USS Mercury (ID-3012)

USS "Mercury" (ID-3012) was a passenger liner acquired by the U.S. Navy for use in transporting troops during World War I.

The fourth ship to be named Mercury by the Navy was built as SS "Barbarossa" by Blohm und Voss, Hamburg, Germany, in 1896, and operated by the North German Lloyd Line until she took refuge in Hoboken, New Jersey, at the outbreak of World War I. She was seized when the United States entered the war 6 April 1917; damage inflicted by her crew prior to seizure was repaired; and she was commissioned 3 August 1917, Comdr. H. L. Brinser in command. Shortly after commissioning she was renamed "Mercury".

"Mercury" got underway for her first transatlantic troop-ferrying mission 4 January 1918. Before the armistice, 11 November 1918, she had completed seven voyages to France, carrying over 18,000 passengers. After the armistice, she reversed the flow of troops, making eight crossings to return more than 20,000 to the United States.

After completing her last crossing as a U.S. Navy ship 19 September 1919, she decommissioned and was turned over to the Army Transport Service 27 September 1919 for use as an Army transport. The Army turned her over to the U.S. Shipping Board in August 1920. Though subsequently sold to a private shipping firm, her new owners defaulted and the ship came back to the Shipping Board in January 1921. She was sold for scrapping in February 1924.

References

*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m9/mercury-iv.htm