USS ''Cyrene'' (AGP-13) was a

motor torpedo boat tender Motor torpedo boat tender is a type of ship used by the U.S. Navy during World War II and Vietnam War. The motor torpedo boat tender's task was to act as a tender in remote areas for patrol boats ( PT-boats) and to provide the necessary fuel and ...

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 ...

. She was laid down as ''Cape Farewell'',See for the C9 Military Sealift Command Ready Reserve Force Ship. a

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

type (C1-A) hull under a Maritime Commission contract, at

Pusey and Jones The Pusey and Jones Corporation was a major shipbuilder and industrial-equipment manufacturer. Based in Wilmington, Delaware, it operated from 1848 to 1959. Shipbuilding was its primary focus from 1853 until the end of World War II, when the comp ...

Corp., Wilmington, Delaware. ''Cyrene'' served in the Pacific from New Guinea to the Philippines from December 1944 to December 1945. The ship was decommissioned and placed in the

Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet The Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet is located on the northwest side of Suisun Bay (the northern portion of the greater San Francisco Bay estuary) in Benicia, California. The fleet is within a regulated navigation area that is about long and wide. It ...

in July 1946 then withdrawn from the reserve fleet after sale to American Ship Dismantlers in December 1976.

Construction

''Cape Farewell'',

hull 891, contract 1095, was launched 8 February 1944 sponsored by Mrs. G. L. Coppage. The ship was completed 28 April 1944, delivered to the Maritime Commission and immediately transferred to the Navy.

Service history

The ship was acquired by the Navy on 28 April 1944 and commissioned as ''Cyrene'' 27 September 1944. Departing

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

10 November 1944, ''Cyrene'' arrived at Manus on 13 December to escort two squadrons of motor torpedo boats to Hollandia,

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. She then sailed on convoy duty to

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

, arriving 1 January 1945. ''Cyrene'' then served as tender for motor torpedo boats, and on 17 January 1945 became

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

for Commander, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons,

7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...

. After the war ended, she sailed from

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

on 21 December 1945 and arrived at

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

on 7 January 1946, reporting to the 12th Naval District for repair work in decommissioning small craft. ''Cyrene'' was decommissioned 2 July 1946 and delivered to the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime Co ...

for disposal and placed in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet the same day.

Disposal

The ship was purchased by American Ship Dismantlers, Inc., awarded under PD-X-1011 17 November 1976 for non transportation use at $85,166.82 and physically delivered to the company 7 December 1976.

Other

Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958) with Clark Gable, Carl Reiner's '' Enter La ...

, actor and comedian, served as a

Seaman First Class Seaman is a military rank used in many navies around the world. It is considered a junior enlisted rank and, depending on the navy, it may be a single rank on its own or a name shared by several similarly junior ranks. In the Commonwealth, it ...

aboard ''Cyrene''. One of her lifeboats is now in use at Rochester, England, where it has been converted into a live-aboard vessel.

Footnotes

References

External links

Launching party for the C1-A freighter, ''Cape Farewell''
(Hagley Museum and Library)
The freighter, ''Cape Farewell'' after launching
(Hagley Museum and Library)
C1-A freighter, ''Cape Farewell'' Hold #3
(Hagley Museum and Library)

* ttp://www.whshistoryproject.org/ww2/Interviews/phpInterviews/mr_hayes.php "War on their Minds (2002)"(WW2 Project crew member interview) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cyrene (AD-13) Type C1-A ships Ships built by Pusey and Jones 1944 ships Motor torpedo boat tenders of the United States Navy World War II auxiliary ships of the United States