Aristaeus-class repair ship

The Aristaeus-class repair ship was a class of repair ships of the United States Navy during the Second World War.

USS Nestor
Class overview
NameAristaeus class
Builders
Operators
Built1943-1945
In commission1943-1947
Planned12
Completed12
Laid up1
Retired12
General characteristics
TypeRepair ship
Displacement
  • 1,781 t (1,753 long tons) light
  • 4,100 t (4,035 long tons) full load
Length328 ft (100 m) oa
Beam50 ft (15 m)
Draft
  • Full load: 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) forward; 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) aft
  • Landing at 2,160 t: 3 ft 11 in (1.19 m) forward; 9 ft 10 in (3.00 m) aft
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Range24,000 nmi (44,000 km; 28,000 mi) at 9 kn (17 km/h; 10 mph) while displacing 3,960 long tons (4,024 t)
Boats & landing
craft carried
2 or 6 x LCVPs
Capacity
  • 2,100 tons oceangoing maximum
  • 350 tons main deckload
Troops20 officers, 234 enlisted men
Complement13 officers, 104 enlisted men
Armament

Development

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Thirteen ships was converted into a repair ship throughout the later stages of World War II. The ships were converted from the LST-1, LST-491 and LST-542 classes. After the war, few ships were then sold to foreign countries such as Brazil, Greece, Norway and West Germany.

The ship's hull remained nearly the same but with new equipments to carry out her purpose now placed on deck alongside several cranes. The ships' armament had been slightly changed and relocated to make way for the ships' equipments. All ships served in the Pacific Theater until the end of the war with no ships lost in combat.[1]

MV Gordon Jensen (ex-USS Zeus) is still active to this day, serving as a transport and berthing vessel for SNOPAC Products Inc. processing crews in Alaska.[2]

ARB-13 (ex-USS LST-50) was redesignated as a repair ship on 14 November 1952. She was sold to Norway as HNoMS Ellida (A534) and later sold to Greece as Sakipis (A329).

Ships of class

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Aristaeus-class repair ship[3]
Pennant number Name Callsign Builders Launched Commissioned Decommissioned Fate
ARB-1 Aristaeus NJWX Philadelphia Navy Yard 11 February 1943 18 May 1943 10 January 1947 Fate unknown
ARB-2 Oceanus NJXA 11 February 1943 22 May 1943 January 1947 Scrapped
ARB-3 Phaon NJXD Dravo Corporation 30 January 1943 5 August 1943 January 1947 Scrapped on 8 July 1962
ARB-4 Zeus NJXG Chicago Bridge and Iron Co. 26 October 1943 11 April 1944 30 August 1946 Sold to merchant service, laid up in Alaska
ARB-5 Midas NJXJ 24 December 1943 23 May 1944 January 1947 Scrapped on 19 November 1980
ARB-6 Nestor NJLJ 20 January 1944 24 June 1944 29 November 1945 Scrapped
ARB-7 Sarpedon NJLR Bethlehem Steel Co. 21 August 1944 10 March 1945 29 January 1947 Scrapped on 30 May 1989
ARB-8 Telamon NJLV Bethlehem Hingham Shipyard 10 January 1945 1 June 1945 20 May 1947 Scrapped on 1 March 1974
ARB-9 Ulysses NJMB 2 December 1944 20 April 1945 28 February 1947 Sold to West Germany and renamed Odin (A512), fate unknown
ARB-10 Demeter NJMJ Chicago Bridge and Iron Co. 19 January 1945 3 July 1945 25 May 1947 Sold to merchant service, sunk on 12 January 1964
ARB-11 Diomedes NJMP 11 January 1945 23 June 1945 3 December 1946 Sold to West Germany and renamed Wotan (A513), fate unknown
ARB-12 Helios NJMR 14 February 1945 23 July 1945 3 December 1946 Sold to Brazil and renamed Belmonte (G24), sunk as target on 19 March 2002
ARB-13 Sold to Norway as HNoMS Ellida (A534), later sold to Greece as Sakipis (A329)

Citations

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  1. ^ Aristaeus Class Repair Ships. Books LLC. ISBN 9781156724477.
  2. ^ "GORDON JENSEN, Fishing vessel - Details and current position - IMO 8836273 MMSI 367526070 - VesselFinder". www.vesselfinder.com. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  3. ^ "NavSource Auxiliary Ship Photo Archive". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 15 December 2021.