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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS PVT. Joseph F. Merrell (T-AK-275)
ex
 USNS PVT. Joseph F. Merrell (T-AKV-4) (1950)
 USAT PVT. Joseph F. Merrell (1946 - 1950)


1950 International Radio Call Sign:
November - Charlie - Whiskey - Zulu
 NCWZ
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

National Defense Service Medal
LT. James E Robinson Class Cargo Ship
  • Laid down in March 1943 as SS Grange Victory, a Maritime Commission type (VC2-S-AP2) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MCV hull 33) at California Shipbuilding, Los Angeles, CA.
  • Launched, 28 June 1944
  • Delivered to the War Shipping Administration for operation by Isthmian SS Co, 7 August 1944
  • Chartered, 23 November 1946, by Waterman SS. Corp.,
  • Returned to the Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Mobile, AL., 29 December 1947
  • Acquired by the US Army Transportation Service, 6 April 1948 and placed in commission as USAT PVT. Joseph F. Merrell
  • Decommissioned by the US Army and acquired by the US Navy, 1 March 1950
  • Placed in service by the Military Sea Transportation Service MSTS as Aircraft Transport USNS Pvt Joseph F. Merrell (T-AKV-4)
  • Reclassified Cargo Ship (T-AK-275), date unknown
  • Placed out of service, struck from the Naval Register and custody and title transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 26 August 1974
  • Final Disposition, while at Port Hueneme, CA. sold for scrapping 26 August 1974 to Long Jong Industry, Ltd., (PD-X-982) for $256,600.00, removed the same day for scrapping at Kaohsiung, Taiwan
    Specifications:
    Displacement 15,589 t.(fl)
    Length 455'
    Beam 62'
    Draft 29' 2"
    Speed 15.5 kts.
    Complement 99
    Armament none
    Propulsion steam turbine, single screw, 8,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Merchant Service Waterman SS Corp.
    Merrell 127k SS Grange Victory moored pierside shortly after WWII, location unknown.
    Photo copyright World Ship Society    		 Gerhard Muller-Debus
    USNS PVT Joseph F. Merrell (T-AKV-4)
    Merrell 20k
    Nameskae
    Joseph Frederick Merrell (August 21, 1926 – April 18, 1945) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration – the Medal of Honor – for his actions in World War II.
    Merrell joined the Army from his birthplace of Staten Island in August 1944 (a week after his 18th birthday), and by April 18, 1945, was serving as a private in Company I, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. On that day, near Lohe (a suburb of Nuremberg), Germany, he singlehandedly attacked German positions that were firing on his unit. He disabled two enemy machine gun emplacements and killed nearly two dozen German soldiers before he was himself killed. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor (now on exhibit at Fort Wadsworth) ten months later, on February 26, 1946.
    Merrell, aged 18 at his death, was buried in Saint Peters Cemetery, West New Brighton, New York.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Merrell 198k USNS PVT. Joseph F. Merrell (T-AKV-4) moored pierside, circa early to mid-1950s, location unknown.
    US Navy History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 103608    		 Mike Green
    USNS PVT Joseph F. Merrell (T-AK-275)
    Merrell 277k USNS PVT. Joseph F. Merrell (T-AK-275) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Merrell 59k USNS PVT. Joseph F. Merrell (T-AK-275) moored to the ice in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica to offload cargo for Operation "Deep Freeze 63", 9 January 1963.
    US Navy History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 103612 by PH2 Thomas J. Regina, USN    		 Ramon Jackson
    Merrell 64k USNS PVT. Joseph F. Merrell (T-AK-275) loading three 82-foot Coast Guard cutters at US Naval Base, Long Beach CA. The three 82-footers were from the Long Beach-Los Angeles area.
    USCGC photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Merrell
    NH 103609-KN    		 88k USNS PVT. Joseph F. Merrell (T-AK-275) down at the stern and surrounded by oil containment booms, in San Juan Bay, CA. Pvt. Joseph F. Merrell had sustained heavy hull damage in a collision, 29 December 1973. Note the very large hole in her port side, aft.
    US Navy History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 103609-KN and NH 103611-KN    		 Ramon Jackson
    Mike Green
    Merrell
    NH 103611-KN    		 209k
    USNS Private Joseph F. Merrell (T-AK-275)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
    PVT Joseph F. Merrell Medal of Honor Citation
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 24 May 2019