was originally laid down as ARD-18, a non self-propelled

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Auxiliary floating drydock An auxiliary floating drydock is a type of US Navy floating dry dock. Floating dry docks are able to submerge underwater and to be placed under a ship in need of repair below the water line. Water is then pumped out of the floating dry dock, r ...

in 1944. Built by the Pacific Bridge Company in Alameda, California. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

USS ARD-18 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and serviced ships at

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the seco ...

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest i ...

, and

Leyte-Samar Naval Base Leyte-Samar Naval Base was a large United States Navy base in the Philippines on the Islands of Leyte and Samar. The Base was built during World War II to support the many naval ships fighting and patrolling in the South West Pacific theatre of ...

. After the war, floating dry dock ARD-18 was sent to Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Corp.'s yard, circa 1967-68 and was lengthened by adding a midsection as well as an additional deck above the uppermost crane deck. Redesignated Medium Auxiliary Repair Dry Dock Endurance (ARDM-3), she served until retirement in 1995.

References

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive Endurance (ARDM-3) ex USS ARD-18
{{DEFAULTSORT:Endurance 1944 ships Ships built in Alameda, California ARD-12-class floating drydocks Floating drydocks of the United States Navy