USSIndra (ARL-37), underwayc. 1960s
History
United States
Name	LST-1147 Indra
Namesake	Indra
Builder	Chicago Bridge & Iron Company,Seneca, Illinois
Laid down	12 February 1945
Sponsored by	Regina K. Hlubak
Commissioned	21 May 1945 (partial) 2 October 1945 (full)
Decommissioned	6 October 1947
Renamed	Indra, 15 August 1944
Reclassified	ARL-37
Refit	converted toLanding Craft Repair Ship
Identification	Hull symbol: LST-1147 Hull symbol: ARL-37 Code letters: NDPV
Recommissioned	16 December 1967
Decommissioned	May 1970
Stricken	1984
Honors & awards	2 ×battle stars,Vietnam War
Fate	Sunk as an artificial reef, 4 August 1992 34°33′55″N76°58′30″W / 34.56528°N 76.97500°W /34.56528; -76.97500[1]
General characteristics[2]
Class & type	LST-542-classtank landing ship Achelous-classrepair ship
Displacement	2,220long tons (2,256 t) (light) 3,960 long tons (4,024 t) (full)
Length	328 ft (100 m)oa
Beam	50 ft (15 m)
Draft	11 ft 2 in (3.40 m)
Installed power	2 × 900 hp (670 kW)Electro-Motive Diesel12-567Adiesel engines 1,800 shp (1,300 kW)
Propulsion	1 × Falk mainreduction gears 2 ×Propellers
Speed	11.6 kn (21.5 km/h; 13.3 mph)
Complement	19 officers 270 enlisted
Armament	1 ×3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber gun 2 × quad40 mm (1.57 in) Bofors guns (Mark 51 director) 2 × twin 40 mm Bofors guns (Mark 51 director) 6 × twin20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannons

USSIndra (ARL-37) was one of 39Achelous-classlanding craftrepair ships built for theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. Named forIndra (the god ofweather andwar, and lord ofSvargaloka inHinduism), she was the only US Naval vessel to bear the name, and only one of three ships (along withUSS Krishna and the Civil War era gunboatUSS Varuna) to be named after aHindu deity.

Originally laid down asLST-1147 on 12 February 1945; reclassified while building and launched asARL-37 byChicago Bridge & Iron Company, ofSeneca, Illinois, 21 May 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Regina K. Hlubek; placed in reduced commission^[3] and brought toBethlehem Key Highway Shipyard,Baltimore, for conversion, and commissioned 2 October 1945.^[4]

After shakedown,Indra sailed toGreen Cove Springs, Florida, where she remained from 30 November 1945, until 8 May 1946. She then steamed through thePanama Canal toSan Diego, arriving 4 June 1946. The ship remained inCalifornia until departing 7 January 1947, for theFar East.Indra arrived atQingdao, 19 February 1947, to support theUnited States Marines there attempting to stabilize the volatile Chinese situation and protect American lives and property. She performed repair and general services there and atShanghai, until 30 August 1947, when she sailed for San Diego. Upon her arrival on 25 September 1947,Indra was decommissioned on 6 October 1947, and entered thePacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group.^[4]

Indra was recommissioned 16 December 1967. During theVietnam War,Indra participated in the following campaigns:

• Vietnamese Counteroffensive – Phase IV (2 to 16 April 1968)
• Vietnamese Counteroffensive – Phase V (21 September to 1 November 1968)

Decommissioned in May 1970, she was struck from theNaval Vessel Register in 1984. Transferred to the state ofNorth Carolina in January 1992, she was sunk as anartificial reef off the coast of North Carolina on 4 August 1992.^[2]

Indra earned twobattle stars for service during the Vietnam War.^[2]

• 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
• Vietnam War auxiliary ships of the United States
• Shipwrecks of the Carolina coast
• Ships built in Seneca, Illinois
• 1945 ships
• Ships sunk as artificial reefs
• Maritime incidents in 1992

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