Career
Amphion was laid down on 20 September 1944 at Tampa, Florida, by the Tampa Shipbuilding Company and launched on 15 May 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Howard D. Orem, the wife of Captain Howard D. Orem, the aide and flag secretary to Admiral Ernest J. King; and commissioned at her builder's yard on 30 January 1946.
Designed and built to carry out a primary mission of making emergency and routine repairs to ships of the fleet during periods of technical availability, Amphion was equipped with a wide variety of repair shops: shipfitter, carpentry, pipe and copper, sheet metal, welding, canvas, watch, optical, foundry—in short, facilities that employed skilled artificers capable of repairing hardware from precision watches to heavy machinery and hulls. "These shops are limited in what they can do," boasts an early history of Amphion, "only by the size of their equipment." Her modern engineering plant could generate enough electricity for not only herself but ships moored alongside undergoing repairs. Her distilling plant could produce water for herself and for other vessels.
Following shakedown in the Chesapeake Bay area and availability at her builder's yard, Amphion joined the Atlantic Fleet's service force and was homeported at Norfolk, Virginia Operating at and out of Norfolk and Newport, Rhode Island, for the first decade of her service, she provided her repair services principally on the east coast of the United States. She also deployed to Bermuda on occasion, as well as to bases in Newfoundland and the Caribbean, carrying out port visits to such places as Ciudad Trujillo, the Dominican Republic; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
In 1952, singer Gene Vincent spent a two-week training period in her, having previously served on USS Chukawan.
During the summers of 1957 and 1958 Amphion deployed to the Mediterranean, servicing ships of the 6th Fleet and visiting ports in France, Greece, Crete, Sicily, and the Balearic Islands. Through the 1960s she operated along the Atlantic coast of the United States. In 1965, she supported naval contingency operations off the Dominican Republic; and, in 1968, she visited ports in Scotland and England.
Amphion departed Norfolk for the last time under the stars and stripes on 18 August 1971. After visiting Recife, Brazil 29 to 31 August, and Mombasa, Kenya 18 to 22 September, the repair ship reached her destination, Bandar Abbas, Iran, on 28 September. Decommissioned on 2 October 1971, Amphion was turned over to the Imperial Iranian Navy on that day. Renamed IIS Chah Bahar to honor the Iranian port of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman, the ship was first commanded in Iranian service by Lieutenant Commander Arabshahi and based at Bandar Abbas. Purchased outright by Iran on 1 March 1977, Amphion's name was stricken from the U.S. Naval Vessel Register on the same date. Chah Bahar remained in service with the Iranian Navy into 1985.
As the lead ship of its class of repair ships only Amphion (AR-13) and sister ship Cadmus (AR-14) were completed. Deucalion (AR-15) and Mars (AR-16) were cancelled on August 12, 1945, while still under construction also being built at Tampa.
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USS Stickell (DD-888) was a Gearing-class destroyer of the United States Navy in service from 1945 to 1972. She was renamed HS Kanaris (D212) in 1972 on transfer to the Hellenic Navy.
USS Amphion may refer to:
The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy or Iranian Navy, officially abbreviated NEDAJA, is the naval warfare service branch of Iran's regular military, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (Artesh). It is one of Iran's two maritime military branches, alongside the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
USS Rankin (AKA-103/LKA-103) was a Tolland-class attack cargo ship in service with the United States Navy from 1945 to 1947 and again from 1952 to 1971. She was finally sunk as an artificial reef in 1988.
USS Piedmont (AD–17) was a Dixie-class destroyer tender built during World War II for the United States Navy. Her task was to service destroyers in, or near, battle areas and to keep them fit for duty. She served in the Pacific Ocean during World War II, the Cold War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. For her work in battle areas, the ship was awarded four battle stars for her Korean War efforts and one for Vietnam War service.
USS Prometheus (AR-3) was a repair ship that served the United States Navy during World War I and World War II. Named after Greek mythology figure Prometheus, she was originally laid down as a collier on 18 October 1907 at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California; launched on 5 December 1908; and commissioned 15 January 1910 as USS Ontario.
USS Tidewater (AD-31) was a Shenandoah-class destroyer tender in service with the United States Navy from 1946 to 1971. She was transferred to the Indonesian Navy as KRI Dumai (652) and served until 1984, when she was scrapped.
USS Alcor (AD-34) was a destroyer tender, the lone ship in her class, named for a star in the constellation Ursa Major.
USS Helios (ARB-12) was one of twelve Aristaeus-class battle damage repair ships built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for Helios, she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.
USS Towhee (AM-388) was an Auk-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.
USS Vulcan (AR-5) was the lead ship of her class of repair ships of the United States Navy. The ship was laid down on 16 December 1939 at Camden, New Jersey, by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation; launched on 14 December 1940; sponsored by Mrs. James Forrestal, wife of the Under Secretary of the Navy; and commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 14 June 1941.
USS Delta (AK-29/AR-9) was the lead ship of her class of repair ships in the United States Navy during World War II. She was originally built as the merchant ship SS Hawaiian Packer before her requisition by the U.S. Navy in 1941. Before conversion to a repair ships, Delta briefly served as a U.S. Navy cargo ship.
USS Yosemite (AD-19) was a Dixie-class destroyer tender built during World War II for the U.S. Navy. Her task was to service destroyers in, or near, battle areas and to keep them fit for duty.
USS Chukawan (AO-100) was a Cimarron-class fleet oiler constructed for the U.S. Navy in the closing days of World War II.
USS Escape (ARS-6) was a Diver-class rescue and salvage ship commissioned by the United States Navy for service in World War II. She was responsible for coming to the aid of stricken vessels.
USS Briareus was originally the cargo ship SS Hawaiian Planter laid down as a Maritime Commission type C3 Mod. at Newport News, Virginia, by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company for the Matson Line and delivered 15 May 1941. After a brief pre-war commercial service and allocation to the Army for transport the ship was purchased by the United States Navy in February 1943 and converted to a repair ship.
USS Cadmus (AR-14) was a Amphion-class repair ship of the United States Navy during World War II. Cadmus launched on 5 August 1945 by the Tampa Shipbuilding Company in Tampa, Florida, and sponsored by Mrs. B. P. Ward. Cadmus was commissioned 23 April 1946.
USS Ruchamkin (APD-89), ex-DE-228, later LPR-89, was a United States Navy high-speed transport in commission from 1945 to 1946, from 1951 to 1957, and from 1961 to 1969. She subsequently served as ARC Córdoba in the Colombian Navy, until 1980; although scrapped, her hull and superstructure were re-erected in a leisure park near Bogotá.
The third USS Kiowa (AT-72), later ATF-72, was a fleet tug, later fleet ocean tug, that served in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1972.
United States
Iran
