US Navy Auxiliary Ships: Achelous (ARL-1) Class

USS Egeria (ARL-8) circa April 1944
Click on this photograph for links to larger images of this class.

Class:        ACHELOUS (ARL-1)
Design:        Navy LST
Displacement (tons):        2,125 light, 4,100 lim.
Dimensions (feet):        328.0' oa, 316.0' pp x 50.0' e x 11.2' lim
Original Armament:        1-3"/50 2-40mmQ 8-20mm (1943-44: ARL 1-4, 7-9)
Later armaments:        1-12pdr (British 3" AA) 8-20mm (1943: ARL 5-6);
2-40mmQ 8-20mm (1945-48: ARL 1-4, 7-9); 2-40mmQ 6-20mmT (1952: ARL 7);
2-40mmQ 2-40mmT 6-20mmT (1955: ARL-7)
Complement:        253 (1944)
Speed (kts.):        11.6
Propulsion (HP):        1,800
Machinery:        G.M. diesels, 2 screws

Construction:

ARL	Name	Reclas.	Builder	Keel	Launch	Commiss.
1	ACHELOUS	13 Jan 43	Dravo, Wilmington	15 Aug 42	25 Nov 42	2 Apr 43
2	AMYCUS	13 Jan 43	Kaiser Cargo, Richmond #4	17 Jan 43	2 Apr 43	30 Jul 43
3	AGENOR	13 Jan 43	Kaiser Cargo, Richmond #4	24 Jan 43	3 Apr 43	20 Aug 43
4	ADONIS	26 Aug 43	Jeffersonville Boat & Mach	31 Mar 43	14 Jun 43	12 Nov 43
5	ARL-5 (LSE-1)	20 Jul 43	Jeffersonville Boat & Mach	8 Mar 43	28 May 43	--
6	ARL-6 (LSE-2)	20 Jul 43	Jeffersonville Boat & Mach	25 Mar 43	9 Jun 43	--
7	ATLAS	3 Nov 43	Chicago Bridge, Seneca	3 Jun 43	19 Oct 43	8 Feb 44
8	EGERIA	3 Nov 43	Chicago Bridge, Seneca	19 Jun 43	23 Nov 43	30 Mar 44
9	ENDYMION	3 Nov 43	Chicago Bridge, Seneca	23 Aug 43	17 Dec 43	9 May 44

Disposition:

ARL	Name	Decomm.	Strike	Disposal	Fate	MA Sale
1	ACHELOUS	5 Sep 46	1 Jun 73	29 Jan 74	Sold	--
2	AMYCUS	15 Nov 46	1 Jun 70	13 Aug 71	Sold	--
3	AGENOR	15 Nov 46	26 Mar 51	2 Mar 51	Trf.	--
4	ADONIS	10 Oct 46	1 Jan 60	20 Oct 60	Sold	--
5	ARL-5 (LSE-1)	--	29 Oct 46	29 Jul 43	Trf.	25 Apr 47
6	ARL-6 (LSE-2)	--	29 Oct 46	3 Aug 43	Trf.	25 Apr 47
7	ATLAS	13 Apr 56	1 Jun 72	18 Sep 73	Sold	--
8	EGERIA	29 Nov 46	1 Oct 77	29 May 80	MA/S	29 May 80
9	ENDYMION	29 Nov 46	1 Jun 72	18 Sep 73	Sold	--

Class Notes:
FY 1942 (ARL 1, 4-9), 1943 (ARL 2-3), all as LSTs. All were built under LST contracts and reclassified and fitted as ARL's before entering service.

Throughout 1942 the Navy looked for possible sources for additional auxiliary vessels, and it eventually found an answer in the LST program. In mid-1942 the landing craft program temporarily lost some of its urgency as plans for a 1943 Cross-Channel operation were deferred, and in October 100 of the 490 LSTs then on order were cancelled. The Navy apparently found that a few LSTs could be spared to fill other critical needs. On 3 Dec 42 COMINCH directed the conversion of three LSTs to repair ships for landing craft, and on 18 Dec 42 he directed that three more be converted to Battle Damage Repair Ships and two to Motor Torpedo Boat Tenders. On 2 Jan 43 three new hull type designations were proposed for these ships, respectively ARL, ARB, and AGP. The types and hull number assignments were approved by SecNav on 13 Jan 43. LST-25 was designated on 25 Jan 43 for conversion to ARL-1 but was replaced on 5 Feb 43 with LST-10 to expedite delivery of the first ARL conversion. Despite the reclassification dates shown here (which come from BuShips and OpNav records), the ships made the transit from the building to the conversion yards as LSTs, assuming their ARL designations and hull numbers only upon decommissioning and entering the conversion yard.

On 25 May 43 the British approached the U.S. with a Lend Lease request for three Landing Ships Emergency Repair (British type designator LSE), two for use in the Mediterranean beginning in August and one for India in November. The British LSE was functionally very similar to the U.S. ARL, and the British asked that the US do the conversions. On 8 Jun 43 the Munitions Assignment Committee assigned 16 additional LSTs to the British. The U.S. Navy replied on 12 Jun 43 to the British LSE request by stating that the U.S. would fill the requirement for a ship in India by sending ACHELOUS (ARL-1) from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, and that the U.S. could not provide additional LSTs for conversion but would be willing to convert two of the 16 just allocated to the British. The British selected LST 81-82 from this group and asked that they be fitted to US ARL specifications except that one of the two 5-ton derricks forward should be increased to 10 tons. (Both were increased to 10 tons in the US units.) As was done with all British-bound LSTs, the British also provided the 12 pounder (3-inch) AA gun that was installed on the stern while the US provided the 20mm guns. In addition to a different armament, the British ships did not have the 50-ton "A" frame hoist that was fitted in the US units. Agreement having been reached, the British submitted their requisition for the conversion, BAD-1966, on 12 Jul 43. The ships were known in British service both as LST 81-82 and as LSE 1-2. After their return to the U.S., they were sold as LST 81-82 by the Maritime Commission to Higgins, Inc. on 25 Apr 47 and were delivered by the Navy to the Maritime Commission and Higgins on 20 Aug 47. On the same day Higgins sold both to Argentina. The British also converted LST-425, 215, 360 and 402 to LSE 50-53 respectively in 1944 after receiving them from the U.S., but these were converted in the U.K. and were never listed as ARLs by the U.S. Navy.

On 11 Jun 43, as part of a major review of auxiliary ship requirements, the Auxiliary Vessels Board stated that, with the great numbers of ships of all types in the various and extended operating areas, it considered that additional repair ships were essential at the earliest practicable date, and that in planning an auxiliary vessel conversion program for 1944 and 1945 the conversion of LSTs and EC2 ships to repair ships was the most expeditious and economical method of meeting maintenance needs. It noted that these converted ships could relieve to a great extent the need for installation of shore-based repair facilities in the forward operating areas. As part of this effort, it recommended that a program of six LST conversions to ARLs be authorized, three in 1944 and three in 1945. The three ships for 1944 were ARL 7-9.

Seven of the nine ARL-1 class ships were converted to ARL's at Bethlehem-Key Highway, Baltimore, Md., and the other two were converted at San Francisco. Gibbs and Cox was the design agent for all LST conversions. The bow doors on the U.S. ships in the ARL-1 class were welded shut; those on the two British ships appear to have remained operational. In the U.S. ships, the entire stern anchor-handling rig with its 3,000 pound Danforth anchor was moved to the starboard bow to provide emergency anchoring facilities, although the anchor appears to have been quickly moved to a new hawse pipe. In the British ships the stern gun was on a raised platform, allowing the stern anchor to remain in its usual position under the gun.

The Navy tended to list ARL 1-39 as a single class, but beginning with ARL-10 the design was modified to include "elimination of the 3"/50 DP gun, retention of the bow doors and operating mechanism, and the provision of facilities to embark and repair LVTs." Forward, the after kingpost and the front end of the deckhouse were moved forward, increasing the space available for repair shops, and both kingposts were raised in height. Aft, the 3"/50 gun was deleted and the 40mm quadruple mount was moved to a raised platform on the extreme stern, under which the usual LST stern anchor was restored. The ARL-1 class units, less the two British units, received the same armament modification at or soon after the end of the war, although on at least one unit, ARL-1 herself, the 40mm mount was not relocated.

Ship Notes:

ARL	Name	Notes
1	ACHELOUS	Ex LST-10 13 Jan 43. Converted by Bethlehem Steel, Key Highway, Baltimore, Md. (delivered as LST 22 Feb 43, arrived from Wilmington, Del., 24 Feb 43, no ferry commission being needed for this inland waterways transit). In USN reserve 1946-73.
2	AMYCUS	Ex LST-489 13 Jan 43. Converted by Matson Navigation, San Francisco, Cal. (delivered as LST 3 Jun 43). In USN reserve 1946-70.
3	AGENOR	Ex LST-490 13 Jan 43. Converted by Matson Navigation, San Francisco, Cal. (delivered as LST and transferred 24 Jun 43). In USN reserve 1946-50. Trf. to France as VULCAIN for use in Indochina. CNO authorized transfer by France to Taiwan 24 Sep 57 as SUNG SHAN.
4	ADONIS	Ex LST-83 26 Aug 43. Ferry commission as LST-83 31 Jul-21 Aug 43 (from reduced to full commission at New Orleans 6 Aug 43). Converted by Bethlehem Steel, Key Highway, Baltimore, Md. In USN reserve 1946-60. Merc. MENDOCINO WOODSMAN (barge) 1963.
5	ARL-5 (LSE-1)	Ex LST-81 20 Jul 43. Ferry (reduced) commission 21-29 Jul 43, trf. to UK under Lend Lease 29 Jul 43 at New Orleans, UK ferry comm. 29 Jul-12 Aug 43. Converted by Bethlehem Steel, Key Highway, Baltimore, Md. Full UK commission 22 Sep 43, returned 9 May 46, sold by MC to Higgins, Inc., delivered 20 Aug 47. Became Argentine INGENIERO IRIBAS 1947. Stk. by Argentina 5 Aug 64.
6	ARL-6 (LSE-2)	Ex LST-82 20 Jul 43. Ferry (reduced) commission 26 Jul-3 Aug 43, trf. to UK under Lend Lease at New Orleans 2 Aug 43, UK ferry comm. 2-18 Aug 43. Converted by Bethlehem Steel, Key Highway, Baltimore, Md. Full UK commission 22 Sep 43, returned 13 May 46, sold by MC to Higgins, Inc., delivered 20 Aug 47. Became Argentine INGENIERO GADDA 1947. Stk. by Argentina 6 Oct 60. Merc. TIERRA DEL FUEGO 1963.
7	ATLAS	Ex LST-231 3 Nov 43. Ferry commission as LST-231 1 Nov-14 Dec 43 (from reduced to full commission at New Orleans 15 Nov 43). Converted by Bethlehem Steel, Key Highway, Baltimore, Md. In USN reserve 1946-51 and 1955-72. To buyer 17 Oct 73.
8	EGERIA	Ex LST-136 3 Nov 43. Ferry commission as LST-136 7 Dec 43 to 17 Jan 44 (from reduced to full commission at New Orleans ca. 18 Dec 43). Converted by Bethlehem Steel, Key Highway, Baltimore, Md. In USN reserve 1946-77. To buyer 20 Jun 80.
9	ENDYMION	Ex LST-513 3 Nov 43. Ferry commission as LST-513 3 Jan-9 Feb 44 (from reduced to full commission at New Orleans 14 Jan 44). Converted by Bethlehem Steel, Key Highway, Baltimore, Md. In USN reserve 1946-72.