharmacist's Mate, 1st Class, to Miss Mary Valis, a Broadway dancer, onboard the hospital ship USS Mercy. The marriage was performed on 29 May 1919 by Chaplain Moyer; the bride given away by CDR. U.R. Webb (MC) US Navy, the commanding officer. Photo taken by R.A. Wilson, Pharmacist's Mate, 2nd Class.
    US Navy BUMED photo # 09-5075-019    		 Robert Hurst
    Mercy
    09120465     		167k World War I era U.S. Navy patriotic/propaganda/comic postcard is part of a series of naval themed postcards designed by "Pettie" who presumably sailed in USS Mercy "To Much Liberty" depicts a pair of hungover and haggard US Navy sailors back on the ship after their liberty expired. Tommy Trampp
    USS Mercy (AH-4)
    Mercy 47k USS Mercy (AH-4) at San Pedro, CA., circa 1920s. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    Mercy
    City of Vancouver Archives, Photo No. AM1506-S3-2-: CVA 447-2453.1    		 536k USS Mercy (AH-4) anchored off Vancouver BC circa 1931.
    City of Vancouver Archives, Photo No. AM1506-S3-2-: CVA 447-2453.1 and City of Vancouver Archives, Photo No. AM1506-S3-2-: CVA 447-2453, by Walter E. Frost.    		 Mike Green
    Mercy
    City of Vancouver Archives, Photo No. AM1506-S3-2-: CVA 447-2453    		 954k
    Mercy 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
    Mercy 59k USS Mercy (AH-4) at anchor, date and place unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Naval Hospital Corps School Web Site
    Mercy 116k USS Mercy (AH-4) at anchor, date and place unknown. Submitted by Jon Burdett
    A Griffin photo
    Mercy 278k USS Mercy (AH-4) and USS Relief (AH-1) anchored at Guantanamo, Cuba in April 1927. Note the absence of hospital markings on both ships.
    Photo Bill Faulk.    		 Robert Hurst
    Mercy 1511k USS Mercy (AH-4) and an unidentified Omaha class cruiser in the foreground anchored at Guantanamo, Cuba, circa 1920s. Note the absence of hospital markings. Brian Miller
    Mercy 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
    Mercy 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
    Mercy 204k USS Mercy (AH-4) at anchor, circa 1927, while painted white without hospital ship markings.
    Same as US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 67610.    		 Jim Kurrasch
    Battleship Iowa Pacific Battleship Center
    Mercy 68k USS Mercy (AH-4) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    Photo from "U.S. Warships of World War One", courtesy Paul H. Silverstone.    		 Robert Hurst
    Mercy 143k USS Mercy (AH-4) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo by A. E. Wells. image # 4453. BUMED photo # 09-5075-00.    		 Robert Hurst
    Mercy 89k USS Mercy (AH-4) at anchor, date and location unknown. Photographed while not wearing hospital ship markings, probably between 1925 and the end of the 1920s.
    US Navy photo # NH 105918 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command, donation of CAPT. Stephen S. Roberts, USNR (Retired), 2008.    		 Robert Hurst
    Mercy 94k USS Mercy (AH-4) at anchor, date and location unknown. Photographed while not wearing hospital ship markings, circa 1927.
    US Navy photo # NH 90711 from the collections of the US Naval History and Heritage Command.    		 Robert Hurst
    Mercy 36k USS Mercy (AH-4) at anchor, date and location unknown. Photographed while not wearing hospital ship markings, circa 1927.
    US Navy photo # unknown.    		 Ron Reeves
    Mercy 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
    Mercy 39k USS Mercy (AH-4) entering Vancouver Harbor, 5 August 1931.
    US Navy photo from DANFS.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Mercy 212k USS Mercy (AH-4) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Robert Marcantelli USMC Ret.
    Mercy 190k Liberty launch with sailors from various ships including sailors from USS Mercy (AH-4), date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Robert Marcantelli USMC Ret.
    Mercy 55k Ex-USS Mercy (AH-4) moored pierside at Philadelphia Navy Yard, 6 August 1929.
    Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, George D. McDowell Collection    		 Mike Green
    Mercy 72k Ex-USS Mercy (AH-4) moored at Philadelphia Navy Yard, 24 March 1934. The ship has been 'lent' to the Philadelphia County Emergency Relief the previous day by Rear Admiral Arthur J. Hepburn, Commandant 4th Naval District. The ship will house 500 homeless men.
    Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, George D. McDowell Collection.    		 Mike Green
    Mercy 138k Ex-USS Mercy (AH-4) moored at Guard Point, 1 June 1934, as seen from the yacht Alpera. The ship has been refitted, 'lent' to the Philadelphia County Emergency Relief and is housing for homeless men.
    Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, George D. McDowell Collection.    		 Mike Green
    Mercy 83k Ex-USS Mercy (AH-4) serving as a shelter and training center for homeless and jobless men in the Philadelphia area, circa 1934.
    International News photo.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Mercy 91k Ex-USS Mercy (AH-4) moored in the backwaters of the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 2 March 1939 awaiting final disposition.
    Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, George D. McDowell Collection.    		 Mike Green
    USS Mercy (I) (AH-4)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT. (MC) Blackwood Norman J. USN24 January 1918 - 20 February 1918
    02CDR. (MC) Webb, Ulysses Robert USN20 February 1918 - 10 June 1919
    03CAPT. (MC) Dunbar, Arthur White USN10 June 1919 - 1 August 1919
    04CDR. (MC). Garton, Will Melville1 August 1919 - 1920
    05CAPT. (MC). Farenholt, Ammen1920 - 6 September 1921
    06CAPT. Cole, Cyrus Willard, USN :RADM6 September 1921 - ?
    07CAPT. Royall, Hilary Herbert, USN (USNA 1899)16 September 1923 - 15 December 1923
    08CAPT. Angrum, William, USN (USNA 1903)15 December 1923 - ?
    09CDR. Robinson, Francis Martin29 January 1926 - 10 December 1928
    10CDR. Lammers, Howard Melvin10 December 1928 - 15 December 1928
    11CDR. Brooks, Jere Hutchins, USN (USNA 1907)15 December 1928 - 6 August 1929
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves. Photos courtesy Bill Gonyo
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    Last Updated 9 October 2020