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NavSource Online: Army Ship Photo Archive

USAT Merritt

Transport:
  • Laid down, date unknown, by Shanghai Dock & Engineering Co, at Shanghai, China
  • Launched in early 1912
  • Accepted for service by the Quartermaster Department 24 April 1912
  • Named in honor of Maj. Gen. Wesley Merritt, Civil War and Indian War hero and commander of the VIII Corps during the Spanish American War
  • Assigned to the A.T.S. Pacific Fleet with homeport at Manila, P.I, and further assigned to the Philippine Inter-Island Service
  • USAT Merritt often transported troops and supplies between garrisons in the Philippines, but made occasional voyages to transfer troops and supplies to garrisons in China
  • Participated in famine relief operations for China in October 1920 by delivering food to Chingwangtao
  • Transported former White Army Russian soldiers and their families, exiled from Vladivostok in 1922, from Manila, PI, to San Francisco arriving there 1 July 1923
  • Decommissioned and sold, 20 October 1932, to Vincente F. Fernandez at Manila, renamed SS Bisayas
  • Sunk, 2 January 1942, in Manila Harbor; raised by the Japanese and renamed as the SS Hishigata Maru
  • Final Disposition, sunk, 1 February 1945, by aircraft of the 5th Air Force off San Fernando, Lingayen, P.I.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 2,898 t.
    Length 300'
    Beam 45'
    Draft 29'3"
    Speed unknown
    Complement and Troop Accommodations
    Officers unknown
    Enlisted unknown
    Cargo Capacity unknown
    Armament unknown
    Fuel Capacity unknown
    Propulsion unknown
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    USAT Merritt
    Merritt 101k USAT Merritt left and USAT Thomas moored at Manila, P.I. 3 September 1915. Tommy Trampp
    David Wright
    Merritt
    301304906
    Merritt 65k USAT Merritt at anchor, date and location unknown.
    Photo source in unknown.     		 
    Merritt 83k USAT Merritt at anchor, location unknown
    US National Archives RG-111-US Army Signal Corps still photo collection     		US Army Order of Battle 1919-1941, Vol. 4
    Merritt 79k USAT Merritt moored pierside at Vladivostok, Russia in 1923.
    Photo source in unknown.     		 
    Merritt 95k USAT Merritt moored pierside, date and location unknown. Tommy Trampp
    Merchant Service
    Merritt
    301304907    		 97k Post card image of SS Bisayas underway sailing the Manila – Iloilo route circa September-October 1935.
    		John Spivey
    The history USAT Merritt is from US Army Order of Battle 1919-1941 Vol.4
    Master
    01CAPT. McLellan, Edgar S., A.T.S.January 1919 - April 1919
    02UnknownApril 1919 - February 1921
    03CAPT. Olsen, Carl. A., A.T.S.February 1921 - 18 March 1921
    04CAPT. Baker, Charles, A.T.S.18 March 1921 - 21 April 1921
    05UnknownApril 1921 - 20 October 1932
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USAT Merritt 1923 Blogspot
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The US Army Ship Index Back To The US Army Transport Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 10 October 2025