USS Xanthus at anchor.
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History | |
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United States | |
Ordered |
|
Builder | Bethlehem-Fairfield SYs |
Laid down | 6 June 1944 |
Launched | 31 July 1944 |
Acquired | 16 August 1944 |
Commissioned | 9 May 1945 |
Decommissioned | 1946 |
Stricken | 1 September 1962 |
Fate | Sold for scrap, 1974 |
General characteristics | |
Type | MC EC2-S-C1 |
Displacement | 5,801 tons(lt), 10,920 tons(fl) |
Length | 441 ft 6 in (134.57 m) |
Beam | 56 ft 11 in (17.35 m) |
Draught | 22 ft 0 in (6.71 m) |
Propulsion | Skinner-uniflow triple expansion reciprocating steam engine, single shaft, 2,500shp. (All pumps were also reciprocating.) |
Speed | 12.5 knots |
Complement | 524 officers and enlisted |
Armament | one 5”/38 gun mount, three 3”/50 gun mounts, two twin 40 mm machine guns, twelve 20 mm machine guns |
USS Xanthus (AR-19) was a Xanthus-class repair ship acquired by the United States Navy for the task of providing repairs to the fleet. She was named after Xanthus, a mythical beast of Greek legend.
Intended for the Royal Navy as HMS Hecla (F 175), she was laid down under Maritime Commission contract (MCE hull 2664) as Hecla on 6 June 1944 at Baltimore, Maryland, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc.. She was launched on 31 July 1944, sponsored by Mrs. J.W.A. Waller, and delivered to the Navy on a loan basis on 16 August 1944.
On 6 December 1944, she was renamed Xanthus and designated AR-19. She was commissioned on 9 May 1945.