USS Luzon (ARG-2)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS Luzon.

USS Luzon (ARG-2) in the 1950s
History
United States
Name
  • Samuel Bowles
  • Luzon
Namesake
Orderedas a
MCE hull 981[1]
Builder
Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore
, Maryland
Yard number2131[1]
Laid down8 April 1943
Launched14 May 1943
Acquired24 May 1943
Commissioned12 October 1943
Recommissioned20 September 1950
Decommissioned
  • 25 March 1947
  • 3 June 1960
Stricken1 September 1961
Identification
Honors and
awards		1 ×
battle stars
for Korean War service
FateSold for scrapping, 26 August 1974
General characteristics [2]
Class and typeLuzon-class Internal Combustion Engine Repair Ship
TypeType EC2-S-C1
Displacement
  • 4,023 long tons (4,088 t) (light load)
  • 14,350 long tons (14,580 t) (full load)
Length441 ft 6 in (134.57 m)
Beam56 ft 11 in (17.35 m)
Draft23 ft (7.0 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed12.5 kn (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) (ship's trials)
Complement31 officers, 552 enlisted
Armament
  • 1 ×
    dual purpose
    (DP) gun
  • 3 ×
    3 in (76 mm)/50
    caliber (DP) gun
  • 2 × twin
    anti-aircraft
    (AA) gun mounts
  • 12 × single 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon cannons AA mounts

USS Luzon (ARG-2) was an internal combustion engine repair ship in service with the United States Navy from 1943 to 1947 and from 1950 to 1960. She was the lead ship in a class of twelve ships and was scrapped in 1974.

Construction

Luzon was laid down 8 April 1943, as

Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc., in Baltimore, Maryland; launched 14 May 1943; sponsored by Mrs. H. E. Sigman; acquired by the Navy and renamed Luzon 24 May 1943; commissioned 12 October 1943.[3] She was named for the island of Luzon, the chief island in the northern Philippines and site of the capital city of Manila
. She was the second U.S. naval vessel to bear the name.

Service history

World War II

After

Ellice Islands 3 January 1944. Assigned to Service Squadron 4, she operated at Funafuti and provided repair facilities for amphibious, patrol, and landing craft. Following the invasion of the Marshall Islands on 31 January, she steamed for Kwajalein Atoll on 23 February, and arrived there on 4 March. During the next 5 months, she served there as repair ship and tender for harbor craft.[3]

As American seapower spearheaded the Allied advance across the Pacific, Luzon steamed to

Eniwetok and reached Apra, Guam, on 11 September. As a unit of Service Squadron 10, she maintained a busy repair schedule there until 1 March 1945, when she steamed to Saipan for 6 months of duty at that important harbor.[3]

Following the

Atlantic Reserve Fleet, she was decommissioned on 24 June 1947.[3]

Korean War

In response to the outbreak of the

US 7th Fleet. She departed Japan for the west coast 19 January 1952; after reaching San Francisco on 9 February, she operated out of San Francisco, San Diego, Pearl Harbor, and Long Beach during the next 15 months.[3]

Departing Long Beach on 2 May 1953, Luzon deployed to the western Pacific and arrived at Sasebo on 2 June. Except for a run to

Pusan, South Korea, and back in mid-July, she provided repair facilities at Sasebo until sailing to Yokosuka on 15 January 1954. She departed the Far East for home on 2 February, and arrived at Long Beach on 28 February. She was placed in commission, in reserve on 15 March 1955, while undergoing repair at Mare Island. After returning to San Diego on 29 April, she was placed in service, in reserve.[3]

Luzon was recommissioned at San Diego on 3 November. After completing training off

Naval Register on 1 September 1961.[3]

Final disposition

Luzon was laid up in the

Maritime Administration (MARAD).[2]

On 26 August 1974, she was sold for $555,625.50[4] to Seangyong Trading Company, Ltd., Seoul, South Korea, for scrapping.[2]

Awards

Luzon received one

battle stars for her Korean war service.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Bethlehem-Fairfield 2008.
  2. ^ a b c Navsource 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h DANFS 2015.
  4. ^ MARAD.

Bibliography

Online resources

  • "Luzon II (ARG-2)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2017.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • "Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD". ShipbuildingHistory.com. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  • "USS Luzon (ARG-2)". Navsource.org. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  • "LUZON (ARG-2)". United States Department of Transportation. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  • "LUZON (ARG-2)". shipscribe.com. Retrieved 15 November 2019.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USS Luzon (ARG-2).
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