USS Xanthus
USS Xanthus at anchor. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Ordered |
|
| Builder | Bethlehem-Fairfield SYs |
| Laid down | 6 June 1944 |
| Launched | 31 July 1944 |
| Acquired | 16 August 1944 |
| Commissioned | 9 May 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 1946 |
| Stricken | 1 September 1962 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 1974 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | MC EC2-S-C1 |
| Displacement | 5,801 tons(lt), 10,920 tons(fl) |
| Length | 441 ft 6 in (134.57 m) |
| Beam | 56 ft 11 in (17.35 m) |
| Draught | 22 ft 0 in (6.71 m) |
| Propulsion | Skinner-uniflow triple expansion reciprocating steam engine, single shaft, 2,500shp. (All pumps were also reciprocating.) |
| Speed | 12.5 knots |
| Complement | 524 officers and enlisted |
| Armament | one 5"/38 gun mount, three 3"/50 gun mounts, two twin 40 mm machine guns, twelve 20 mm machine guns |
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USS Xanthus (AR-19) was a Xanthus-class repair ship acquired by the United States Navy for the task of providing repairs to the fleet. She was named after Xanthus, a mythical beast of Greek legend.
Intended for the Royal Navy as HMS Hecla (F 175), she was laid down under Maritime Commission contract (MCE hull 2664) as Hecla on 6 June 1944 at Baltimore, Maryland, by the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Inc.. She was launched on 31 July 1944, sponsored by Mrs. J.W.A. Waller, and delivered to the Navy on a loan basis on 16 August 1944.
On 6 December 1944, she was renamed Xanthus and designated AR-19. She was commissioned on 9 May 1945.