U.S. Naval Armed Guard
U.S. Naval Armed Guard
When Congress repealed the clauses of the Neutrality Act in November 1941, which prevented the arming of merchant ships, the U.S. Naval Armed Guard was established in January 1942 to help assist the conovy ships against the German Navy. The gun crews were usually led by a junior naval officer with an assortmet of enlisted rates that lived side-by-side the merchant crew onboard the ships. While performing this hazardous duty, the Naval Armed Guard would also help train the civilian crew in the use of the guns in battle. As the war progressed, many of the Naval Armed Guards were pulled off for duty onboard newly constructed destroyer-escorts.
Image: 80-G-40573: U.S. Naval Armed Guard onboard a United Nations merchant ship. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
