Rescue and salvage ships (

hull classification symbol The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ind ...

ARS) are a type of military

salvage tug A salvage tug, known also historically as a wrecking tug, is a specialized type of tugboat that is used to rescue ships that are in distress or in danger of sinking, or to salvage ships that have already sunk or run aground. Overview Few tugbo ...

. They are tasked with coming to the aid of stricken vessels. Their general mission capabilities include combat salvage, lifting, towing, retraction of grounded vessels, off-ship firefighting, and manned diving operations.http://www.msc.navy.mil/inventory/ships.asp?ship=188 Military Sealift Command Ship Inventory: Rescue Salvage Ships They were common 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 ...

List of rescue and salvage ships of the United States Navy by class

The following ship classes have been designated under the ARS hull classification symbol in United States Navy Service.

''Lapwing''-class minesweeper conversions

The earliest designated

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 ...

salvage ships (ARS) were converted s. Ships of this type were operated by the

as salvage ships from June 1941 until USS ''Viking'' was decommissioned and scrapped in 1953. * * * * * * *

''Diver'' class

The

operated s (ARS) from October 1943 until the last example was decommissioned in July 1979. Several ships of this class were converted to other uses, and USS ''Shackle'' remained in service as the 213'

United States Coast Guard Cutter United States Coast Guard Cutter is the term used by the U.S. Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. They are or greater in length and have a permanently assigned crew with accommodations aboard. They carry the ship prefix USCGC. Histor ...

until March 2011. * * (Converted to USCGC ''Escape'' (WMEC-6)) * * * (Converted to ) * * (Converted to USNS ''Chain'' (T-AGOR-17)) * * * * * * (Converted to USCGC ''Yocona'' (WAT-168)) * (Converted to USNS ''Argo'' (T-AGOR-18)) * * * *

Miscellaneous civilian vessel conversions

Several ships were converted and redesignated as salvage ships (ARS) during World War II. * (canceled)http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/37/37idx.htm NavSource Photo Archives: Rescue and Salvage Ship (ARS) Indexhttp://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/smallships/auxrescue.htm Salvage and Rescue Ships (ARS, ARSD, ARST, ASR, ATS) * * * *

''Anchor'' class

The

operated s (ARS) from October 1943 until March 1946. * * * * *

''Weight'' class

The

operated s (ARS) from August 1943 until the last example was decommissioned in June 1946. The ''Weight''-class ships were originally intended for delivery to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

under different names, as part of the

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

program. However, they were instead delivered to and operated by the United States Navy. * *

''Bolster'' class

s (ARS) were operated by the

from July 1944 until the last example was decommissioned in September 1994. * * * * * * * (canceled) * (canceled) * (canceled) * (canceled) * (canceled) * (canceled)

''Safeguard'' class

s (T-ARS) are operated by Military Sealift Command in support of

operations. They were operated by the United States Navy as commissioned auxiliaries from November 1982 until the last example (''Safeguard'') was decommissioned in September 2007. Two are currently in service as part of the MSC.http://www.msc.navy.mil/sealift/2007/November/safeguard.htm, ''Sealift'' "USNS Safeguard joins MSC fleet" * - Decommissioned * * * - Decommissioned * ARS-54 (unnamed, canceled)

References

{{reflist Ship types Auxiliary ships of the United States Navy