Proserpine in August 1954
History
United States
Name	USSProserpine
Builder	Chicago Bridge & Iron Company
Laid down	2 October 1944
Launched	28 December 1944
Commissioned	31 May 1945
Decommissioned	18 January 1947
Recommissioned	27 October 1950
Decommissioned	24 May 1956
Fate	Sold, 26 September 1960
General characteristics
Class and type	Achelous classrepair ship
Displacement	2,220 long tons (2,256 t) light 4,100 long tons (4,166 t) full
Length	328 ft (100 m)
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	11 ft 2 in (3.40 m)
Propulsion	2 ×General Motors12-567diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
Speed	12knots (14 mph; 22 km/h)
Complement	253 officers and enlisted men
Armament	2 × quad40 mm guns (withMark 51 director) 2 × twin 40 mm guns (withMark 51 director) 6 × twin20 mm guns

USSProserpine (ARL-21) was one of 39Achelous-classlanding craft repair ships built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. Named forProserpine (aLatinized form ofPersephone, fromGreek mythology; the daughter ofZeus andDemeter, abducted byHades (Pluto) and made his wife), she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Originally laid down asLST–1116 by the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company 2 October 1944; launched 28 December 1944; and commissioned 9 January 1945. After drydocking inMobile, Alabama LST–1116 commenced shakedown inSt. Andrews Bay,Florida 31 January 1945. She then decommissioned 15 February at Gibbs Gas Engine Company ofJacksonville, Florida underwent conversion, and recommissioned asUSSProserpine (ARL–21), a landing craft repair ship, 31 May 1945.

Assigned to Commander, Amphibious Force, Atlantic for shakedown,Proserpine operated out ofHampton Roads, Virginia from 14 June through 6 July. Thereafter passing via theWindward Passage and thePanama Canal, she called atSan Diego, California 4 August. Three weeks later she was atPearl Harbor. From there she moved on to provide mobile repair services atEniwetok through 16 September, atGuam through 6 October, and atLeyte in thePhilippine Islands through 1 April 1946.

By the end of April, 1946Proserpine stood out of Pearl Harbor and proceed via the Panama Canal,Houston, andNew Orleans forMayport, Florida, arriving there 1 May. She decommissioned and was placed in reserve atGreen Cove Springs, Florida 18 January 1947.

Reactivation ofProserpine commenced 19 September 1950, and she recommissioned 27 October 1950. She entered drydock at Merrill-Stevens Shipyard, Jacksonville on 21 November, after which she commenced refresher training inChesapeake Bay.Proserpine returned toLittle Creek, Virginia and commenced repair activities 1 April 1951. Through 1955 she operated at the Amphibious Base, Little Creek, with regular training cruises into theVirginia Capes Operating Areas, and periodic short deployments to theCaribbean.

Placed in reserve at Little Creek 15 February 1956, she decommissioned 24 May and remained in reserve until sold 26 September 1960 to the Interamerican Standard Company ofNew York City. Her final fate is unknown.

•  This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
• "LST-1116 / ARL-21Proserpine".Amphibious Photo Archive. Retrieved26 April 2007.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toUSS Proserpine (ARL-21).

• ARL-21Proserpine 1953 Cruisebook

• Achelous-class repair ships
• Achelous-class repair ships converted from LST-542-class ships
• World War II auxiliary ships of the United States
• Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States
• Ships built in Seneca, Illinois
• 1944 ships

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from March 2022
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
• Commons category link is on Wikidata