USS Prometheus (AR-3)
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USS ''Prometheus'' (AR-3) was a
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 ...
that served the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Named after
Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...
figure
Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titans, Titan. He is best known for defying the Olympian gods by taking theft of fire, fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technol ...
, she was originally laid down as a collier on 18 October 1907 at the Mare Island Navy Yard,
Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California, United States, and the second largest city in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the ci ...
; launched on 5 December 1908; and commissioned 15 January 1910 as USS ''Ontario'' (Fleet Collier No. 2).


Service history


1910–1924

''Ontario'' served with a merchant complement until she decommissioned on 7 April 1913 to undergo conversion to a repair ship. After conversion, she recommissioned 23 December 1914 as USS ''Prometheus'' (Repair Ship No. 2). After a cruise to
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
n waters in 1915, she was assigned to duty with the Atlantic Fleet, 16 May 1916 operating out of
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
and bound for
Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...
, remaining there until 29 January 1918. While at Bermuda she was ordered to join the Naval forces at
Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port, port city in the Finistère department, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of a peninsula and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an impor ...
to provide repair services, and she did a commendable job until she sailed on 16 January 1919 for
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Upon arrival at New York she was assigned to Battleship Force 1 for duty in conjunction with the upkeep of vessels engaged in overseas transportation of troops. She was classified as AR-3 on 17 July 1920. ''Prometheus'' sailed from New York on 1 September 1920 with orders to tow the , disabled at
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, to
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. For her performance in this assignment she was commended by the Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet. ''Prometheus'' made additional cruises to Cuba in 1921 and 1923 while operating with the Atlantic Fleet. ''Prometheus'' transferred to the west coast early in 1923, arriving at
San Pedro, Los Angeles San Pedro ( ; ) is a neighborhood located within the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor region of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los ...
on 17 April. She operated along the
Pacific coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas North America Countries on the western side of North America have a Pacific coast as their western or south-western border. One of th ...
as far north as
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
, until she decommissioned on 4 October 1924 at
Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. The population was 43,505 at the 2020 census and an estimated 44,122 in 2021, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard ...
.


1942–1946

''Prometheus'' recommissioned on 15 May 1942 at the Bremerton Navy Yard and following shakedown, she sailed from
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, California on 9 August for
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 Reci ...
, Hawaii where she took in tow the drydock ARD–2 and proceeded to
Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French Sui generis collectivity, special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest Francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main i ...
, New Caledonia. She rendered repair services from the largest warship, the , to the smallest amphibious craft, which were beginning to figure so prominently in the island-hopping campaign towards the Japanese home islands. Her only breaks, from a steady demand of hard work from her crew, came on infrequent trips to
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Australia. Following the push westward across the Pacific, ''Prometheus'' moved in the spring of 1944 from San Francisco to
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 1896 t ...
, and after a month's stay there, where she catered primarily to
escort carriers The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slower type of aircraf ...
, she went to
Florida Island The Nggela Islands or Ngella Islands, previously known as the Florida Islands, are a small island group in the Central Province of Solomon Islands, a sovereign state, since 1978, in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The name Florida Islands fell in ...
and then in September to
Manus Manus may refer to: Relating to locations around New Guinea *Manus Island, a Papua New Guinean island in the Admiralty Archipelago ** Manus languages, languages spoken on Manus and islands close by ** Manus Regional Processing Centre, an offshore ...
. She received orders on 25 September to proceed to
Kossol Passage Kossol Roads is a large body of reef-enclosed water north of Babeldaob in northern Palau at .Kossol Roads
a ...
,
Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...
Islands where she came under enemy fire for the first time from a Japanese midget sub. She opened fire with her 3"/50 caliber deck gun and sunk the sub. She and her crew suffered no damage. ''Prometheus'' departed Kossol on 21 January 1945 and moved to the now famous
Ulithi Ulithi (, , or ; pronounced roughly as YOU-li-thee) is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about east of Yap, within Yap State. Name The name of the island goes back to Chuukic languages, Proto-Chuukic ''*úlú-diw ...
anchorage to help ready the Fleet for the
Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...
campaign and the
Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...
strikes. By 19 February she had moved again to San Pedro Bay,
Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...
to ready ships for the take-over invasion of Okinawa. Though her main responsibility was to repair ships and craft of the Amphibious Force, she gained wide acclaim for the excellence of repairs and alterations made to the and in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. War's end found the old repair ship at
Guiuan Guiuan ( giˌwan; , ), officially the Municipality of Guiuan, is a municipality in the province of Eastern Samar, Philippines. It constitutes the southeastern extremity of Samar Island and some adjacent islands, surrounded by Leyte Gulf and ...
,
Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...
in the process of commissioning the
cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...
''Justin'', formerly the SS ''Gus Darnell'', which required bomb damage repair and alterations to fit her for Navy service during the occupation period ahead. ''Prometheus'' continued her rigorous schedule at Okinawa and
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
during the Asian occupation, returning to San Francisco at the year's end. At San Francisco she performed decommissioning work on vessels sent there for disposal until she, herself, decommissioned on 1 July 1946.


Decommissioning and sale

''Prometheus'' was delivered to the WSA and simultaneously to the Maritime Commission Reserve Fleet for lay up on 16 July at
Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...
,
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
. She 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 31 July. By 26 August 1949 she had been completely stripped, and she was sold on 29 August 1950 to Zidell Shipwrecking Company and subsequently scrapped. ''Prometheus'' earned one
battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star 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 service period. T ...
for Pacific service in World War II.


See also

*
List of auxiliaries of the United States Navy This is a list of Auxiliary ship, auxiliaries of the United States Navy. It covers the various types of ships that support the frontline combat vessels of the United States Navy. Auxiliary ships which function as hospital ships and as oilers a ...


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Prometheus Repair ships of the United States Navy Ships built in Vallejo, California 1908 ships