USS Mercury first found in USS Helena CL-50 War Diary for 26 August 1942,

USS Mercury (AK-42) Awards

Ordered: as MS Lightning, C2 Cargo hull, MC hull 16
Laid down: date unknown
Launched: 15 July 1939
Acquired: 20 June 1941
Commissioned: 1 July 1942
Decommissioned: 28 May 1959
Struck: 1 August 1959
Fate: scrapped in 1975

General characteristics

Displacement: 7,345 t.(lt), 10,850 t.(fl) Length: 459 ft 2 in (139.95 m)
Beam: 63 ft (19 m)
Draft: 25 ft 9 in (7.85 m) (max)
Propulsion: diesel engines, single shaft, 6,000shp
Speed: 15.5 kts.
Complement: 265
Armament: one 5 in (130 mm) dual purpose gun mount;
four single 3 in (76 mm) dual purpose guns;
eight single 20 mm AA gun mounts

USS Mercury (AK-42) was a cargo ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy for service in World War II.
She was responsible for delivering necessary goods and equipment to ships and stations in the war zone.

The fifth ship to be named Mercury by the Navy, AK-42 was launched as SS Lightning by
Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Go., Kearny, New Jersey, 15 July 1939; sponsored by Mrs. Royal S. Copeland;
purchased on the ways by Moore McCormack Lines and placed in operation by them as SS Mormactern
30 October 1940; acquired by the Navy 20 June 1941; converted, and commissioned as Mercury
1 July 1942, Lt. Comdr. G. W. Graber, Merchant Navy (United Kingdom), in command.

Throughout her World War II service, Mercury operated in the Pacific Ocean, beginning with long
runs from the west coast to the South Pacific and ending with underway replenishments for the fast carrier forces.
The converted merchantman completed her maiden wartime voyage at San Francisco, California, 27 September
1942 having carried a mixed cargo, which included drummed petroleum products, landing mats, dynamite,
engineering equipment, and food, to Noumea and Guadalcanal. Over the next 15 months she continued to
carry essential materiel to the South Pacific, supporting Allied forces as they pushed through the
Solomons and the Gilberts.