USS ''ARD-29'' was an

auxiliary repair dock An auxiliary repair dock (ARD) is a type of floating drydock employed by the U.S. Navy, especially during World War II. The Navy commissioned 33 ARD vessels: ARD-1 through ARD-33. ARDs were self-sustaining in World War II. ARDs have a rudder to hel ...

that served with 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 as an

Auxiliary floating drydock An auxiliary floating drydock is a type of US Navy floating dry dock. Floating dry docks are able to submerge underwater and to be placed under a ship in need of repair below the water line. Water is then pumped out of the floating dry dock, ...

. In 1967, the ship was renamed ''Arco'', and in the 1970s the vessel was first loaned, and later sold, to Iran.

Service history

''ARD-29'' was placed in service at

San Diego, California 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 Stat ...

on 1 July 1944 and was employed by the Navy at the Naval Repair Base at San Diego during the latter part of 1944 and the beginning of 1945. Early in 1945, the drydock began to receive modifications at the Kaiser Cargo yard at Richmond, California, in preparation for assignment to advanced bases in the Pacific. She was placed in commission on 23 June 1945. ''ARD-29'' visited

Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...

, for about a month before getting underway for the Central Pacific on 22 July. She stopped en route at

Kwajalein Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese: ) is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents (about 1,000 mostly U.S. civil ...

in the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Intern ...

to change tugs and then continued on to the Marianas on 24 August under tow by . The floating drydock arrived 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 ...

on 2 September and operated there and later at

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 ...

until late in 1946 when she was transferred to

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 R ...

. ''ARD-29'' provided repair services to Pacific Fleet ships at Pearl Harbor until the beginning of 1959. At that time, she was towed back to Guam where she served out the last 12 years of her Navy career. During this assignment, she was named ''Arco'' on 28 March 1967. On 1 November 1971, ''Arco'' was loaned to the

Imperial Iranian Navy The Iranian Navy traditionally located in the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf, has always been the smallest of the country's military forces. An Iranian navy in one form or another has existed since Achaemenid times in 500 BC. The Phoenician n ...

. On 15 September 1976, her name was struck from the Navy list and she was sold to Iran on 1 March 1977. As of the end of 2007, she was still on the active list of the Iranian Navy as ''Drydock No. 400''.Combat Fleets of the World
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:ARD-29 ARD-12-class floating drydocks Ships built in Alameda, California 1944 ships World War II auxiliary ships of the United States Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Imperial Iranian Navy Auxiliary ships of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy Floating drydocks of the United States Navy