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USS Cyrene

{{short description|Tender of the United States Navy}}

{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}

{{Infobox ship begin}}

{{Infobox ship image

|Ship image= File:USS Cyrene (AGP-13) at anchor, circa 1945.jpg

|Ship caption=

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{{Infobox ship career

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|Ship country=United States

|Ship flag={{USN flag|1946}}

|Ship name=*Cape Farewell (1944)

  • Cyrene (1944-1976)

|Ship namesake=*Cape Farewell, Greenland

  • A nymph In Greek mythology

|Ship ordered=

|Ship builder=Pusey and Jones Corporation, Wilmington, Delaware

|Ship laid down=as Cape Farewell (C1-A)

|Ship launched=8 February 1944 as Cape Farewell

|Ship acquired=28 April 1944

|Ship commissioned=27 September 1944

|Ship decommissioned=2 July 1946

|Ship in service=

|Ship out of service=

|Ship struck=

|Ship renamed=Cyrene 27 September 1944

|Ship reclassified=

|Ship homeport=

|Ship motto=

|Ship nickname=

|Ship honours=

|Ship fate=*Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 2 July 1946

  • Scrapped 1978

|Ship notes=

}}

{{Infobox ship characteristics

|Hide header=

|Header caption={{cite web |last=Clancey |first=Patrick |title=Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945: AGP-13 USS Cyrene |publisher=HyperWar |date=21 March 1998 |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/AGP/AGP-13_Cyrene.html |access-date=27 October 2020}}{{cite web |last=Priolo |first=Gary P. |title=USS Cyrene (AGP-13) |publisher=NavSource Online |date=13 May 2016 |url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/09/0913.htm |access-date=27 October 2020}}

|Ship type=Motor torpedo boat tender

|Ship tonnage={{GRT|5124}}, 2,851 Net

|Ship displacement=*{{convert|5236|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} light

  • {{convert|11000|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full load

|Ship length={{convert|413|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|Ship beam={{convert|60|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|Ship draft={{convert|22|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}

|Ship propulsion=Geared turbine engine, single propeller, {{convert|4000|shp|0|abbr=on}}

|Ship speed={{convert|14|kn|lk=in}}

|Ship range=

|Ship complement=289

|Ship armament=*1 × single 5"/38 caliber gun

|Ship armor=

|Ship notes=

}}

USS Cyrene (AGP-13) was a motor torpedo boat tender for the United States Navy. She was laid down as Cape Farewell,See {{SS|Cape Farewell|AK-5073|}} for the C9 Military Sealift Command Ready Reserve Force Ship. a Maritime Commission type (C1-A) hull under a Maritime Commission contract, at Pusey and Jones Corp., Wilmington, Delaware. Cyrene served in the Pacific from New Guinea to the Philippines from December 1944 to December 1945. The ship was decommissioned and placed in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet in July 1946 then withdrawn from the reserve fleet after sale to American Ship Dismantlers in December 1976.

Construction

Cape Farewell, Maritime Commission hull 891, contract 1095, was launched 8 February 1944 sponsored by Mrs. G. L. Coppage.{{cite DANFS |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/cyrene-agp-13.html |title=Cyrene (AGP-13) |author=Naval History And Heritage Command |date=14 April 2014 |work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships |publisher=Naval History And Heritage Command |accessdate=27 October 2020}}{{cite web |last=Pusey & Jones Corporation |title=Launching party for the C1-A freighter, Cape Farewell |location=Wilmington, Delawary |publisher=Hagley Museum and Library |date=February 1944 |url=https://digital.hagley.org/72350_5378a?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=60c3499aee4b561915d8&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=1 |access-date=27 October 2020}} The ship was completed 28 April 1944, delivered to the Maritime Commission and immediately transferred to the Navy.{{cite web |url=https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/5862 |title=CAPE FAREWELL |author=Maritime Administration |work=Ship History Database Vessel Status Card |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration |access-date=27 October 2020}}

Service history

The ship was acquired by the Navy on 28 April 1944 and commissioned as Cyrene 27 September 1944.

Departing Norfolk, Virginia, 10 November 1944, Cyrene arrived at Manus on 13 December to escort two squadrons of motor torpedo boats to Hollandia, New Guinea. She then sailed on convoy duty to Leyte, arriving 1 January 1945.

Cyrene served as tender for motor torpedo boats, and on 17 January 1945 became flagship for Commander, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons, 7th Fleet. The actor and comedian Don Rickles served as a Seaman First Class aboard Cyrene.{{citation |last=Jones |first=Chris |title=Don Rickles, WWII Vet & Comedian, Dies At 90 |publisher=American Military News |date=6 April 2017|url=https://americanmilitarynews.com/2017/04/breaking-wwii-vet-comedian-don-rickles-dies-90/ |access-date=27 October 2020}}

Fate

After the war ended, the ship sailed from Samar on 21 December 1945 and arrived at San Francisco on 7 January 1946, where it reported to the 12th Naval District for repair work in decommissioning small craft. Cyrene was decommissioned 2 July 1946 and delivered to the War Shipping Administration for disposal and placed in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet the same day.

The ship was purchased by American Ship Dismantlers, Inc., awarded under PD-X-1011 17 November 1976 for non transportation use at $85,166.82, and physically delivered to the company 7 December 1976 for scrapping.

One of her lifeboats is now in use at Rochester, England, where it has been converted into a live-aboard vessel.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

Notes

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References

{{reflist}}

  • {{DANFS}}

External links

{{Commonscat|USS Cyrene (AGP-13)}}

  • [https://digital.hagley.org/72350_5378a?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=60c3499aee4b561915d8&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=1 Launching party for the C1-A freighter, Cape Farewell] (Hagley Museum and Library)
  • [https://digital.hagley.org/72350_5378?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=60c3499aee4b561915d8&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=0 The freighter, Cape Farewell after launching] (Hagley Museum and Library)
  • [https://digital.hagley.org/72350_5401?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=60c3499aee4b561915d8&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=3 C1-A freighter, Cape Farewell Hold #3] (Hagley Museum and Library)
  • [http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/09/0913.htm NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive, USS Cyrene (AGP-13)]
  • [http://www.whshistoryproject.org/ww2/Interviews/phpInterviews/mr_hayes.php "War on their Minds (2002)"] (WW2 Project crew member interview)

{{Type C1-A ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cyrene (AD-13)}}

Category:Type C1-A ships

Category:Ships built by Pusey and Jones

Category:1944 ships

Category:Motor torpedo boat tenders of the United States Navy

Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States