MERCURY AKS 20

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Mercury Class Cargo Ship
Keel Laid as SS LIGHTNING
Launched 15 July 1939
Placed in operation 30 October 1940 as SS MORMACTERN
Acquired by US Navy 20 June 1941 and converted for Naval service


1. USS MERCURY AK-42
   Commissioned 1 July 1942
   
   
2. USS MERCURY AKS-20
   Redesignated General Stores Issue Ship (AKS) 31 July 1945
   Decommissioned 28 May 1959
   
   Struck from Naval Register 1 August 1959
   Transferred to Maritime Administration (MARAD) 5 April 1960
   
   Scrapped 1975

 

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. USS Mercury AK-42 Covers Page 1     (DATE RANGE)
2. USS Mercury AKS-20 Covers Page 1    (1945-1956)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

Locy Type 2z

1946-02-19

As AKS-20

 

Locy Type 2z + SL USCS Postmark Catalog Illus. M-27

1948-03-26

As AKS-20

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Post Office Established 16 May 1949 to 18 March 1959

USS Mercury had no post office until 1949

 

Locy Type FDPS 2t(nu)

1949-05-16

First Day of Postal Service. From the Bob Govern collection.

 

Locy Type FDPS 9ef(nu)

1949-05-16

First Day of Postal Service. From the Bob Govern collection.

 

Locy Type 2(n)

1950-05-20

Armed Forces Day, cachet by Pentagon Philatelic Society

 

Locy Type 2t(nu)

1956-12-12

Note:

 

Other Information

USS MERCURY earned the following awards during her Naval career - Combat Action Ribbon - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (w/ 5 Battle stars) - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal - Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

NAMESAKE - A Roman god represented with winged feet who served as messenger for the other gods; a silver‑white metal which is liquid at ordinary temperatures; the planet nearest to the Sun.

The ships sponsor was Mrs. Royal S. Copeland.

There have been seven ships in the US Navy named MERCURY - USS Mercury (Ketch 1776), USS Mercury (Schooner 1781), USS Mercury (Revenue Cutter 1807), USS Mercury (1861 sidewheel steamer tug), USS Mercury SP‑3012, USS Mercury AKS-20 and USNS Mercury T-AGM-21.

 

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If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.

 

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