USS Remus (ARL-40) was one of 39 Achelous-class

Achelous class repair ship

The Achelous class repair ship was a class of ship built by the US Navy during World War II.As the US gained experience in amphibious operations, it was realized that some sort of mobile repair facility would be useful for repairing the damage that frequently occurred to smaller vessels such as...

 landing craft

Landing craft

Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...

 repair ships built for the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Named for Remus

Remus

Remus is the twin brother of the mythical founder of Rome.Remus may also refer to:* Remus , a fictional planet in Star Trek* Remus , a moon of the asteroid 87 Sylvia...

 (along with Romulus

Romulus

- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...

, one of the legendary twin sons of Mars and the Vestal

Vestal Virgin

In ancient Roman religion, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins , were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The College of the Vestals and its well-being was regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of Rome, as embodied by their cultivation of the sacred fire that could not be...

 Rhea Silvia

Rhea Silvia

Rhea Silvia , and also known as Ilia, was the mythical mother of the twins Romulus and Remus, who founded the city of Rome...

), she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Originally laid down by the Kaiser Company of Vancouver, Washington

Vancouver, Washington

Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...

 28 July 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Edward M. Argersinger; and commissioned as LST-453 on 21 January 1943 with Lieutenant A. J. Hamre, USNR, in command.

Service history

Following shakedown off the West Coast, LST-453 sailed west 2 March 1943 for Brisbane, Australia via Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...

 and Nouméa

Nouméa

Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...

. Arriving at Brisbane 8 May, she was converted to a repair ship and tender for amphibious craft. She departed Brisbane for Milne Bay

Milne Bay

Milne Bay is a large bay in Milne Bay Province, southeastern Papua New Guinea. The bay is named after Sir Alexander Milne.The area was a site of the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942....

, 6 June 1943, arriving on 17 June as one of the first amphibious craft in New Guinea

New Guinea

New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

. Three days later she proceeded to Goodenough Island

Goodenough Island

Goodenough Island in the Solomon Sea is the westernmost of the three large islands of the D'Entrecasteaux Islands in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. It lies to the east of mainland New Guinea and south west of the Trobriand Islands.It should not be confused with Goodenough's Island...

, where she tended and repaired LCTs and other small craft through the summer. On 13 September she was ordered to Buna

Buna, Papua New Guinea

Buna is a village in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. It was the site in part, of the Battle of Buna-Gona during World War II, when it constituted a variety of native huts and a handful of houses with a airstrip...

, where she added duties as flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

, Landing Craft Control Officer, to her activities. While at Buna, LST-453 was the only source of supply for ships operating in the forward area and was required to tend up to 70 ships per month.

On 15 December LST-453 received several near misses from medium bomber

Bomber

A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...

s which attacked her at Hanisch Harbor. She shifted to Cape Cretin, where there were also frequent air raids. In January, 1944 the ship was assigned a 400-ton pontoon drydock and she continued to operate from one to two drydocks throughout the remainder of her tour in the southwest Pacific, towing the drydock forward with her on every move. On 15 April the ship was sent to the Admiralty Islands

Admiralty Islands

The Admiralty Islands are a group of eighteen islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the south Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-covered islands form part of Manus Province, the smallest and...

 to service ships staging for the Hollandia

Jayapura

Jayapura City is the capital of Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on Yos Sudarso Bay . Its approximate population in 2002 was 200,000....

-Aitape

Aitape

Aitape is a small town of about 8,000 people on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun Province. It is a coastal settlement that is almost equidistant from the provincial capitals of Wewak and Vanimo, and marks the midpoint of the highway between these two capitals...

 invasion. She returned to Cape Cretin on 24 April 1944 and continued operations in that area until 14 June 1944. She then sailed for Alexishafen where she joined several other tenders on a rigid repair program to ready ships for future operations.

On 15 August 1944 she was redesignated as ARL-40 and named Remus. Departing from Alexishafen 15 September 1944 for Mios Woendi

Mios Woendi

Mios Woendi is the name of an island and was a forward base for United States Navy during World War II. The US Navy code word for the base located in Schouten Islands, was Stinker...

, Remus became the advanced based tender of the 7th Fleet Amphibious Force. On 12 January 1945 she sailed for Leyte

Leyte

Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...

 arriving on the 22nd to operate there throughout the remainder of her foreign service. Charged with repairs to all LCTs in the area, she operated two drydocks, one 250-ton pontoon dock for LCTs, and one 400-ton dock for LCIs

Landing Craft Infantry

The Landing craft, Infantry or LCI were several classes of sea-going amphibious assault ships of the Second World War utilized to land large numbers of infantry directly onto beaches. They were developed in response to a British request for a vessel capable of carrying and landing substantially...

 and LCSs.

Sailing east 17 October 1945, she transited the Panama Canal 6 December and arrived at New Orleans eight days later to join the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Through the spring of 1946, she prepared landing craft for the mothball fleet, then on 15 July was herself decommissioned. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register 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 the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

15 August 1946, she was sold to B. T. Jones for scrap 16 December 1947.