USS Cyrene (AGP-13)

USS Cyrene (AGP-13) was a motor torpedo boat tender for the United States Navy. She was laid down as Cape Farewell,[note 1] a Maritime Commission type (C1-A) hull under a Maritime Commission contract, at Pusey and Jones Corp., Wilmington, Delaware. Cyrene served in the Pacific from New Guinea to the Philippines from December 1944 to December 1945. The ship was decommissioned and placed in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in July 1946 then withdrawn from the reserve fleet after sale to American Ship Dismantlers in December 1976.

History
Name:
  • Cape Farewell (1944)
  • Cyrene (1944-1976)
Namesake:
Builder: Pusey and Jones Corporation, Wilmington, Delaware
Laid down: as Cape Farewell (C1-A)
Launched: 8 February 1944 as Cape Farewell
Acquired: 28 April 1944
Commissioned: 27 September 1944
Decommissioned: 2 July 1946
Renamed: Cyrene 27 September 1944
Fate:
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 2 July 1946
  • Scrapped 1978
General characteristics [1][2][3]
Type: Motor torpedo boat tender
Tonnage: 5,124 GRT, 2,851 Net[4]
Displacement:
  • 5,236 long tons (5,320 t) light
  • 11,000 long tons (11,177 t) full load
Length: 413 ft (126 m)
Beam: 60 ft (18 m)
Draft: 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)
Propulsion: Geared turbine engine, single propeller, 4,000 shp (2,983 kW)
Speed: 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Complement: 289
Armament:

Construction

Cape Farewell, Maritime Commission hull 891, contract 1095, was launched 8 February 1944 sponsored by Mrs. G. L. Coppage.[1][5] The ship was completed 28 April 1944, delivered to the Maritime Commission and immediately transferred to the Navy.[4]

Service history

The ship was acquired by the Navy on 28 April 1944 and commissioned as Cyrene 27 September 1944 with Commander F. A. Munroe, Jr., United States Naval Reserve, in command.[1]

Departing Norfolk, Virginia 10 November 1944, Cyrene arrived at Manus on 13 December to escort two squadrons of motor torpedo boats to Hollandia, New Guinea. She then sailed on convoy duty to Leyte, arriving 1 January 1945.[1]

Cyrene then served as tender for motor torpedo boats, and on 17 January 1945 became flagship for Commander, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons, 7th Fleet. After the war ended, she sailed from Samar on 21 December 1945 and arrived at San Francisco on 7 January 1946, reporting to the 12th Naval District for repair work in decommissioning small craft. Cyrene was decommissioned 2 July 1946 and delivered to the War Shipping Administration for disposal and placed in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet the same day.[1][4]

Disposal

The ship was purchased by American Ship Dismantlers, Inc., awarded under PD-X-1011 17 November 1976 for non transportation use at $85,166.82 and physically delivered to the company 7 December 1976.[4]

Other

Don Rickles, actor and comedian, served as a Seaman First Class aboard Cyrene.[6]

One of her lifeboats is now in use at Rochester, England, where it has been converted into a live-aboard vessel.

Footnotes
  1. See SS Cape Farewell (AK-5073) for the C9 Military Sealift Command Ready Reserve Force Ship.

References
  1. Naval History And Heritage Command (April 14, 2014). "Cyrene (AGP-13)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  2. Clancey, Patrick (March 21, 1998). "Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945: AGP-13 USS Cyrene". HyperWar. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  3. Priolo, Gary P. (13 May 2016). "USS Cyrene (AGP-13)". NavSource Online. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  4. Maritime Administration. "CAPE FAREWELL". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  5. Pusey & Jones Corporation (February 1944). "Launching party for the C1-A freighter, Cape Farewell". Wilmington, Delawary: Hagley Museum and Library. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  6. Jones, Chris (April 6, 2017), Don Rickles, WWII Vet & Comedian, Dies At 90, American Military News, retrieved 27 October 2020


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