USSHancock (AP-3) was a transport ship in theUnited States Navy. Acquired by the Navy in 1902, she took part inWorld War I and a number of US military and diplomatic ventures prior to that. She was named forFounding FatherJohn Hancock.

USSHancock atMare Island Navy Yard, early 1900s
History
Name	USSHancock
Namesake	John Hancock
Builder	John Elder & Co,Govan
Yard number	222
Launched	10 March 1879
Completed	1879
Acquired	8 November 1902
Commissioned	20 Nov 1902 – 9 Mar 1903 21 Sep 1903 – 3 Sep 1919 15 Mar 1920 – 1 Sep 1925
Reclassified	Classified as AP-3, 1920; reclassified as IX-12, 1921
Fate	Sold, 21 May 1926, scrapped
General characteristics
Tonnage	5,146 GRT, 2,928 NRT
Displacement	8,500 tons
Length	456.2 ft (139.0 m)
Beam	45.4 ft (13.8 m)
Draft	24 ft 3 in (7.39 m)
Depth	35.7 ft (10.9 m)
Propulsion	1 × triple expansion engine 1 ×screw
Speed	13 knots (24 km/h)
Complement	278
Armament	6 x single 3" gun mounts

Hancock, the third US Navy ship to bear the name, was built in 1879 byJohn Elder & Co,Glasgow,Scotland. FormerlyArizona, she was purchased by theWar Department during theSpanish–American War and transferred to the Navy 8 November 1902. She was commissioned 20 November 1902.

Hancock sailed fromSan Francisco for the East Coast 14 December 1902 viaValparaiso,Chile;Montevideo,Uruguay; andBahia,Brazil. She arrivedNew York Navy Yard 21 February 1903 and decommissioned 9 March 1903 for fitting out. Recommissioned 21 September 1903, she served as receiving ship at the New York Navy Yard until relieved by Washington 6 August 1913.

Hancock departed New York 15 September 1913 and arrived at thePhiladelphia Navy Yard the following day to be fitted out as aMarine transport.

In 1914 she sailed for theGulf of Mexico, having embarked the 1st Regiment, Advance Base Brigade of Marines.

On 17 April or 19 April 1914 she arrived at Tampico.^[1][2]

On 22 April and/or on 1 May 1914 she arrived at Veracruz.^[3][1]

She landed the Marines atVera Cruz,Mexico, to assist inthe occupation of that city resulting from the arrest of the crew of a whaleboat ofDolphin (PG-24) by soldiers ofGeneral Huerta, aspirant to the Mexican presidency. During the tense months that followed,Hancock transported refugees uprooted by theMexican Revolution between the coast of Mexico andGalveston, Texas, as she delivered supplies for the United States Expeditionary Force in Mexico.

Other trouble spots erupted in the Americas. BothHaiti and theDominican Republic were going through a series of violent revolutions endangering the lives and property of foreigners and inviting foreign intervention. This situation demanded a buildup of American strength in the area. As a result, as the diplomatic crisis with Mexico eased,Hancock embarked a battalion of Marines from Vera Cruz and transported them toGuantanamo,Cuba. She returned toNorfolk 25 July 1914 to embark the5th Marine Regiment and got underway 30 July 1914 to cruise in waters off Haiti andSanto Domingo to be on hand to protect American interests against any eventuality. She returned to Norfolk 23 December 1914 for a general overhaul.

Hancock resumed duty cruising in theCaribbean. She continued to transport Marines, stores, provisions, mail, and other cargo to forces ashore in Mexico, Haiti, and Santo Domingo. From 12 to 30 September 1916 she assisted in the salvage of material fromMemphis (CA-10) after the cruiser was driven ashore by astorm surge in the harbor of Santo Domingo.Hancock carried the ill-fated ship's crew, stores, fittings, and ammunition to theNorfolk Navy Yard.

Hancock was atGuantanamo Bay 27 March 1917 when ordered to proceed toSt. Thomas in theDanish West Indies, where the Danish Government was to transfer the islands to the United States. She sailed the next day, embarking aMarine Detachment at Santo Domingo before arrival at St. Thomas, 30 March 1917. On 31 March 1917,Hancock's captain, Comdr.Edwin T. Pollock, USN, took over the islands in the name of the United States of America. At 1600 hours when the transfer became effective, Commander Pollock assumed the position of Acting Governor of the Virgin Islands.

On 6 April 1917 the United States declared war onGermany six days laterHancock took possession of German steamersWasgenwald andCalabria interned there.

Hancock arrived atSan Juan, Puerto Rico, 18 May 1917 to take possession of two more interned GermansteamshipsPräsident andOdenwald. She embarked 29 German prisoners of war 23 May 1917, and stood out of San Juan harbor that afternoon to towOdenwald to thePhiladelphia Navy Yard where she arrived 1 June 1917.

Hancock was assigned to the U.S.Cruiser and Transport Force to embark troops of the1st American Expeditionary Force 13 June 1917. She got underway 17 June 1917 asFlagship of Troop Convoy Number 4 and arrived without mishap atSt. Nazaire,France, 2 July 1917. Returning to Philadelphia 22 July 1917, her principal service until September 1919 was transportation of Marine passengers and military stores to ports in theWest Indies and theGulf of Mexico. She returned to Philadelphia 3 September 1919 and decommissioned 18 October 1919.

•  
  Wasgenwald asUSS Shoshone (ID-1760)
•  
  Odenwald asUSS Newport News (AK-3)
•  
  Präsident asUSS Kittery (AK-2)

Hancock recommissioned 15 March 1920 and departed Philadelphia 2 April 1920 forRosyth,Scotland, to man and fit out former German warshipsSMSOstfriesland andFrankfurt which had been allocated to the United States as spoils of war. She returned to New York with the vessels 9 August 1920.

After repairs at Philadelphia, she resumed transport duties between the East coast and the West Indies, 5 October 1920. She got underway from Philadelphia 5 March 1921 forMare Island,California, and enteredSan Francisco Bay 20 April 1921. The ship then sailed for theHawaiian Islands 5 May 1921 arrivingHonolulu 14 May 1921, and served asreceiving ship atPearl Harbor until 1925.

She was towed from Pearl Harbor 9 July 1925 arrived at theMare Island Navy Yard 25 July 1925, placed out of commission 1 September 1925, struck from theNavy List and sold 21 May 1926.

• USSHancock AP-3/IX-12 – Navsource Online.
•   This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.