Need advice with WWII Ship History

[GMPETE]

Does anyone know where or how I might find the diary or basic calendar with ports of call for these WWII ships:

SS PAUL GREGG

SS PETER SILVESTER

SS GEORGE ROSS

MV [SS?] CAPE FEAR

I have not been able to determine if any of these vessels had cruise books or ‘war diaries’ and need some help on where I should be looking.  Any advice appreciated.

[The only record of a WWII Cape Fear I have found is one mention at Tarawa as 'SS Cape Fear'  Not actually sure what 'MV' means...Merchant Veassel?]

[12thengr]

 MV = Motor Vessel

[GMPETE]

28 minutes ago, 12thengr said:

 MV = Motor Vessel

Thanks for that. 

Is it used to denote a particular type or class of ship?  Say if a veteran listed a string of 'S.S. ____' ships and then an 'M V' ,do you understand what distinction he may have been making? 

[Salvage Sailor]

In the last century, M/V  denoted a Motor Vessel, typically a diesel driven small ship whereas a SS is a Steam Ship

 

Now, to complicate the issue,  now MV can also mean Merchant Vessel and SS can also mean Single Screw Ship

 

Clear as Mud yet?  Here's a good overview on Merchant & Civil ship prefixes

 

[GMPETE]

2 hours ago, Salvage Sailor said:

In the last century, M/V  denoted a Motor Vessel, typically a diesel driven small ship whereas a SS is a Steam Ship

 

Now, to complicate the issue,  now MV can also mean Merchant Vessel and SS can also mean Single Screw Ship

 

Clear as Mud yet?  Here's a good overview on Merchant & Civil ship prefixes

 

 

Thanks for that link Salvage Sailor-  Very interesting.   I found  the MV confusing as I have yet to find much of anything on a WWII MV Cape Fear  I believe SS Peter Silvester and George Ross were liberty ships and SS Paul Gregg was a merchant Tanker.  The Navy sailor I am researching recorded this list of ships together with Pacific ports of call/islands visited and I am trying to establish a timeline between the two but coming up empty handed for each vessel....

[29navy]

CHeck here:   http://www.usmm.org/index.html#anchor252856

 

Here's the WWII page: http://www.usmm.org/ww2.html

 

I see the Cape Fear and the Peter Silvester listed in the PTO.

[29navy]

SS Paul M Gregg

 

https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-89000/NH-89969.html

[29navy]

SS Peter Sylvester, Liberty Ship, was sunk by German U-Boat in Indian Ocean in February 1945

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Peter_Silvester

[29navy]

To answer your initial question, I don't know of any cruise books of merchant ships.  I've don a quick online search for the ships you listed. I've run across a couple of references  of a ship as part of a convoy.

 

For example:   January 16th, 1944 – Departed Noumea for Guadalcanal in small convoy, Task Unit 35.1.4 comprised of Meredith, S.S. Sarah Teasdale, S.S. George Ross, S.S. Walter Colton, USS Rotanin (AK-108), LST-123 and LST-219. Screen was comprised of USS Seid (DE-256), USS Swallow (AM-65), and HMNZS Breeze (T02).

 

Leaving San Diego Whitehurst proceeded to Hawaii, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 4 February 1944. Underway for the Solomons on the 7th, the DE sailed via Majuro and Funafuti in company with James E. Craig DE-201 and Sc-502 escorting SS George Ross, SS George Constantine, and SS Robert Lucas and arrived on 23 February at Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides.

 

So you'll have to just keep on searching and maybe find a piece of information or two at a time.

 

 

[29navy]

Just remembered one other source: - the National Archives in College Park, MD. They have the Armed Guard Logs - arranged by ship -1943 - 1945.  And there are some Merchant Marine log books there, too.  Problem is that the Archives are not YET open to the public.

[GMPETE]

1 hour ago, 29navy said:

To answer your initial question, I don't know of any cruise books of merchant ships.  I've don a quick online search for the ships you listed. I've run across a couple of references  of a ship as part of a convoy.

 

For example:   January 16th, 1944 – Departed Noumea for Guadalcanal in small convoy, Task Unit 35.1.4 comprised of Meredith, S.S. Sarah Teasdale, S.S. George Ross, S.S. Walter Colton, USS Rotanin (AK-108), LST-123 and LST-219. Screen was comprised of USS Seid (DE-256), USS Swallow (AM-65), and HMNZS Breeze (T02).

 

Leaving San Diego Whitehurst proceeded to Hawaii, arriving at Pearl Harbor on 4 February 1944. Underway for the Solomons on the 7th, the DE sailed via Majuro and Funafuti in company with James E. Craig DE-201 and Sc-502 escorting SS George Ross, SS George Constantine, and SS Robert Lucas and arrived on 23 February at Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides.

 

So you'll have to just keep on searching and maybe find a piece of information or two at a time.

 

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to post all this 29navy.  Much appreciated.  I have found some of that information previously but not all and this last is very helpful as those two references partially line up with part of my sailors list of ports in order: Noumea/Guadalcanal/New Hebrides  I am likely going to have to stitch a history together one piece at a time as you say but this looks like part of it..  Interesting that this man was USN though apparently did serve on a few merchant marine vessels.  I am mostly trying to place one or more of these ships at Saipan in '44-'45.

Again, thanks for your assistance.

 

[29navy]

3 hours ago, GMPETE said:

 

Thanks for taking the time to post all this 29navy.  Much appreciated.  I have found some of that information previously but not all and this last is very helpful as those two references partially line up with part of my sailors list of ports in order: Noumea/Guadalcanal/New Hebrides  I am likely going to have to stitch a history together one piece at a time as you say but this looks like part of it..  Interesting that this man was USN though apparently did serve on a few merchant marine vessels.  I am mostly trying to place one or more of these ships at Saipan in '44-'45.

Again, thanks for your assistance.

 

I would say that he was with the Armed Guard, so they would have been on different ships.  What was his name?