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U.S.S. SPHINX
(ARL-24)WISDOM-STRENGTH-COURAGE
Click to view crew list
USS SPHINX (ARL-24) - an Achelous class repair ship
In Commission 1945 to 1947ARL-24 Deployments - Major Events
Add a ARL-24 Shellback Initiation | Add a ARL-24 Deployment - Major Event | ||||
Month | Year | to | Month | Year | Deployment / Event |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
OCT | 1944 | - | Keel Date: 20 OCT 1944 at Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation | ||
MAR | 1945 | - | Launch Date: 7 MAR 1945 | ||
MAY | 1945 | - | Commissioned: 10 MAY 1945 | ||
APR | 1967 | - | JUL | 1971 | Viet Nam Operations |
JAN | 1970 | - | JAN | 1971 | West Pac-Viet Nam |
NOV | 1970 | - | AUG | 1971 | West Pac-Viet Nam |
SEP | 1971 | - | Decommissioned: 30 SEP 1971 | ||
JUL | 1985 | - | JUL | 1989 | Recommisioned for Ops off of El Salvador |
JAN | 1987 | - | JAN | 1988 | Panama Canal |
FEB | 1988 | - | Shellback Initiation - 10 FEB 1988 - Pacific Ocean | ||
FEB | 1988 | - | Shellback Initiation - 15 FEB 1988 - Pacific Ocean | ||
JUN | 1988 | - | DEC | 1989 | Panama Canal |
JUN | 1989 | - | JUN | 1989 | Decommisioning |
NOV | 1989 | - | Shellback Initiation - 10 NOV 1989 - Pacific Ocean |
ARL-24 General Specifications
Class: Achelous class repair ship
Complement: 253 Officers and Enlisted
Displacement: 1781 tons
Length: 328 feet
Beam: 50 feet
Draft: 11 feet 2 in
Final Disposition: Being stripped of parts scheduled for scrapping 2007
USS SPHINX (ARL-24)
Sphinx
(ARL-24)
was laid down as LST-963 on 20 October 1944
by the Bethlehem Steel Co., Hingham, Mass.; named Sphinx and
redesignated ARL-24 on 11 September 1944;
launched on 18 November 1944; converted
into a landing craft repair ship at the Merrill Stevens Drydock,
Jacksonville, Fla.; and commissioned on 10
May 1945.
Sphinx completed fitting out and
proceeded to Norfolk for sea trials and shakedown in Chesapeake Bay. On 12
June, she sailed for the west coast; transited the Panama Canal on 23
June; and proceeded via San Diego, to San Francisco. She was assigned to the Amphibious
Forces, Pacific Fleet, and ordered to Hawaii. Sphinx arrived in
Pearl Harbor on 31 July and repaired craft there until 27 August when she sailed for Adak, Alaska.
Before she reached Adak, her sailing orders were modified,
routing her to Japan. She arrived at Mutsu Bay, Honshu, on 14 September and
began repairing and
refitting minesweepers. Sphinx moved to Yokosuka on 20 November and
sailed for Saipan on 3 December 1945. She operated in the central Pacific
islands until entering Pearl Harbor on 9
January 1947 en route to the west coast for decontamination. The ship
had participated in Operation Crossroads,
the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll
in the Marshalls from early April to
29 August 1946.
Sphinx arrived at San Pedro, Calif.,
on 22 January where she was decontaminated and prepared for
inac-tivation. She was placed out of commission, in reserve, on 26
May 1947.
The outbreak of hostilities in Korea created a need for Sphinx's
repair facilities in the Far East. She was recommissioned on 3 November
1950. After outfittingand holding shakedown training, she stood out of San Diego on
17 August 1951 and proceeded via Pearl Harbor to Japan. Sphinx arrived
at Yokosuka on 29 September and operated from Japanese ports until 7 May 1952. During1
this time, she repaired and serviced fleet
units that were being used in Korea. The ship returned to San Diego on 4 June 1952 and operated along the California coast until redeployed to the
Far East from 3 March to 9 December
1954. Sphinx operated along the
west coast during 1955 and, on 31 January
1956, was again placed out of commission, in reserve, and berthed at San Diego.
In January 1967, orders were issued to reactivate Sphinx for use
in Vietnam. She was towed to New Orleans, La., in February and, on
16 December 1967, placed in commission. The ship sailed for the west coast on
8 January 1968 and arrived at San Diego on 23 February. On 22 April, Sphinx
and Cohoes (AN-78) sailed for the western Pacific. The ships made
port calls at Pearl Harbor, Kusaie, Guam, and Subic Bay. Sphinx sailed
independently from there on 6 June and, four days later, arrived at Vung Tau, South
Vietnam.
Sphinx moved to Dong Tarn, on 11 June,
and was assigned to the Mobile Riverine Force in the Mekong Delta.
Her unit was Task Force (TF) 117 composed of 11 shallow-draft ships and
over 150 river assault boats. The repair ship was on a non-rotating basis and,
during 1969, had very little time underway. She operated in the Tien Giang
and Ham Luong rivers, providing service and support for the riverboats as
they engaged in operations against the Viet Cong. The ship
sailed from Vietnam on 21 June for a yard period at Sasebo and returned on
25 August.
Upon her return to Vietnam, Sphinx operated along the Vam
Co River. In addition to her regular duties, the ship served as the
tactical operations center of the Can Giouc Interdiction Unit and
also developed helicopter capabilities, handling 50 landings before 31
December 1969. She remained in Vietnam until 14 December 1970 when she weighed
anchor for a yard period at Yokosuka. On the last day of the year, the ship
lost power in both main engines and was adrift 340 miles from Sasebo. On
2 January 1971, Chipola (AO-63) took her under tow for Sasebo where she was
repaired.
Sphinx was back off Vietnam on 11 March
and remained there until sailing for the west coast several months
later. She arrived at Bremerton, Wash., on 2 July and prepared to
rejoin the reserve fleet. On 30 September 1971, Sphinx was placed in reserve,
out of commission, and remained berthed at Bremerton into December 1974.
Sphinx received one battle star for
Korean service and eight for service in Vietnam.
[Note: The above USS SPHINX (ARL-24) history may, or may not, contain text provided by crew members of the USS SPHINX (ARL-24), or by other non-crew members, and text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]