USS Agenor

USS Agenor (ARL-3) was one of 39 Achelous-class repair ship landing craft repair ships built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for Agenor (in history and Greek mythology, a king of Tyre), she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

RFS Vulcain (A-656), participating in Operation Hirondelle, French Indochina, July 1953.
History
United States
Name: Agenor
Namesake: Agenor
Ordered: as a Type S3-M-K2 hull, MCE hull 1010[1]
Builder: Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California
Yard number: 45[1]
Laid down: 24 January 1943
Launched: 3 April 1943
Commissioned: 20 August 1943
Decommissioned: 15 November 1946
Reclassified: Landing Craft Repair Ship, 13 January 1943
Stricken: 26 March 1951
Identification:
Honors and
awards:		 3 × battle stars
Fate: transferred to France, through Mutual Defense Assistance Program, 2 March 1951
France
Name: Vulcain
Namesake: Vulcan
Acquired: 2 March 1951
Identification: Hull symbol: A-656
Fate: transferred to the Republic of China, 1957
Republic of China
Name: Shung Shan or Sung Shan
Namesake:
Acquired: 1957
Renamed: Tai Wu
Identification:
  • Hull symbol: ARL-336
  • Hull symbol: AP-520
Status: unknown
General characteristics [2]
Class and type: Achelous-class repair ship
Displacement:
  • 3,900 long tons (4,000 t) (light)
  • 4,100 long tons (4,200 t) (full load)
Length: 328 ft (100 m)
Beam: 50 ft (15 m)
Draft: 11 ft 2 in (3.40 m)
Installed power:
Propulsion:
Speed: 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement: 22 officers, 233 enlisted men
Armament:

1 × 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber dual-purpose gun 2 × quad 40 millimetres (1.57 in) Bofors anti-aircraft (AA) guns

6 × twin 20 millimetres (0.79 in) Oerlikon AA cannons
Service record
Operations:
Awards:

Construction

Originally projected as LST-490, an LST-1-class tank landing ship, this ship was redesignated ARL-3 and named Agenor on 13 January 1943. She was laid down on 24 January 1943, MC hull 1010, by Kaiser Shipyards, Yard No. 4, Richmond, California; launched on 3 April 1943;[1] and commissioned at San Francisco, on 20 August 1943, Lieutenant Argyle W. Markley, USNR, in command.[3]

Service history

United States Navy

From December 1943 through 9 June 1944, Agenor provided repair services to numerous landing craft operating in the Solomon, Russell, and Marshall Islands. On 9 June, the repair ship got underway for the Marianas. Eight days later, Japanese torpedo bombers attacked Agenor's convoy. Despite several near misses, the ship continued on safely to waters off Saipan where she arrived on 24 June.[3]

Agenor was then assigned duty with a salvage group, Task Group 52.7 (TG 52.7). While air raids were a constant threat, the vessel carried out her work successfully. On 15 July, she moved to Tinian to supply services to invasion forces there.[3]

The ship sailed to Guam in early August, and reported to Task Force 53 (TF 53). That island was her base of operations through 2 October, when the ship shifted to Ulithi in the Carolines. Agenor returned to Guam on 10 February 1945, to prepare for the Iwo Jima landings.[3]

On 20 February, the repair ship arrived off Iwo Jima and joined TG 51.3. During the operations there, Agenor carried out her work despite air attack and heavy seas. The ship remained at Iwo Jima until 25 June. She then got underway for Saipan, where she dropped anchor on 29 June.[3]

Soon after reporting to Service Squadron 10 for duty, Agenor left Saipan bound for Hawaii and a much-needed overhaul. The vessel reached Pearl Harbor on 18 July and entered the navy yard. The Japanese surrender found the ship still undergoing repairs at Pearl Harbor. Upon completion of the yard work, Agenor served in the Hawaiian operating area until placed out of commission, in reserve, on 15 November 1946.[3]

French Navy

Agenor was transferred to the government of France on 2 March 1951, under the terms of the Mutual Defense Assistance Act and renamed RFS Vulcain (A-656). Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 26 March 1951.[3]

Republic of China Navy

Transferred by France to the Republic of China Navy in 1957 and renamed Shung Shan (ARL-336), later being renamed Tai Wu (AP-520.[4]

Awards

Agenor earned three battle stars for her World War II service.[3]

Notes
    Citations
    1. Kaiser No. 4 2014.
    2. Navsource 2014.
    3. DANFS 2016.
    4. Silverstone 2009, p. 171.

    Bibliography

    Online resources

    • "Agenor (ARL-3)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
    • "Kaiser Permanente No. 4, Richmond CA". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
    • "USS Agenor (ARL-3)". Navsource.org. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
    • Silverstone, Paul H. (2009). The Navy of the Nuclear Age - 1947–2007. New York and London: Roultedge. ISBN 0-415-97899-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)


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