USSSamar (ARG-11) at anchor, circa 1945, location unknown.
History
United States
Name	Samar
Namesake	Samar Island
Builder	Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down	21 September 1944
Launched	19 October 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. Elsie M. Alexander
Acquired	31 October 1944
Commissioned	5 June 1945
Decommissioned	24 July 1947
Stricken	1 September 1962
Fate	Sold, 10 December 1973, toZidell Explorations Corporation, physically delivered for scrapping, 25 January 1974
General characteristics
Class & 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	12.5knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph)
Complement	583
Armament	1 x single5 in (130 mm) dual purpose gun mount, 1 x3 in (76 mm) gun mount, 2 x twin40 mm AA gun mounts, 12 x single20 mm AA gun mounts

USSSamar (ARG-11) was aLuzon classinternal combustion engine repair ship that saw service in theUnited States Navy during the final days ofWorld War II, and in the post-war period. Named for theSamar Island in the Philippines, it was the second U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

Samar was laid down on 21 September 1944 byBethlehem-Fairfield,Sparrow's Point,MD, under aMaritime Commission contract (MC hull 2683); launched on 19 October 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Elsie M. Alexander, delivered to the Navy on 31 October 1944, converted to an internal combustion engine repair ship (ARG) by theBethlehem Steel Co., Key Highway Plant,Baltimore,MD and commissioned on 5 June 1945.

Followingshakedown,Samar sailed for thePanama Canal Zone, arriving atCoco Solo on 28 July. She transited the canal on the 29th and, while en route toHawaii, received word of theSurrender of Japan. AtPearl Harbor on 16 August, the crew serviced ship for four days while awaiting orders. Underway 21 August, the repair ship sailed toOkinawa viaEniwetok andSaipan, arriving inHagushi Bay on 22 September. Reporting for duty to Commander Service Division 101 andTask Unit (TU) 70.2.3, she proceeded toChina six days later, stood up theYangtze River on the 28th and moored to buoys in theHwangpu River offShanghai on 1 October. Within hours of her arrival, she had six small craft alongside for engine repairs.Samar remained at Shanghai for five months, racing against time as demobilization of sailors stripped her crew of trained repair technicians. At one point, 26 ships and boats were simultaneously assigned toSamar for repairs.

Assigned to Task Unit 70.2.2 (the North China Service Unit),Samar continued the grinding work of repair services on the China station until 5 May, when the repair ship got underway to return to the United States. Arriving atSan Pedro on 27 May Samar later shifted toSan Diego and decommissioned there on 24 July 1947. Berthed with the PacificReserve Fleet, she remained there until struck from the Navy list and officially transferred to the Maritime Administration'sNational Defense Reserve Fleet atSuisun Bay,CA, on 1 September 1962.Samar remained laid up in theSuisun Bay Reserve Fleet until her sale and delivery toZidell Explorations Corporation for scrapping on 25 January 1974.^[1]

•  This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.

• Ships built in Baltimore
• 1944 ships
• World War II auxiliary ships of the United States
• Luzon-class repair ships

• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships