USS ARD-17

USS ARD-17 in the Panama Canal on her way to Ecuadorian Navy at Rodman Naval Station Canal Zone.
History
United States
NameARD-17
BuilderPacific Bridge Company, Alameda, California
Stricken1 December 1977[1]
FateSold to Ecuador, 1 December 1977[2]
History
Ecuador
NameAmazonas (DF 81)[3]
Acquired1 December 1977
General characteristics
Class and typeARD-12-class floating dry dock
Displacement5200 tons[2]
Length492 ft (150 m)[2]
Beam81 ft (25 m)[2]
Draft6 ft (1.8 m)[2]
PropulsionNone[2]

USS ARD-17 was an ARD-12-class floating dry dock built for the U.S. Navy during World War II as an Auxiliary floating drydock. Like most of the ships of her class, she was not named but known only by her designation.

History

ARD-17 was built at Pacific Bridge Company in Alameda, California and delivered to the Navy in early 1944.[3]

In July and August 1944, ARD-17 served a support role in the liberation of Guam.[4]

In late September 1944, USS Zuni (ATF-95) towed ARD-17 from Guam to Palau.[5] On 30 November 1944 ARD-17 was damaged by a near miss from a Japanese bomber while anchored at Naval Base Kossol Roads, Palau.[6]

In February 1945, ARD-17 and sister ship ARD-16 were at Leyte Gulf servicing ships returning from Iwo Jima and preparing for Okinawa.[7]

After the war, she eventually was returned to the United States, and for a time was laid up as part of the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Naval Shipyard at Boston, Massachusetts.[2]

On 1 December 1977, ARD-17 was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register,[1] and sold the same day to Ecuador under the Security Assistance Program.[2] Renamed Amazonas (DF-81), her current fate is unknown.[3]

Commanding Officers

  • LCDR. Anderson, Anton from 18 February 1944 to December 1945
  • LCDR. Wilson, Earnest C.from December 1945 to April 1946
  • LT. Barger, Lucian from April 1946 to 1 July 1946

References

  1. ^ a b "Naval Vessel Register". United States Navy. 13 September 2000. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Priolo, Gary P. (2005). "ARD-17". NavSource Online. NavSource Naval History. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
  3. ^ a b c "Pacific Bridge Company, Alameda CA, WWII Construction Record". Colton Company. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
  4. ^ "The War in the Pacific". LIBERATION — Guam Remembers: A Golden Salute for the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of Guam. National Park Service. 1994. Archived from the original on 25 October 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
  5. ^ "Zuni". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. United States Navy. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
  6. ^ Cressman, Robert (2000). "Chapter VI: 1944". The official chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-149-3. OCLC 41977179. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
  7. ^ Carter, Worrall Reed (1953). "Chapter XXV; Operation ICEBERG: The Okinawa Campaign; The Forces Involved--Staging Logistics". Beans, bullets, and black oil; the story of fleet logistics afloat in the Pacific during World War II. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Navy. p. 317. OCLC 781884. Retrieved 30 November 2007.