HMS American Salvor (BARS-5) Class

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HMS Lincoln Salvor (BARS-9) on 6 October 1943
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Class:        BARS-5 (HMS AMERICAN SALVOR)
Design        Navy BARS-5
Displacement (tons):        1,123 light, 1,615 lim.
Dimensions (feet):        183.2' oa, 174.1' wl x 37.0' x 14.7' lim
Original Armament:        1-3"/50 2-20mm
Later armaments:        --
Complement        45 (1944)
Speed (kts.):        12
Propulsion (HP):        1,200
Machinery:        2 screws, diesel-electric

Construction:

BARS	Name	Ord.	Builder	Keel	Launch	Commiss.
5	BARS-5 (HMS AMERICAN SALVOR)	3 Jan 42	Barbour Boat, New Bern	4 Apr 42	27 Dec 42	--
6	BARS-6 (HMS BOSTON SALVOR)	3 Jan 42	Barbour Boat, New Bern	20 Apr 42	20 Feb 43	--
9	BARS-9 (HMS LINCOLN SALVOR)	3 Jan 42	Bellingham Marine	27 Apr 42	14 Nov 42	--
10	BARS-10 (HMS SOUTHAMPTON SALVOR)	3 Jan 42	Bellingham Marine	30 May 42	23 Jan 43	--

Disposition:

BARS	Name	Decomm.	Strike	Disposal	Fate	MA Sale
5	BARS-5 (HMS AMERICAN SALVOR)	--	15 Oct 46	9 Sep 43	Trf.	--
6	BARS-6 (HMS BOSTON SALVOR)	--	22 Jun 45	26 Jan 44	Trf.	--
9	BARS-9 (HMS LINCOLN SALVOR)	--	15 Oct 46	5 Nov 43	Trf.	--
10	BARS-10 (HMS SOUTHAMPTON SALVOR)	--	15 Oct 46	18 Dec 43	Trf.	--

Class Notes:
FY 1941. Built under British Lend Lease requisitions UK 750 (BARS-5) and UK 1335 (BARS 6-10), both of 6 Jun 41. The British gave BuShips plans and specifications for a wooden salvage vessel that they stated could be built in the U.S. in about six months. On 4 Nov 41 the Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet requested that salvage bases be established at Argentia and Iceland and that four salvage vessels (ARS) be acquired as soon as possible for service in those areas. On 6 Dec 41 the Auxiliary Vessels Board reported that it had been unable to find suitable small seagoing vessels for conversion to tugs or salvage vessels and concluded that the only option was to build them. The Board recommended that five ships be built to the British plans for the U.S. Navy (ARS 13-17), four for the Atlantic Fleet and one for use in the Alaskan area. On 3 Jan 42 contracts were awarded for construction of five ships of this type for the U.S. Navy (ARS 13-17) and six for the British (BARS 5-10). Of their six ships, the British ultimately received four. The other two, BARS 7-8 (to have been named PLYMOUTH SALVOR and YORK SALVOR), were allocated to the U.S. Navy and became ARS 35-36 (see the ARS-13 class). Four other ships in requisition UK 750 were built as steel-hulled ships (BARS 1-4).

Two more units of this type were soon requisitioned by the British and were included as ARS 28-29 in the large 1799 vessels program that was approved on 17 Jan 42. They were ordered from Bellingham in April 1942, to be identical with and built to the plans of BARS 9-10. By then the use of the "B" hull type prefix for British Lend Lease orders had been abandoned and the ships were never numbered BARS 11-12 (the contract and all other Navy records used the hull numbers ARS 28-29). U.S. Navy names were assigned to the ships on 23 Aug 42 but they were not firmly allocated to the U.S. Navy until 20 Oct 43 after strenuous competition with the British (see the ARS-13 class).

Ship Notes:

BARS	Name	Notes
5	BARS-5 (HMS AMERICAN SALVOR)	Completed 8 Sep 43 and to UK under Lend Lease 9 Sep 43. Returned 10 Dec 46 after sold by FLC Nov 46. Merc. APTOTOS 1948, deleted 1955.
6	BARS-6 (HMS BOSTON SALVOR)	Completed and to UK under Lend Lease 26 Jan 44. Struck by V2 missile at Antwerp 16 Mar 45, burned and in sinking condition. Officially redelivered to USN 21 Apr 45 but British salvage crew remained on board and British sold hulk as scrap 30 Jan 46 to a Belgian firm.
9	BARS-9 (HMS LINCOLN SALVOR)	Completed and to UK under Lend Lease 5 Nov 43. Returned 10 Dec 46 after sold by FLC Nov 46. Merc. AGEROCHOS 1948, scrapped in Greece 1964.
10	BARS-10 (HMS SOUTHAMPTON SALVOR)	Completed and to UK under Lend Lease 18 Dec 43. Returned 10 Dec 46 after sold by FLC Nov 46. Merc. ALKIMOS 1948, scrapped in Greece 1953.