USS ''Portunus'' (ARC-1) was an acquired by the

U.S. 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 o ...

for use 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 ...

as a landing craft for troops and, later, as a cable repair ship. On 16 November 1959 the ship was transferred to Portugal to become the NRP ''Medusa'' until modified during 1964 into a Marine Support Ship and assigned to the Guinea-Bissau Maritime Defense Command. In July 1969 the ship was renamed ''São Rafael'' and redesignated as an ''Albacora'' class submarine support ship. ''São Rafael'' was disarmed and disposed of in 1976.

U.S. Navy

''Portunus'' was laid down by the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co.,

Kearny, New Jersey Kearny ( ) is a town in the western part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 40,684,shakedown Shakedown may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational * Extortion, ...

off Norfolk, Virginia, ''LSM–275'' steamed for Key West, Florida, 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 condui ...

, and

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 ...

, before reaching

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 ...

28 January 1945. After a trip 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 ...

she steamed from Pearl Harbor in task unit TU 51.13.4 via

Eniwetok Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with i ...

and Saipan to

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 ...

to land troops and supplies on the "last stepping stone" to Japan. Departing in TU 51.29.22, 25 April while the battle for

was still going on, she steamed via Saipan to

Ulithi Ulithi ( yap, Wulthiy, , or ) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap. Overview Ulithi consists of 40 islets totaling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the larges ...

, arriving 5 May. Departing 28 June she then put into

Tulagi Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island——in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 1 ...

, the

Russells :''See also Russell Island (disambiguation).'' The Russell Islands are two small islands ( Pavuvu and Mbanika), as well as several islets, of volcanic origin, in the Central Province of Solomon Islands. They are located approximately northwest ...

, and Saipan, before reaching Pearl Harbor 19 August, 5 days after the war's end. On 4 December she departed

for San Diego. She steamed between San Diego, San Pedro, and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

during the first half of 1946, then reported to Com 19th Fleet at San Diego 18 September; underwent inactivation overhaul; and decommissioned 21 April 1947 at San Pedro.

Recommissioned as a cable laying ship

Ordered activated in 1951, ''LSM–275'' was redesignated as a cable laying and repair ship ''ARC–1'' on 14 December, and recommissioned 2 July 1952. She operated off

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

ports for the next 11 months, then, on 1 June 1953, got underway for the U.S. East Coast. The ship was named ''Portunus'' 13 July 1953. Attached to the

3rd Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...

, she laid cable off

Cape May, New Jersey Cape May is a city located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, and part of ...

, and off

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

before conducting ocean bottom surveys and cable operations off Colombia's Atlantic and Pacific coasts, 13 October to 31 October. Returning to New York, ''Portunus'' underwent overhaul and on 8 March 1954 resumed cable operations, first in the approaches to New York, off

Sandy Hook, New Jersey Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern ...

, then off Bermuda. From 1955 to 1959 she continued to lay cable, off Key West, off Sandy Hook, off Bermuda, off Wood Island, Maine, off

Nantucket Island Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

, in the Narragansett area, and off

Little Creek, Virginia Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

. During this period she continued to base at the New York Shipyard, Brooklyn, and to periodically pick up cable at

Newington, New Hampshire Newington is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 811 at the 2020 census. It is bounded to the west by Great Bay, northwest by Little Bay and northeast by the Piscataqua River. It is home to Portsmouth Int ...

Decommissioning

She decommissioned at New York 30 April 1959, and her name was struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...

1 May 1959. ''Portunus'' earned one

battle star 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

service.

Portuguese Navy

The cable repair vessel was transferred to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

under the

Military Assistance Program The Mutual Defense Assistance Act was a United States Act of Congress signed by President Harry S. Truman on 6 October 1949. For US Foreign policy, it was the first U.S. military foreign aid legislation of the Cold War era, and initially to Eu ...

with delivery on 16 November 1959. The ship was commissioned in the

Portuguese Navy The Portuguese Navy ( pt, Marinha Portuguesa, also known as ''Marinha de Guerra Portuguesa'' or as ''Armada Portuguesa'') is the naval branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Port ...

18 November 1959 as ''Medusa'' with designation A 5214. On 24 September 1964 the ship was transferred to the Arsenal do Alfeite to be modified into a Marine Support Ship. After modification the ship was assigned to the Guinea-Bissau Maritime Defense Command. In July 1969 the ship was renamed ''São Rafael'' and reclassified as an ''Albacora'' class submarine support ship. The ship was disarmed and disposed of by the Portuguese Navy in 1976.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Portunus (ARC-1) Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey 1944 ships World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United States Repair ships of the United States Navy Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States LSM-1-class landing ships medium Cable ships of the United States Navy Auxiliary ships of the Portuguese Navy