NavSource Online: Army Ship Photo Archive
Lost to enemy action, 19 February 1942
USAT Meigs
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons
Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
cargo ship :
Laid down, 30 July 1920, as the Cargo Ship SS West Lewark for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) by Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co.
San Pedro, CA
Launched, 24 February 1921
Delivered in June 1921 to the United States Shipping Board
Evaluated for naval use with a temporary designation of ID-4490
Allocated to Williams, Diamone & Co. for the Pacific Coast-European trade
Directed by Executive Order dated 7 January 1922 to be turned over to the War Department
Turned over at Seattle, WA, and assigned to the U.S. Army Transport Service (A.T.S.) Pacific Fleet with homeport at Fort Mason, CA.
Commissioned, 25 May 1922, as USAT Meigs in honor of Maj. Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army during the Civil War
Meigs was a basically a refrigerator/supply as well as an animal transport
She held stalls for 268 animals, as such, the Commanding Officer of Troops for the Meigs was typically a U.S. Army Veterinary Corps officer
Meigs generally serviced the San Francisco—Honolulu—Manila route with occasional voyages to Panama and Puerto Rico
She transported earthquake relief supplies to Yokohama after the disastrous earthquake that hit Japan in September 1923
USAT Meigs was the first ship to search for the Pan-Am flying boat Hawaii Clipper, which disappeared approximately 565 miles from Manila, P.I. 29 July 1938.
Meigs went to the location of the last radio communication with the Hawaii Clipper, and searched unsuccessfully for three hours for any trace of the plane
Assigned the Navy hull number AK-34 Shortly before the US entry into the World War II
On 7 December 1941, the Meigs was en route to the Philippines as part of the “Pensacola
Convoy” on a resupply mission until ordered to sail to Australia.
Assignment to the Navy cancelled December 1941
Final Disposition, bombed and sunk, 19 February 1942. by Japanese planes attacking Darwin harbor. Meigs, one of six ships sunk
Specifications:
Displacement 7,358 gross tons
Length 430'
Beam 54'
Draft 38'
Speed unknown
Armament unknown
Complement unknown
Troopship Passenger Capacity unknown
Cargo Capacity unknown
Cruise Radius unknown
Propulsion
one triple expansion reciprocating steam engine
single shaft, 3,500shp
Click On Image
For Full Size Image | Size |
Image Description |
Source |
| Merchant Service
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60k |
SS West Lewark moored pierside in June 1921, soon after completion, showing the configuration of the after portion of this
large freighter.
US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo No. NH 102524 |
Courtesy Shipscribe. com |
| USAT Meigs
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092211602 |
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 |
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89k |
USAT Meigs under way circa 1920s or 1930s.
US National Archives RG-11 Army Signal Corps photo SC 131485. |
Courtesy Shipscribe. com |
302204003
| 45k |
USAT Meigs in the harbor at Darwin Australia some days before the Japanese air raid on 19 February 1942. Meigs was laden with
with munitions, railway track, tracked machine gun carriers and trucks of the Australian Army 2/4 Pioneer Regiment, which was destined for Allied forces in Portuguese Timor. However,
prior to sailing she was attacked by Japanese aircraft. As the largest vessel in Darwin Harbor on the day of the attack, USAT Meigs was a prime target and she went down in flames
after being struck by numerous bombs and aerial torpedos. Two of the crew were killed. Ironically after the war, the superstructure of the wreck was salvaged by the Fujita Salvage Company of
Osaka, Japan. Note the anti aircraft gun platforms mounted fore and aft. |
John Spivey |
302204004
| 130k |
The hulk of USAT Meigs submerged in Darwin Harbor after being sunk by a Japanese air attack, 19 February 1942.
Photo from Flickr.com by Horatio J. Kookaburra |
John Spivey |
The history for USAT Meigs is from US Army Order of Battle 1919-1941, Vol. 4
Army Transportation Service Ship's Masters
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| 01 | CAPT. Olsen, Carl A., A.T.S. | 31 December 1921 - 21 August 1928
| | 02 | CAPT. Pujmphrey, Daniel, A.T.S. | 21 August 1928 - October 1928
| | 03 | CAPT. Scott, W. James, A.T.S. | October 1928 - June 1930
| | 04 | CAPT. Kerr, L.R.M., A.T.S. | June 1930 - January 1936
| | 05 | Unknown | January 1936 - June 1938
| | 06 | CAPT. Cotter, John P., A.T.S. | June 1938 - 24 January 1940
| | 07 | CAPT. Link Frank S., A.T.S. | 24 January 1940 - 19 February 1942
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Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
USAT Meigs history
This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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Last Updated 29 November 2024
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