USAT ''Meigs'' (sometimes incorrectly called USS ''Meigs'') was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

transport ship that was built in 1921 and sunk in Darwin Harbour in the first Japanese air raid against the Australia mainland on 19 February 1942.

Construction

The ship's

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

was laid 30 July 1920 by the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company (later Todd Pacific Shipyards) at San Pedro, California and completed in 1921 for the United States Shipping Board as ''West Lewark''. She had a steel hull, measured (also cited as 11,358 DWT), , beam and depth.) The ship's construction was canceled in 1919 but she was then completed to a larger and different design (Design EFC 1133) than the originally planned Design 1013 and launched 24 February 1921. She was evaluated for naval use with designation ID-4490.

Service history

Peacetime service

After delivery the ship was operated by the Williams, Diamond & Company, Pacific Coast shippers for the Pacific Coast-European trade. Cargo handling equipment had been designed in light of the fact that many ports lacked sufficient handling equipment ashore to enable efficient cargo operations and initial service demonstrated increased efficiency. ''West Lewark'' and sister ship, ''West Faralon'' were placed in the company's Pacific Coast-European trade with ''West Lewark'' making an initial port call at

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. In 1922 the Army acquired the ship and renamed her ''Meigs''. USAT ''Meigs'' was one of the small fleet the Army maintained during the inter-war years and operated in the Pacific as a freight and animal transport. In 1939, with USAT ''Ludington'', ''Meigs'' was one of only two Army owned freight transports. Included in the requirement to transport army goods and personal possessions of personnel changing duty stations to the Pacific was transport of cavalry and personal horses of officers with occasional mention of the ship transporting notable horses or owners transferring between Pacific and continental postings. In July 1938 ''Meigs'' found an oil slick along the course of the lost Pan American flying boat '' Hawaii Clipper'' about 500 miles from Manila, took samples and stood by for further investigation.

War service

Shortly before the US entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the ship was given the tentative Navy hull number AK-34 under an agreement that Navy would take over then commission and crew any Army transports operating in areas of potential naval opposition. The reality of war resulted in a December 1941 Presidential order suspending that agreement and the hull number is listed by Navy as "not used." USAT ''Meigs'' was part of the Pensacola Convoy attempting to reinforce the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in the early stages of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

and held at

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

when it was evident the Japanese were already invading the Philippines. Despite a military decision to bring the convoy back to Hawaii or the West Coast, a presidential decision routed the ships to Australia to attempt Philippine support from there. After being part of an abortive convoy escorted by and smaller escorts, that had departed on 15 February 1942 in an attempt to reinforce the island of Timor, she returned to the Australian town of

Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( Larrakia: ') is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city has nearly 53% of the Northern Territory's population, with 139,902 at the 2021 census. It is the smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australi ...

. On 19 February 1942 Japanese aircraft attacked Darwin's land and shipping targets in two waves. The ''Meigs'' was one of six ships sunk, with one of its crew of 66 killed, after being struck by a number of bombs and aerial torpedoes.

Wreck

Although the superstructure of the wreck was salvaged after the war by Fujita Salvage of

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan, the cargo of munitions, railway rails, Bren gun carriers and trucks intended for Allied forces in Portuguese Timor remains. The ''Meigs'' is now a dive site, where the remnants of the cargo are as visible as the remains of the vessel itself. It lies in of water at coordinates , and due to the large tidal movements creating strong currents and poor visibility, is only divable around neap tides.

Namesakes

The name USS ''Meigs'' is incorrectly applied to the USAT ''Meigs'' and also, properly, to the , which served in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. There was also a small Quartermaster Corps passenger and freight steamer built in 1892 by John H. Dialogue & Son, Camden New Jersey, and serving in the early 20th century named ''General Meigs''.

References

External links

The Bombing of Darwin

Australian War Memorial, photograph P05303.019

The war at home: Second World War shipwrecks in Australian waters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meigs, USAT 1921 ships Design 1133 ships of the United States Army Ships built in Los Angeles Ships sunk in the bombing of Darwin, 1942 Maritime incidents in February 1942 Transport ships of the United States Army World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Wreck diving sites