USS Agenor

	RFS Vulcain (A-656), participating in Operation Hirondelle, French Indochina, July 1953.
History
United States
Name	Agenor
Namesake	Agenor
Ordered	as a Type S3-M-K2 hull, MCE hull 1010
Builder	Permanente Metals Corporation, Richmond, California
Yard number	45
Laid down	24 January 1943
Launched	3 April 1943
Commissioned	20 August 1943
Decommissioned	15 November 1946
Reclassified	Landing Craft Repair Ship, 13 January 1943
Stricken	26 March 1951
Identification	Hull symbol: ARL-3; Code letters: NJVB; ;
Honors and; awards	3 × battle stars
Fate	transferred to France, through Mutual Defense Assistance Program, 2 March 1951
France
Name	Vulcain
Namesake	Vulcan
Acquired	2 March 1951
Identification	Hull symbol: A-656
Fate	transferred to the Republic of China, 1957
Republic of China
Name	Shung Shan or Sung Shan
Namesake	Songshan District, Taipei ; Tai Wu;
Acquired	1957
Renamed	Tai Wu
Identification	Hull symbol: ARL-336; Hull symbol: AP-520;
Status	unknown
General characteristics
Class and type	Template:Sclass-
Displacement	3,900 long tons (4,000 t) (light) ; 4,100 long tons (4,200 t) (full load);
Length	328 ft (100 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	11 ft 2 in (3.40 m)
Installed power	2 × Electro-Motive Diesel 12-567A diesel engines; 1,800 shp (1,300 kW);
Propulsion	1 × Falk main reduction gears; 2 × Propellers;
Speed	12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement	22 officers, 233 enlisted men
Armament	1 × 3-inch (76 mm)/50 caliber dual-purpose gun 2 × quad 40 millimetres (1.57 in) Bofors anti-aircraft (AA) guns 6 × twin 20 millimetres (0.79 in) Oelikon AA cannons
Service record
Operations:	Capture and occupation of Saipan (25 June–21 July 1944); Capture and occupation of Guam (1–15 August 1944); Tinian Capture and occupation (24–31 July 1944); Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima (19 February–16 March 1945);
Awards:	American Campaign Medal; Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal; World War II Victory Medal;

USS Agenor (ARL-3) was one of 39 Template:Sclass- landing craft repair ships built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for Agenor (in history and Greek mythology, a king of Tyre), she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Construction

Originally projected as LST-490, an Template:Sclass-, this ship was redesignated ARL-3 and named Agenor on 13 January 1943. She was laid down on 24 January 1943, MC hull 1010, by Kaiser Shipyards, Yard No. 4, Richmond, California; launched on 3 April 1943;^[1] and commissioned at San Francisco, on 20 August 1943, Lieutenant Argyle W. Markley, USNR, in command.^[3]

Service history

United States Navy

From December 1943 through 9 June 1944, Agenor provided repair services to numerous landing craft operating in the Solomon, Russell, and Marshall Islands. On 9 June, the repair ship got underway for the Marianas. Eight days later, Japanese torpedo bombers attacked Agenor's convoy. Despite several near misses, the ship continued on safely to waters off Saipan where she arrived on 24 June.^[3]

Agenor was then assigned duty with a salvage group, Task Group 52.7 (TG 52.7). While air raids were a constant threat, the vessel carried out her work successfully. On 15 July, she moved to Tinian to supply services to invasion forces there.^[3]

The ship sailed to Guam in early August, and reported to Task Force 53 (TF 53). That island was her base of operations through 2 October, when the ship shifted to Ulithi in the Carolines. Agenor returned to Guam on 10 February 1945, to prepare for the Iwo Jima landings.^[3]

On 20 February, the repair ship arrived off Iwo Jima and joined TG 51.3. During the operations there, Agenor carried out her work despite air attack and heavy seas. The ship remained at Iwo Jima until 25 June. She then got underway for Saipan, where she dropped anchor on 29 June.^[3]

Soon after reporting to Service Squadron 10 for duty, Agenor left Saipan bound for Hawaii and a much-needed overhaul. The vessel reached Pearl Harbor on 18 July and entered the navy yard. The Japanese surrender found the ship still undergoing repairs at Pearl Harbor. Upon completion of the yard work, Agenor served in the Hawaiian operating area until placed out of commission, in reserve, on 15 November 1946.^[3]

French Navy

Agenor was transferred to the government of France on 2 March 1951, under the terms of the Mutual Defense Assistance Act and renamed RFS Vulcain (A-656). Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 26 March 1951.^[3]

Republic of China Navy

Transferred by France to the Republic of China Navy in 1957 and renamed Shung Shan (ARL-336), later being renamed Tai Wu (AP-520.^[4]

Awards

Agenor earned three battle stars for her World War II service.^[3]

Notes

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c Kaiser No. 4 2014.
^ Navsource 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h DANFS 2016.
^ Silverstone 2009, p. 171.

Bibliography

Online resources

"Agenor (ARL-3)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2017. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
"Kaiser Permanente No. 4, Richmond CA". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
"USS Agenor (ARL-3)". Navsource.org. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
Silverstone, Paul H. (2009). The Navy of the Nuclear Age - 1947–2007. New York and London: Roultedge. ISBN 0-415-97899-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

Photo gallery of USS Agenor (ARL-3) at NavSource Naval History

Template:Kaiser, Richmond Ship Yards

[FOOTNOTEKaiser_No._42014-1] Kaiser No. 4 2014.

[FOOTNOTENavsource2014-2] Navsource 2014.

[FOOTNOTEDANFS2016-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h DANFS 2016.

[FOOTNOTESilverstone2009171-4] Silverstone 2009, p. 171.

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