U.S. Navy
Hospital Ships . AH-1 to AH-18
Interwar & WWII
1920–1946
From the first purpose-built hospital ship to the mass mobilization of floating hospitals across the Pacific. These ships sailed into combat zones unarmed, lit up at night per the Geneva Convention, and brought thousands of wounded men home alive.
AH-1 USS Relief
Hospital Ship
PACIFIC
Philadelphia Navy Yard
HOSPITAL SHIP
1920
Commissioned
9,800
Tons
515
Beds
The first purpose-built hospital ship in the U.S. Navy. Served from the interwar period through World War II, evacuating casualties across the Pacific. Set the standard for every Navy hospital ship that followed.
AH-2 USS Solace
Hospital Ship
PACIFIC
Pearl Harbor
HOSPITAL SHIP
1927
Commissioned
9,100
Tons
430
Beds
Present at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Her medical staff went to work immediately, treating casualties as bombs still fell. Served throughout the Pacific War, from Guadalcanal to Okinawa.
AH-3 USS Comfort
Hospital Ship
ATLANTIC
Norfolk Navy Yard
HOSPITAL SHIP
1944
Commissioned
11,141
Tons
700
Beds
Converted from the passenger liner SS Havana. Served in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, treating casualties from the European theater. One of the wartime fleet of converted hospital ships.
AH-4 USS Mercy
Hospital Ship
PACIFIC
San Francisco
HOSPITAL SHIP
1944
Commissioned
11,141
Tons
700
Beds
Converted passenger liner pressed into service as a hospital ship. Served across the Pacific theater, evacuating wounded from island-hopping campaigns. Not to be confused with the modern T-AH-19.
AH-5 USS Solace
Hospital Ship
PACIFIC
Mare Island
HOSPITAL SHIP
1943
Commissioned
6,000
Tons
450
Beds
Second ship to carry the Solace name. Converted cargo vessel that served as a hospital ship in the Pacific. Treated casualties from multiple campaigns before decommissioning after the war.
AH-7 USS Hope
Hospital Ship
PACIFIC
San Francisco
HOSPITAL SHIP
1944
Commissioned
11,141
Tons
700
Beds
Converted from a passenger liner to serve as a floating hospital in the Pacific. Operated through the final campaigns of the war, treating casualties from Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
AH-8 USS Mercy
Hospital Ship
PACIFIC
San Francisco
HOSPITAL SHIP
1944
Commissioned
11,141
Tons
700
Beds
Second WWII-era ship to bear the Mercy name. Converted passenger vessel that served as a hospital ship through the final year of the Pacific War.
AH-9 USS Bountiful
Hospital Ship
PACIFIC
San Francisco
HOSPITAL SHIP
1944
Commissioned
11,141
Tons
700
Beds
Survived a kamikaze strike off Okinawa in April 1945 while treating wounded Marines. The attack killed and wounded medical staff and patients alike. She kept operating. The white paint and red crosses meant nothing to a man flying a suicide mission.
AH-12 USS Haven
Hospital Ship
PACIFIC
Long Beach
HOSPITAL SHIP
1945
Commissioned
11,141
Tons
802
Beds
Commissioned in the final months of WWII. Went on to serve in the Korean War, treating casualties at Inchon and along the Korean coast. One of the longest-serving Navy hospital ships of the postwar era.
AH-14 USS Tranquility
Hospital Ship
PACIFIC
San Francisco
HOSPITAL SHIP
1945
Commissioned
11,141
Tons
802
Beds
Arrived in the Pacific in the final weeks of the war. Served in the occupation of Japan, treating liberated POWs and repatriating wounded. A short but meaningful commission.
Korea & Vietnam
1945–1975
Hospital ships that served through the Cold War's hot wars. From the frozen harbors of Korea to the rivers and coastline of Vietnam, these ships were the last stop before home for tens of thousands of wounded.
AH-15 USS Consolation
Hospital Ship
PACIFIC
Long Beach
HOSPITAL SHIP
1945
Commissioned
11,141
Tons
802
Beds
Served extensively during the Korean War, stationed off the coast to receive casualties directly from the battlefield. One of the primary hospital ships of the conflict, treating thousands of wounded United Nations troops.
AH-16 USS Repose
Hospital Ship
VIETNAM
Long Beach
HOSPITAL SHIP
1945
Commissioned
11,141
Tons
750
Beds
Served in both Korea and Vietnam. Stationed off the coast of South Vietnam from 1966 to 1970, she was a floating trauma center receiving helicopter medevacs directly to her decks. Her nurses and corpsmen worked around the clock in the worst of it.
AH-17 USS Sanctuary
Hospital Ship
VIETNAM
Norfolk
HOSPITAL SHIP
1945
Commissioned
11,141
Tons
750
Beds
Reactivated for Vietnam, she served off Da Nang from 1967 to 1971. Notable as the first Navy ship to have an integrated male and female crew when she was recommissioned. The last of the WWII-era hospital ships to serve in combat.
AH-18 USS Rescue
Hospital Ship
PACIFIC
San Francisco
HOSPITAL SHIP
1945
Commissioned
11,141
Tons
802
Beds
Served during the Korean War alongside Consolation, Haven, and Repose. Operated off the Korean coast receiving battle casualties. Decommissioned after the war as the Navy drew down its hospital ship fleet.
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14
Hospital Ships
3
Wars Served