USS Hercules (AK-41) was an ''Hercules''-class

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

commissioned by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

for service in

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 ...

. She was responsible for delivering necessary goods and equipment to ships and stations in the war zone. ''Hercules'' (AK-41), ex-'' SS Exporter'', was launched 18 July 1939 by the

Fore River Shipbuilding Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901. I ...

Co.,

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county. Quincy is part of the Greater Boston area as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in ...

, for

American Export Lines American Export-Isbrandtsen Lines, New York, was the leading US-flag shipping company between the U.S. east coast and the Mediterranean from 1919 to 1977, offering both cargo ship and passenger ship services, until it declared bankruptcy and was ...

Inc. Acquired by the Navy 15 July 1941, she continued to be operated by civilian crews until 30 November 1942, when she commissioned at

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

Departing San Francisco 18 December, ''Hercules'' reached Noumea,

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

, 6 January 1943 to discharge her cargo. She returned to San Francisco 20 February and repeated the voyage from 11 March to 5 July. ''Hercules'' sailed for

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

6 August and reached

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

6 days later. As

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

for Admiral Willis A. Lee, CTF 11, she sailed for action 25 August and on 1 September was off

Baker Island Baker Island, once known as New Nantucket in the early 19th century, is a small, uninhabited atoll located just north of the Equator in the central Pacific Ocean, approximately southwest of Honolulu. Positioned almost halfway between Hawaii a ...

as the Army began occupation. Remaining off Baker Island until 16 September discharging cargo, ''Hercules'' returned to

and from there sailed for San Francisco.

Supporting Allied invasion forces

Taking on passengers and cargo, she sailed again for the Pacific war areas 13 October, reaching

Funafuti Funafuti is an atoll, comprising numerous islets, that serves as the capital of Tuvalu. As of the 2017 census, it has a population of 6,320 people. More people live in Funafuti than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with it containing approximately 6 ...

Ellice Islands Tuvalu ( ) is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands (which belong to the Solomon Islands), northeast of Van ...

, 14 November after discharging cargo at Pearl Harbor. After miscellaneous cargo trips in the southern Pacific, ''Hercules'' returned to Pearl 28 January 1944 for repairs. Two round-trips with cargo and passengers to San Francisco brought her into the summer and on 30 May she sailed with the initial invasion force for

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

. ''Hercules'' reached Saipan 15 June, D-Day, and remained there discharging cargo until 24 June. Although

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

planes filled the air and attacked her several times, ''Hercules'' emerged unscathed as American forces continued to sweep across the island to Japan. Departing Saipan 24 June, she returned to Pearl Harbor and from there sailed to

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

Supporting the Philippine invasion forces

''Hercules'' sailed from Guadalcanal 8 September to participate in the invasion of

Peleliu Peleliu (or Beliliou) is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu, along with two small islands to its northeast, forms one of the sixteen states of Palau. The island is notable as the location of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II. ...

Palau Islands Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands, w ...

, 15 September. After this hard fought operation she continued on to Hollandia,

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, discharged her cargo, and 13 October sailed for 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 ...

. ''Hercules'' remained in the Philippines, with several trips back for supplies, for both the initial invasion of San Pedro Bay 20 October and the landings on

Lingayen Gulf Lingayen Gulf is a large gulf on northwestern Luzon in the Philippines, stretching . It is framed by the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union and sits between the Zambales Mountains and the Cordillera Central (Luzon), Cordillera Central. The Agno ...

9 January 1945, as American forces returned victorious to the Philippines.

Supporting Iwo Jima operations

Reaching

Ulithi Ulithi (, , or ; pronounced roughly as YOU-li-thee) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap, within Yap State. Name The name of the island goes back to Chuukic languages, Proto-Chuukic ''*úlú-diw ...

24 January 1945, ''Hercules'' embarked troops with cargo and 17 February sailed for

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

. The invasion of that rugged island began 2 days later, and ''Hercules'' steamed in the retirement area until 27 February when she disembarked reserve troops on the beach and received wounded. After discharging her cargo, she remained in the

area until 20 March when, loaded with

U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

and their equipment, she sailed for Pearl Harbor. Reaching Pearl 4 April, ''Hercules'' carried cargo to

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

and

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; , , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 296 people (as of 2021) forms a legi ...

before reaching San Francisco 22 June for a much-needed overhaul.

End-of-war operations

The war in the Pacific ended while ''Hercules'' was still undergoing repairs, but she sailed west again 24 October 1945. Loading ammunition in the Philippines and the

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 40 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-cov ...

, she transited the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

16 March 1946 and docked at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, 26 March. After a brief trip up the coast to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, ''Hercules'' sailed to Norfolk 18 May and hauled down her commissioning pennant 28 June 1946. ''Hercules'' was transferred to the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The c ...

18 July. Returning to merchant service, she was renamed '' SS Exermont'', and later '' SS Bostonian''.

Military awards and honors

''Hercules'' received five

battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

for

service: * Marianas operation * Western Caroline Islands operation * Leyte operation * Luzon operations * Iwo Jima operation ''Hercules’'' crew members were eligible for the following medals: * American Campaign Medal * Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (5) * World War II Victory Medal * Philippines Liberation Medal (2)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hercules (AK-41) Type C3-E ships Ships built in Quincy, Massachusetts 1939 ships Cargo ships of the United States Navy Type C3-E ships of the United States Navy World War II auxiliary ships of the United States