USS ''Stentor'' (ARL-26) 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 ship A repair ship is a naval auxiliary ship designed to provide maintenance support to warships. Repair ships provide similar services to destroyer, submarine and seaplane tenders or depot ships, but may offer a broader range of repair capability incl ...

s 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 ...

. Named for

Stentor In Greek mythology, Stentor (Ancient Greek: Στέντωρ; ''gen''.: Στέντορος) was a herald of the Greek forces during the Trojan War. Mythology Stentor is mentioned briefly in Homer's ''Iliad'' in which Hera in the guise of Stent ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

in the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...

noted for his loud, "stentorian" voice), she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Construction

Originally projected as a

tank landing ship Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for ships first developed during World War II (1939–1945) to support amphibious operations by carrying tanks, vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto shore with ...

, ''LST-858'', ''Stentor'' was redesignated a landing craft repair ship on 14 August 1944; laid down at

Seneca, Illinois Seneca is a village in LaSalle County, Illinois, LaSalle and Grundy County, Illinois, Grundy counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 2,353 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 2,371 at the 2010 United States c ...

on 21 September 1944, by the

Chicago Bridge & Iron Company CB&I is a large engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company with its administrative headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas. CB&I specializes in projects for oil and gas companies. CB&I employs more than 32,000 people worldwide. In May ...

; launched on 11 November 1944; and commissioned on 22 December 1944.

Service history

''Stentor'' moved down the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

after commissioning and arrived at

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

on Christmas Eve. She departed the South Pass on 2 January 1945 and arrived in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

on the following day. ''Stentor'' decommissioned at Mobile on 9 January and began conversion to a landing craft repair ship. She recommissioned on 28 April, and completed fitting out and shakedown training in May. On 4 June, she reported for duty with the Pacific Fleet at

Coco Solo Coco Solo was a United States Navy submarine base and naval air station, active from 1918 to the 1960s. History The submarine base at Coco Solo was established May 6, 1918. The site corresponds with modern-day Cativá in Panama. It was on the ...

, the western terminus of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

. Three days later, ''Stentor'' headed for the California coast. She loaded pontoons at

Port Hueneme Port Hueneme ( ; Chumash: ''Wene Me'') is a small beach city in Ventura County, California, surrounded by the city of Oxnard and the Santa Barbara Channel. Both the Port of Hueneme and Naval Base Ventura County lie within the city limits. Port ...

, near Los Angeles, between 20 and 25 June, then sailed for San Francisco. She stopped there on 27 June, and headed for Hawaii. The landing craft repair ship reached

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

on 16 July, and there she remained through the waning days of World War II and into the fall of 1945. On 20 October 1945, she departed the harbor and shaped a course for the Far East. ''Stentor'' stopped at

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 ...

, in the

Marianas The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

, on 3 November and arrived in

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 flow ...

, China, three days before Christmas. She served in China until 6 October 1946, when she departed

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

for the United States. One month later, she entered port at

San Pedro, Los Angeles San Pedro ( ; Spanish: " St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

. For a little more than a year, she operated on the west coast, but spent most of her time in port at San Diego, where she was decommissioned and placed in the

Pacific Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and ...

in December 1947. ''Stentor'' remained out of commission, in reserve, until 1 July 1960 when her name 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 23 January 1961, her hulk was sold to the Diesel Parts Corporation of New York City for scrapping. USS Stentor ARL-26 at dock

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stentor (Arl-26) Achelous-class repair ships Achelous-class repair ships converted from LST-542-class ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Ships built in Seneca, Illinois 1944 ships