USS Aristaeus (ARB-1)

The USS "Aristaeus" (ARB-1) was one of 12 battle damage repair ships built for the United States Navy during World War II. The lead ship in her class, she was named for Aristaeus (in Greek mythology, the son of Apollo and the huntress Cyrene), the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Originally laid down as "LST-329" on 12 November 1942 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard; reclassified USS "Aristaeus" ARB-1 on 25 January 1943; launched on 1 February 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Arthur Taylor; converted at Fairfield, Maryland by the Maryland Drydock Company for service as a battle damage repair ship; and commissioned on 18 May 1943 with Lieutenant Ralph M. G. Swany, Jr., in command. On 1 June the ship got underway for Norfolk, Virginia. During the next six weeks, she conducted shakedown training out of Norfolk and in the Chesapeake Bay. On 23 July she left the east coast and shaped a course for the Pacific. The vessel transited the Panama Canal and joined the Pacific Fleet on 1 August. She then continued on via Bora Bora, the Society Islands, and Tutuila, American Samoa to Noumea, New Caledonia. "Aristaeus" reached Noumea on 14 September and operated in its immediate vicinity through the remainder of 1943 and the first six months of 1944. Early in July, 1944 she anchored at Sydney, Australia. After upkeep at that port, the repair ship journeyed to New Guinea in late September and provided battle damage repairs to vessels in this area into April, 1945. On 1 May she anchored at Kerama Retto in the Ryukyu Islands. The vessel remained at Kerama Retto during the next two months. As a member of Service Squadron 10, she performed battle damage and voyage repairs to various ships of the fleet. On 2 July the ship moved her base of operations to Buckner Bay, Okinawa where she provided routine repair services. On 13 August she was ordered to assist in repairing the torpedoed USS "Pennsylvania" (BB-38). Many of the battleship's compartments were flooded, and she had settled heavily by the stern. "Aristaeus"' repair efforts, however, enabled the man-of-war to get underway for Pearl Harbor on 24 August, nine days after the Japanese capitulation ended hostilities. "Aristaeus" remained at Buckner Bay until early December. She left Okinawa on the 3rd and shaped a course for the west coast of the United States. The ship reached San Francisco, California on the 27th and entered a period of upkeep and repairs. She remained at San Francisco until 22 May 1946 when she got underway for San Diego. Upon her arrival there, the vessel reported to the San Diego Group, 19th Fleet, for inactivation. "Aristaeus" was decommissioned on 15 January 1947 and was placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet. Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 July 1961. The vessel was sold to Brown Industries, Inc. of Oakland, California on 14 March 1962 and was subsequently scrapped. "Aristaeus" earned one battle star for her World War II service.

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