View source for USS Otus

{{short description|Tender of the United States Navy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= USS Otus (AS-20) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 15 January 1943 (19-N-40070).jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Otus'' on 15 January 1943
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1946}}
|Ship name=*''Fred Morris'' (1940-1941)
*''Otus'' (1941-1946)
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Kearny, New Jersey
|Ship yard number=175
|Ship laid down= 3 June 1940
|Ship launched= 2 November 1940
|Ship acquired=*27 December 1940 (delivered to Lykes Brothers Steamship Company)
*1 March 1941 (Navy)
|Ship commissioned= 19 March 1941, as USS ''Otus'' (AS–20)
|Ship decommissioned= 20 August 1946
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=ARG–20 (Repair Ship, Internal Combustion Engines), 25 June 1945
|Ship struck=25 September 1946
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honours= 1 [[battle star]] (WWII)
|Ship fate=Scrapped 1970
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[Internal combustion engine]] [[Auxiliary ship|repair ship]]
|Ship displacement={{convert|5775|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} light
|Ship length={{convert|417|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|60|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|20|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=De Laval steam turbine
|Ship speed= {{convert|15|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range=
|Ship complement=644 officers and enlisted
|Ship armament=2 × twin [[4"/50 caliber gun|{{convert|4|in|mm|abbr=on}}]] gun mounts
|Ship armor=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''USS ''Otus'' (AS-20)''' was a [[submarine tender]] in service with the [[United States Navy]] from 1941 to 1946. In 1945, she was converted to an [[internal combustion engine]] repair ship and redesignated ARG-20. Decommissioned in 1946, she was scrapped in 1970.
==Construction==
The ship was laid down under [[United States Maritime Commission]] (MC) Contract 3 June 1940 by the [[Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company]] of [[Kearny, New Jersey]], MC hull 70, yard hull 175, and launched as '''''Fred Morris''''' on 2 November 1940, sponsored by Mrs. Fred Allain Morris.<ref name=PMR241>{{cite journal |last=Pacific American Steamship Association; Shipowners Association of the Pacific Coast |date=February 1941 |title=The C-1-B Cargo Steamer ''Fred Morris'' |journal=Pacific Marine Review |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=40–45 |location=San Francisco |publisher=J.S. Hines |url=https://archive.org/stream/pacificmarinerev3841paci#page/n99/mode/2up/ |access-date=7 August 2019}}</ref><ref name=SBH>{{cite web |last=Colton |first=Tim |title=Federal Shipbuilding, Kearny and Newark NJ |publisher=ShipbuildingHistory |date=6 September 2014 |url=http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/large/federal.htm |access-date=7 August 2019}}</ref><ref name=MARAD>{{cite web |url=https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/11946 |title=Fred Morris |author=Maritime Administration |work=Ship History Database Vessel Status Card |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration }}</ref><ref name=DANFS>{{cite DANFS |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/o/otus.html |title=Otus |author=Naval History And Heritage Command |work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships |publisher=Naval History And Heritage Command |access-date=7 August 2019}}</ref> ''Fred Morris'', official number 240200, was the fourth in a series of five identical ships (''Joseph Lykes'', ''Zoella Lykes'', ''Reuben Tipton'' (Torpedoed/lost 1942), ''Fred Morris'', and ''John Lykes'') built for [[Lykes Brothers Steamship Company]] of New Orleans and delivered to the company on 27 December 1940 after successful trials for the MC and Lykes.<ref name=PMR241/><ref name=SBH/> The ship was intended for service between the U.S. Gulf ports and ports in United Kingdom and Mediterranean. To meet requirements for river and canal navigation modifications were made for visibility on the bridge and masts were telescopic to meet [[Manchester Ship Canal]] height requirements. The ship was designed to accommodate a crew of eighteen deck department, sixteen engine department and nine in the steward's department for a total of forty-three crew with two owner's staterooms approximating liner cabins suitable for passengers.<ref name=PMR241/>
Characteristics as built were {{cvt|417|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}} length overall, {{cvt|395|ft|0|in|m|1|abbr=on}} [[length between perpendiculars]], {{cvt|60|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} beam (molded), {{cvt|27|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}} loaded draft, {{GRT|6863}}, {{DWT|9095}}, with a displacement of 12,875 tons. Propulsion was a De Laval steam turbine driving a bronze, variable-pitch, three-bladed propeller {{cvt|17|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}} in diameter. Two 250&nbsp;kW De Laval steam turbine generators provided electrical power.<ref name=PMR241/>
The launch can be seen in stock footage used in the opening scenes of the 1964 film ''[[The Incredible Mr. Limpet]]''.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}
==Navy acquisition==
The ''Fred Morris'' was acquired by the Navy on 1 March 1941 and commissioned as '''USS ''Otus'' (AS–20)''' on 19 March 1941. The lone ship in her class, she was named for [[Aloadae|Otus]], a mythological son of [[Iphimedia]] (wife of Aloeus) and [[Poseidon]].<ref name=DANFS/>
===Submarine tender (1941-1945)===
Assigned to the [[United States Asiatic Fleet|Asiatic Fleet]] as a [[submarine tender]], she was anchored in [[Mariveles, Bataan#Geography|Mariveles Bay]], [[Philippine Islands]], on 7 December 1941. On 10 December 1941 she was slightly damaged during the Japanese air raid on the [[Cavite Navy Yard]], when several bombs landed near her starboard side. Not wanting to risk one of the few tenders in his command, Admiral Hart, Commander Asiatic Fleet ordered ''Otus'' to leave the Philippines.<ref name=DANFS/>
Departing 10 December she arrived at [[Port Darwin]], Australia on 28 December. Remaining at Port Darwin through January 1942 ''Otus'' steamed to [[Java]] and [[Trincomalee]], [[Ceylon]], during February and the first part of March. She returned to Australia on 10 March, where she tended [[submarine]]s at [[Fremantle, Western Australia|Fremantle]] until departing for the United States on 25 July. Arriving [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] 24 August, ''Otus'' underwent an extensive overhaul until 23 January 1943. After a brief stop at [[Pearl Harbor]] she returned to Australia 22 February where she remained, steaming from port to port as the demand for her services dictated, until 1 September. From September 1943 until December 1944 ''Otus'' served at four different sites in [[New Guinea]] furnishing tender services for escort vessels, minecraft, and amphibious craft as well as submarines.<ref name=DANFS/>
Departing [[Yos Sudarso Bay|Hollandia Bay]] 25 December, ''Otus'' arrived at [[San Pedro Bay (Philippines)|San Pedro Bay]], [[Leyte Gulf]], Philippines on 6 January 1945 and commenced providing routine upkeep and emergency repairs to the ships of the Southwest Pacific Area.<ref name=DANFS/>
===Repair ship (1945-1946)===
On 25 June 1945 her classification was changed to ARG–20 (Repair Ship, Internal Combustion Engines). On 1 December 1945 ''Otus'' left San Pedro Bay en route to [[Portland, Oregon]]. Arriving 2 January 1946, she was assigned the duty of deactivating vessels. She carried out this work at both Portland and [[Astoria, Oregon|Astoria]] until 29 June 1946, when she steamed to Seattle to commence inactivation overhaul.<ref name=DANFS/>
===Decommissioning and fate===
''Otus'' decommissioned 20 August 1946 and was sold the following day. She was struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] 25 September 1946. In 1970 she was at [[Olympia, Washington]] with the [[National Defense Reserve Fleet]]. The ship was finally sold for scrap, 2 November 1970, to Zidell Explorations Inc. of Portland, OR.<ref name=DANFS/>
''Otus'' received one [[battle star]] for service in [[World War II]].
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DANFS}}
==External links==
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/36/3620.htm NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive: USS Otus (ARG-20)]
{{Type C1-B ships}}
{{Internal Combustion Engine Repair Ships}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Otus (Arg-120}}
[[Category:Type C1-B ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Kearny, New Jersey]]
[[Category:1940 ships]]
[[Category:Submarine tenders of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Repair ships of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]]