Numitor (ARL-17)
1954-1960
In Roman mythology, the mother-in-law of Romulus, legendary founder of Rome.
(ARL-17: displacement 2,125; length 328'0"; beam 50'0"; draft 14'0"; speed 12 knots; complement 253; armament 8 40 millimeter, 8 20 millimeter; class Achelous)
Numitor (ARL-17), originally designated as the tank landing ship LST-954, was laid down on 19 September 1944 at Hingham, Mass., by the Bethlehem Hingham Corp.; launched on 18 October 1944 and, after being transferred to the Bethlehem Key Highway Yard, Baltimore, Md., underwent conversion to a landing craft repair ship. Numitor (ARL-17) was commissioned at Baltimore on 3 April 1945, Lt. Davis Minshew, D-V(G), USNR, in command.
Clearing Baltimore on 13 April 1945 for Norfolk, Virginia, Numitor moored at Pier 2, Berth 21, Naval Operating Base (NOB) Norfolk, the following day [14 April]. Underway again four days later, the new landing craft repair ship conducted her shakedown in Chesapeake Bay (18-28 April), returning to NOB Norfolk at the end of that period of training, and mooring in Berth 25, Pier 2. Following voyage repairs at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, Va. (1-6 May 1945), Numitor anchored at NOB Norfolk.
Underway on 12 May 1945, Numitor sailed for Limon Bay, Panama Canal Zone, in Convoy NG-507, making arrival and dropping anchor in Berth X-Ray 1 on the 20th. The next day, she shifted to Pier 1, Submarine Base, Coco Solo, mooring alongside LST-653. Underway again on the 23rd, Numitor began her maiden transit of the Panama Canal, setting course for Port Hueneme, Calif., upon departure.
Reaching her destination on 5 June 1945, Numitor sailed for San Pedro, Calif., later that day, then received orders to proceed to San Francisco, Calif., arriving at the latter port on the 7th. Underway for the Graham Shipyard, Oakland, Calif., later that same day, the ship moored at Fisherman’s Pier to load what her ship’s historian called “side carry pontoons,” an installation that consumed a fortnight and was completed on 21 June. Three days later [24 June], Numitor sailed in accordance with Commander Western Sea Frontier Movement Order No. 465, bound for Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Territory of Hawaii.
Numitor reached Pearl on 3 July 1945, mooring in Berth Able 9 at Iroquois Point. She shifted thence to Berth Baker 24 at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard on 5 July, remaining there until getting underway six days later [11 July] for the Marshall Islands, directed by the Commander Hawaiian Sea Frontier. Dropping anchor in Anchorage Fox, Berth 317, Eniwetok atoll, on 23 July, the landing craft repair ship got underway again later that day, setting course for the western Carolines. Six days later [29 July] Numitor anchored in berth 410, Ulithi Atoll, and remained there until sailing on 4 August in accordance with orders from the Port Director, Ulithi, to proceed to Buckner Bay, Okinawa, in Convoy UOK-44.
During the passage, events in that theater – the employment of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (6 August 1945) and Nagasaki (9 August) soon resulted in Japan accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration of 10 August and agreeing to unconditional surrender. On 10 August 1945, Numitor anchored in Love 2, Buckner Bay, and carried out repairs under Commander Service Division 104, servicing elements of the Fifth Fleet, through the end of the war with Japan that ended with the signing of the surrender accords on board the battleship Missouri (BB-63) on 2 September 1945 in Tokyo Bay.
Numitor remained at Buckner Bay, weathering a typhoon on 16 September 1945, until clearing Okinawa on 19 September for Sasebo, Japan. The landing craft repair ship anchored in Sasebo Ko, 500 yards southwest of Buoy 21, then soon engaged in repair operations, carrying out maintenance on ships and craft of all sizes and operating a small boat pool at that location. One week later, on 29 September, she shifted her berth to the west dock, Sasebo Pier. Numitor operated at Sasebo, supporting the occupation of the erstwhile enemy’s homeland, until 22 February 1946, when she sailed for Pearl Harbor on the first leg of her homeward voyage.
Clearing Pearl Harbor for San Pedro on 7 April 1946, Numitor departed San Pedro for Panama on 29 April, Numitor again transited the Panama Canal, sailing from Coco Solo on 15 May; pausing at New Orleans, La., she cleared the Crescent City on 15 June and reached Orange, Texas, on 17 June 1946. Initially, by virtue of her specialized maintenance capabilities, she assisted in the deactivation of other vessels, until she herself was placed out of commission in reserve on 1 July 1947.
Stricken from the Navy List on 1 April 1960, ex-Numitor was sold to the Southern Scrap Material Co. of New Orleans, with the hull sold to the Dravo Corp. for conversion to a dry dock.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
12 May 2022
