USS ''ARL-6'' was one of 39 ''Achelous''-class

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. Pr ...

repair ships built for the

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 ...

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 ...

. Originally laid down as ''LST-82'' on 25 March 1943 at

Jeffersonville, Indiana Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio River ...

by the Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Company; launched on 9 June 1943; sponsored by Mrs. G. D. Kellogg; redesignated ''ARL-6'' on 20 July 1943; and commissioned on 26 July 1943. On 2 August 1943, she was decommissioned and transferred to the United Kingdom as HM ''LSE-2''. The tank landing ship never saw active service with the United States Navy. She was returned by the United Kingdom on 21 May 1946 and she was struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 29 October 1946. On 20 August 1947 she was sold to Argentina as ARA ''Ingeniero Gadda'' (Q-22) and served that government until she was decommissioned on 25 August 1960. She was sold by the

Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the ...

in 1968 to Bottachi S. A. (Argentina), for trade between Argentina and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, after which time she was renamed MV ''Tierra Del Fuego''.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arl-6 Achelous-class repair ships Achelous-class repair ships converted from LST-1-class ships Ships built in Jeffersonville, Indiana 1943 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United Kingdom Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Royal Navy