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

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. 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. In ...

Co.,

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

, for American Export Lines 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 (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

World War II Pacific Theatre operations

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

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

, 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 Re ...

6 August and reached

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

6 days later. As

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of 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 the fi ...

for Admiral

Willis A. Lee Willis Augustus "Ching" Lee Jr. (May 11, 1888 – August 25, 1945) was a vice admiral of the United States Navy during World War II. Lee commanded the American ships during the second night of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (November 14–15, 19 ...

, CTF 11, she sailed for action 25 August and on 1 September was off Baker Island 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, Ellice Islands, 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 ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

. ''Hercules'' reached Saipan 15 June, D-Day, and remained there discharging cargo until 24 June. Although Japanese 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 south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

Supporting the Philippine invasion forces

''Hercules'' sailed from Guadalcanal 8 September to participate in the invasion of Peleliu, Palau Islands, 15 September. After this hard fought operation she continued on to

Hollandia Hollandia may refer to: * HVV Hollandia, Dutch football team * Hollandia Victoria Combinatie, defunct Dutch football team * ''Hollandia'' (1742 ship), a ship of the Dutch East India Company, wrecked in 1743 on her maiden voyage * Jayapura, a city ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

, discharged her cargo, and 13 October sailed for the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. ''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 The 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. The Agno River and the Balili ...

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

Supporting Iwo Jima operations

Reaching

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest i ...

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

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima (, also ), known in Japan as , is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and lies south of the Bonin Islands. Together with other islands, they form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The highest point of Iwo Jima is Mount Suribachi at high. ...

. 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, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...

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

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

and

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...

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, she transited the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

16 March 1946 and docked at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

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

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

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, ''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 (MARCOM) 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, 195 ...

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

Military awards and honors

''Hercules'' received five battle stars 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

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - AK-41 Hercules
{{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