USAT Meigs
SS West Lewark, later USAT Meigs
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Ordered: | Before September 1919 |
| Builder: | Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co |
| Laid down: | 30 July 1920 |
| Launched: | 24 February 1921 |
| Completed: | June 1921 |
| Acquired: | by US Army 1922 |
| Out of service: | 19 February 1942 |
| Renamed: | 1922 |
| Fate: | Sunk by Japanese air attack, 1942 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 7,358 GRT, 5,310 NRT |
| Displacement: | 11,358 tons |
| Length: | 430.7 ft (131.3 m) |
| Beam: | 54.3 ft (16.6 m) |
| Draft: | 26.2 ft (8.0 m) |
| Installed power: | 422 NHP |
| Propulsion: | 3-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine, single screw |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
wireless direction finding |
The USAT Meigs (sometimes incorrectly called USS Meigs) was a United States Army 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.
The ship's keel 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 7,358 GRT (also cited as 11,358 DWT), 430.7 ft (131.3 m), 54.3 ft (16.6 m) beam and 26.2 ft (8.0 m) depth. The ship's construction was canceled in 1919 but she was then completed to a larger and different design than the originally planned Design 1013 and launched 24 February 1921. She was evaluated for naval use with a temporary designation of IX-4490.
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. 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.
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Wikipedia