USS Tutuila (ARG-4)
USS Tutuila underway near Norfolk Navy Yard, 18 May 1944.
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
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| Name: | USS Tutuila |
| Namesake: | Tutuila |
| Builder: | Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation |
| Laid down: | 1943 |
| Launched: | 12 September 1943, as SS Arthur P. Gorman |
| Acquired: | 18 September 1943 |
| Commissioned: | 8 April 1944, as USS Tutuila |
| Decommissioned: |
7 December 1946 |
| Recommissioned: | 7 May 1951 |
| Decommissioned: | 21 February 1972 |
| Struck: | 21 February 1972 |
| Motto: | Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom |
| Honors and awards: |
7 Battle stars, 3 Navy Unit Commendations, 2 Meritorious Unit Commendations (Vietnam War) |
| Fate: | Transferred to the Republic of China |
| History | |
 Taiwan
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| Name: | Pien Tai (ARG 516) |
| Fate: | Unknown |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Luzon |
| Type: | Internal combustion engine repair ship |
| Displacement: | 4,023 long tons (4,088 t) |
| Length: | 441 ft 6 in (134.57 m) |
| Beam: | 56 ft 11 in (17.35 m) |
| Draft: | 23 ft 0 in (7.01 m) |
| Propulsion: | Triple Expansion Machinery, Single Propeller, 2,500 hp (1,864 kW) |
| Speed: | 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) |
| Complement: | 583 |
| Armament: | 1 x single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount, 1 x 3"/50 gun mount, 2 x twin 40mm AA gun mounts, 12 x single 20mm AA gun mounts |
7 December 1946
The USS Tutuila (ARG-4) was an internal combustion engine repair ship that saw service in the United States Navy during World War II, The Korean War, and The Vietnam War as well as several smaller actions. Named for the Island of Tutuila, the largest and main island of American Samoa, it was the second U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name. After serving for nearly 30 years Tutuila was sold to the Republic of China in 1972.
Originally laid down as Arthur P. Gorman under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1179) on 11 August 1943 at Baltimore, MD, by the Bethlehem Steel Co.; renamed Tutuila on 8 September and designated ARG-4; launched on 12 September; transferred to the Navy when 80 percent complete for conversion to an internal combustion engine repair ship on 18 September; converted by the Maryland Drydock Co.; and commissioned there on 8 April 1944, Comdr. George T. Boldizsar in command.
Tutuila underwent shakedown in Hampton Roads from 20 April to 24 May before sailing for the Panama Canal and proceeding via San Diego, Pearl Harbor, and Eniwetok to the South Pacific Theater.
Early in August, the repair ship joined Service Squadron (ServRon) 10, based at Purvis Bay, in the once hotly contested Solomon Islands. Tutuila served the Fleet as a floating advance base as it swept its way across the Pacific toward Japan. For the final year of the war, the repair ship engaged in round-the-clock work schedules which seldom slackened.
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