Since childhood, I have been confused by the term “Merchant Marine”. I used to think it was some kind of distinct paramilitary organization that did merchant shipping in peacetime and became a navy in wartime. Further research showed that it was not technically a military outfit, but that in times of war the merchant marine served as an auxiliary to the military, transporting materiel and men to theaters of war…or something like that. What I still wasn’t clear about was, which ships were in the Merchant Marine and which weren’t. Finally, I managed to discover that in the USA, the Merchant Marine and in the United Kingdom the Merchant Navy, are actually ALL the civilian shipping vessels registered in those countries. What I’m still not clear about, is:
Is the “Merchant Marine/Navy” an actual organization, or just an umbrella term for all the ships and their crews in those countires?
Is membership automatic for all ships/mariners? I.E., Is there some law that mandates that any ship or shipping company operating on the American / British register adhere to this Merchant Marine / Navy and particiate in its duties and activities (foremost the logistical role in times of war mentioned above), with no right to opt out?
The significance of the term is primarily legal. In international law, the country that a civilian ship is registered in, and whose flag it flies in consequence, determines the nationality of that ship analogous to the nationality of an individual that comes from citizenship. Many rules in the law of the sea - the body of international law that governs navigation - attach importance to that nationality. Effectively, when a ship is on the high seas, it is subject (only) to the jurisdiction of its flag state, and the laws of that state apply there; and even in the territorial waters of another state, there are limits as to how far the coastal state can restrict passage of foreign ships. So the idea of summarising all civilian vessels of a country as that countrys merchant navy emphasises this link between the ships and their home state under international law.
In times of war this can be of particular relevance since countries can confiscate civilian ships for use in the war effort, a process called requisition. This happened, for instance, during the World Wars but isn’t done anymore, though the possibility still exists. The concept of a merchant marine also expresses this idea of being a kind of reserve for military purposes if needed. To my knowledge, though, there are no regular drills or training of the merchant marine to keep it prepared for active service in the future.
Ships Taken Up From Trade [STUFT] have been a feature of British naval practice since at least the 16th c. and was done at least as late as the Falklands War in the 1980s.
I never quite got the relationship between the US Merchant Marine Academy and the US military. I had a high school friends who graduated Kings Point and then joined the Marines as an officer. I get that the USMMA is potentially a path to become an officer, but is it considered equivalent to the other service academies? Is it sort of like a “safety school” compared to Annapolis? Isn’t pretty much any college with ROTC a path to becoming an officer?
My father joined the Merchant Marine early in WWII to avoid being drafted back into the army (in which he had served one year pre-war). He was a civilian. He had an NCO rating that he earned by studying and passing exams. He worked in the Pacific, and would sign on (or be assigned, that part I’m not sure about) for specific trips of specific duration on a particular ship. When he reached the end of that trip, he might spend some time in port (his home base was apparently San Francisco) before going on another trip. He worked exclusively, I think, on Liberty ships. One time he had a relatively minor injury that sidelined him in SF for a while, so he found a job at Playland By The Sea, an amusement park, where he could work sitting down. Although he was always a civilian during his tenure in the Merchant Marine, he did wear a non-military uniform on duty. There were probably regulations about how long he could stay idle in a port between trips to retain his standing, although he never talked about that.
I forgot to mention that the ships were exclusively used to carry cargo, and did not engage in military operations, in case that wasn’t obvious.
As I understand it, the Merchant Marine is basically the body of licensed seafarers who are licensed by the US Government and who sail US flagged ships.
They are NOT military, and they’re not necessarily public employees either. They work for civilian shipping companies as captains, first mates, etc…
In time of war, the ships can be effectively pressed into service to haul cargo for the government, but they’re still not military.
The USMMA at Kings Point is a Federal service academy that produces Merchant Marine officers. There are other programs around the country (e.g. Texas Maritime Academy, etc…) who have ROTC programs which act very similar. Upon graduation, midshipmen/cadets can choose to be licensed in the Merchant Marine and work in a civilian capacity, go for a NROTC commission in the Navy, or they can do a sort of hybrid where they work primarily as civilian Merchant Marine officers, but are in the Naval Reserve, and can be called up in time of war into active duty and man one of the USNS transports or other non-combat ships.
(I work with a woman who went to USMMA, and she explained all this)
There is a very loosely similar concept in aviation. The
DoD essentially pre-contracts for the right to “requisition” a hefty chunk of the long haul airline industry of the USA. And a smaller chunk of the short(er) haul industry.
When activated, we keep working for our employer, but DoD sets the schedule of when and where from and to. And provides the payloads, be that cargo or people. Our job is just to get it moved right away.
We’d obviously have a hard time getting airliners into and out of dirt strips near the fighting front, but for bringing stuff into the theater, or hauling troops around the US the industry is collectively 30x the size of DOD’s own air transport services. The whole industry isn’t committed to CRAF, but we’d still be the lion’s share of DoD air transport if CRAF ever went to a maximum effort.
There is no aviation equivalent of the Merchant Marine Academy. Though there are some colleges that are dedicated to aviation akin to the Texas Maritime Academy @bump mentioned. With appropriate ROTC on-site.
Like with the merchant mariners, a significant fraction of airline pilots, mechanics and such are also individually affiliated with the Air Force Reserve, aviation parts of the Army & Navy reserves, and the Army and Air National Guards.
But they were armed with a 4" cannon and several AA guns. The Victory Ship had 1 × 5 inch (127 mm)/38 caliber gun 1 × 3 inch (76 mm)/50 caliber gun; 8 × 20 mm Oerlikon.
In fact the USS Stephen Hopkins sank the german Auxiliary cruiser Stier On 27 September 1942.
I did not know that. I presume the armament was for self-defense. My father never mentioned coming under fire, but he might not have mentioned it if it was unpleasant or traumatic.
Midshipmen are paid to attend Annapolis. Not very much (pocket money and expenses). But as I understand it, if you are at Annapolis, you are already in the Navy. If you flunk out, you’re still in the navy, and have a service obligation (instead of a student debt). If you pass through, you’re still a navy officer, and have a service obligation as a navy officer.
As I understand it, if you are at USMMA, you are already in the Navy Reserve. If you flunk out, you’re still in the navy reserve, and have a service obligation in the reserve. If you pass through, you may be offered a commission as an active duty navy officer, or you may just stay in reserve.
Yes. The Brits had the Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships (DEMS) – merchant ships were fittted with weapons, and gun crews were provided by the Royal Navy and the Royal Artillery.
One of my favourite novels, A Flock of Ships (Brian Callison), is about one of these ships in WW II.
We have, or had, a graduate of King’s Point here on the 'Dope. And a couple of people with MM experience as a non-officer.
Of whom @Snnipe_70E is one whose name I recall. Perhaps he’ll see this reference and join us here. His experience was quite awhile ago, but is always interesting.
Midshipmen (both Academy and ROTC) do summer cruises after I think their first and third years. We had a handful every year on the boats I served on. One year we had a King’s Point middie. (Another time we had a middie who would have been a great submariner – fit in with the crew very well – but he was going to be commissioned as a jarhead officer.)