- USS Quirinus (ARL-39)
The USS "Quirinus" (ARL-39), originally "LST-1151", was one of 39 "Achelous"-class
landing craft repair ships built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II . Named forQuirinus (inRoman mythology , an early god of the Roman state, identified withRomulus ), she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.Initial operations
LST-1151 was laid down
3 March 1945 by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company ofSeneca, Illinois . The ship was then launched4 June 1945 and placed in reduced commission15 June 1945 . Following initial commissioning, "Quirinus" steamed down theMississippi River toNew Orleans , then proceeded toBaltimore where she decommissioned for the completion of conversion to a landing craft repair vessel. Commissioned in full6 November 1945 with Lieutenant Commander John B. Darrow in command, she completed shakedown inChesapeake Bay and, on23 January 1946 got underway for the Caribbean.Caribbean service
On the 29th, she reported to TU 29.6.1 at Guantanamo Bay, and remained there until she returned, briefly, to Norfolk in May. Reassigned to the 8th Fleet (TG 80.7), she anchored in Guantanamo Bay again
18 April . Abbreviated tours there and atTrinidad preceded her return to Norfolk8 June . She operated as a unit of Boat Pool No. 4 until reporting for duty with the 2nd Task Fleet,1 February 1947 . For the next six weeks, she cruised in theCaribbean , returning toNorfolk 15 March . In late June, she shifted to Charleston to begin inactivation.Decommissioning and transfer
Officially becoming a unit of the Florida Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet on the 27th, she decommissioned and was berthed at
Green Cove Springs, Florida until June 1962. She was then transferred on loan, under the Military Assistance Program, to the government of Venezuela. Renamed "Guayana" (T-18), she served that country into 1970.References
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* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/1939.htm navsource.org: LST-1151 / ARL-39 "Quirinus"]
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