- USS Mindanao (ARG-3)
USS "Mindanao" (ARG-3) was a "Luzon"-class
internal combustion engine repair ship that saw service in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II . Named for the Island of Mindanao, second largest and southernmost island in thePhilippines , it was the second U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.Originally built as the
Liberty ship SS "Elbert Hubbard" (MCE-983) under Maritime Commission contract byBethlehem Fairfield Shipyard, Inc. ofBaltimore, Maryland ; launched13 May 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs. C. R. Spalding; acquired by the Navy on20 May 1943 ; and commissioned as USS "Mindanao" (ARG-3) on6 November 1943 with Commander G. B. Evans in command. After shakedown inChesapeake Bay , "Mindanao" joined Task Group 29.7 (TG 29.7) on20 December 1943 , and sailed forCuba , thePanama Canal , andNouméa inNew Caledonia , arriving27 January 1944 to report for duty with Service Squadron South Pacific. The internal combustion engine repair ship immediately found herself with more than enough work. On25 February she sailed to continue her vital task atEspiritu Santo , and in September she arrived at Manus to serve the forces staging for the Philippine campaign.Now with TG 30.9, she was anchored in
Seeadler Harbor on the morning of10 November , when at about 08:50 theammunition ship USS "Mount Hood" (AE-11) blew up. "Mindanao", convert|350|yd away, suffered extensive damage particularly to her superstructure, and aft. Of her crew, 180 were killed or wounded. The survivors, withSeabee s from shore, immediately began to aid the wounded and clear the debris, a job which took seven days. Repairs began on the 18th, performed by her own crew with aid again from Seabees, as well as men and equipment from USS "Medusa". By21 December , "Mindanao" was ready to resume her key function in repairing engines for other ships. After a brief voyage to theSolomon Islands in February and March 1945, "Mindanao" arrived atUlithi 27 March to prepare ships for the Okinawa campaign. There she served until9 October , when she sailed for periods of duty atOkinawa andShanghai . Her duty supporting the occupation forces complete, "Mindanao" got underway for home26 March 1946 . She called atSan Pedro, California ; Balboa and Colón in thePanama Canal Zone ;New Orleans, Louisiana ; andGalveston, Texas , before arrivingOrange, Texas on12 July . She decommissioned there17 May 1947 to join the Reserve Fleet, and remained at Orange even after being struck from theNaval Vessel Register and transferred to the Maritime Commission in 1961. In September, 1962 she joined the National Defense Reserve Fleet atBeaumont, Texas where she remained into 1969.In 1980, the ex-"Mindanao" was scuttled to form an
artificial reef off Daytona Beach,Florida , in convert|85|ft|adj=on deep water at coord|29|12.00|N|80|44.87|W |region:US-FL_type:landmark |display=title,inline , convert|11|mi northeast ofPonce de León Inlet . [ cite web
url= http://www.volusiareefs.org/reefsiteinfo.htm
title= Artificial Reef Sites Information
date= 2008-04-17 | publisher= Volusia County Reef Research Dive Team Inc.
accessdate= 2008-07-27 ]References
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