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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Sarpedon (ARB-7)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Lima - Romeo
 NJLR
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - China Service Medal (extended) - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Aristaeus Class Battle Damage Repair Ship:
  • Laid down as LST-956, 11 July 1944, at Bethlehem Steel Co., Hingham, MA.
  • Redesignated Battle Damage Repair Ship ARB-7, 14 August 1944
  • Launched, 21 August 1944
  • Placed in partial commission, 16 November 1944, for transit to her conversion yard, LTjg. James Byron Shaum Jr., USNR in command
  • Decommissioned, at Baltimore, MD., 29 November 1944
  • Converted to an Aristaeus Class Battle Damage Repair Ship at Maryland Drydock Co., Baltimore, MD.
  • Recommissioned, USS Sarpedon (ARB-7), 10 March 1945, LT. William H. Farrar, USNR in command
  • During World War II USS Sarpedon was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Following World War II USS Sarpedon was assigned to Occupation and China service in the Far East for the following periods:

    Navy Occupation Service Medal
    China Service Medal (extended)
    2 September to 15 December 194517 December 1945 to 21 March 1946

  • Decommissioned, 29 January 1947, at San Diego, CA,
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 15 April 1976
  • Sold for scrapping, 1 January 1977, by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS)
  • Acquired by Phaethon Shipping & Trading Corp. S.A., Panama and renamed MV Petrola 133
  • Final Disposition, broken up for scrap, 30 May 1989
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,781 t.(lt) 3,960 t.(fl)
    Length 328'
    Beam 50'
    Draft 11' 2"
    Speed 11.6 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 15
    Enlisted 271
    Largest Boom Capacity 50 t.
    Armament
    two quad 40mm AA gun mounts
    eight single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Ship's Service Generators
    four 100Kw 120V/240V D.C.
    two 100Kw 450V A.C.
    Fuel Oil Capacity Diesel 4,480 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two General Motors 12-567A diesel engines
    single Falk Main Reduction Gears
    two propellers, 1800shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Sarpedon 108k USS Sarpedon (ARB-7) underway near Baltimore, MD., 24 March 1945, after completion of conversion to a Battle Damage Repair Ship. Beginning with this ship, the 3"/50 gun was eliminated and the after 40 mm quad mount was moved to the extreme stern.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-81377, RG-19 LCM, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Robert Hurst
    Sarpedon 1125k USS Sarpedon (ARB-7) at anchor, date and location unknown. Bruce Latimer
    Sarpedon 1173k USS Sarpedon (ARB-7) at anchor, date and location unknown. Bruce Latimer
    Sarpedon 92k USS Sarpedon (ARB-7) at anchor at Shanghai, China, 26 December 1945 Bruce Latimer
    Sarpedon 1495k USS Sarpedon (ARB-7) voyage record with ports of call. Bruce Latimer
    Sarpedon 166k USS Sarpedon (ARB-7) laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego CA., 29 January 1974.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 83858. Courtesy of D.M. McPherson, 1975    		 Stan Svec
    USS Sarpedon (ARB-7)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LTjg. Shaum Jr., James Byron, USNR (Ferry Command)16 November 1944- 29 November 1944
    02LT. Farrar, William Henry, USNR19 March 1945 - 13 November 1945
    03LCDR. Hoagland, Everett James, USNR13 November 1945 - 19 January 1946
    04LT. Schulien, Charles Edward, USN19 January 1946 - 15 April 1946
    05LCDR. Luke, John Robert, USNR15 April 1946 - August 1946
    06LT. Jones, Fred Theodore, USNAugust 1946 - 29 January 1947
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler, Ron Reeves and Russ Moody
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2009 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 27 September 2019