USS ''Oceanus'' (ARB-2) was planned as a

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 ...

, but was redesignated as one of twelve ''Aristaeus''-class battle damage repair ships built for the

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 opposing ...

. Named for Oceanus (believed to be the world-ocean in

classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

), she was the only US Naval vessel to bear the name.

Construction

The ship was laid down as ''LST–328'' on 12 November 1942, at the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the ci ...

; redesignated ARB-2 on 25 January 1943, she was then launched on 11 February 1943, and commissioned on 22 May 1943.

Service history

Following shakedown in

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

, ''Oceanus'' departed Norfolk, Virginia on 23 July 1943 for the Pacific, arriving at

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and ...

, New Caledonia 18 September. She remained there, converting LCIs to shoal-draft

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-ste ...

s and making emergency repairs to damaged vessels. On 28 October, she shifted to

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region o ...

, thence, departing on 1 July 1944, to

Florida Island The Nggela Islands, also known as the Florida Islands, are a small island group in the Central Province of Solomon Islands, a sovereign state (since 1978) in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The chain is composed of four larger islands and about ...

. On 9 September 1944, she departed the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...

in TG 31.4 and on 20 September, arrived at

Kossol Roads Kossol Roads is a large body of reef-enclosed water north of Babeldaob in northern Palau at .Kossol Roads
a ...

Palaus Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Car ...

. There she repaired, often while underway, craft and vessels damaged in the assaults against those islands and against the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. In February 1945, she steamed to

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

to join TG 51.5 for the Iwo Jima invasion, arriving on 20 February, and remaining until 17 March. The

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

campaign next took ''Oceanus'' to

Kerama Retto The are a subtropical island group southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Geography Four islands are inhabited: Tokashiki Island, Zamami Island, Aka Island, and Geruma Island. The islands are administered as Tokashiki Village and Zamami Vill ...

, where work on ships damaged by

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending t ...

s and bombs kept her on a round-the-clock schedule into mid-May. On 14 May, she shifted to the

Hagushi Hagushi bay is located in Yomitan, Okinawa. The bay is at the mouth of Hija River. The north side of the mouth of the river has a public beach called Toguchi Beach. World War II Hagushi bay was the primary unloading point for American suppli ...

anchorage for emergency repairs to the battleship . Completing the work and returning to Kerama Retto's "Scrap Iron Row" on 21 May, she remained until early June when she steamed to the Philippines. Arriving at

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 ...

15 June, she remained in San Pedro Bay until after the end of the War.

Post-war

Post-war duties took her to Okinawa, then to China. At

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

from October into December, she serviced landing and patrol craft assigned to China Group. On 25 December, she headed back to the United States to prepare for inactivation. Decommissioned 15 January 1947, she was berthed at

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

, as a unit of the Pacific Reserve Fleet until 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 ...

1 July 1961, and sold 3 May 1962 to Zidell Exploration of Portland, Oregon for scrapping.

Awards

''Oceanus'' earned one

battle stars A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

for World War II service.

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

Online resources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oceanus (Arb-2) Aristaeus-class repair ships Aristaeus-class repair ships converted from LST-1-class ships Ships built in Philadelphia 1943 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego