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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Assistance BAR-17
HMS Assistance (F-173)


Assistance (BAR-17) was transferred under terms of the Lend-lease Act to the Royal Navy upon completion and commissioned HMS Assistance (F-173)
  • Laid down, 19 May 1944, as Assistance (BAR-17) a Maritime Commission type (EC2-S-C1) hull under Maritime Commission contract (MCE hull 2649) at Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard Inc., Baltimore, MD.
  • Launched, 20 June 1944
  • Delivered incomplete to the US Navy, 28 August 1944
  • Fitted out as a repair ship and turned over to the government of the United Kingdom under terms of the Lend-lease Act, 20 January 1945, BAR-17 never saw active service with the US Navy
  • Commissioned as the Repair Ship HMS Assistance (F-173), 20 January 1945
  • Returned to US Navy custody in 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register and transferred to the Maritime Commission for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Group, Fort Eustis , VA.
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping in 1974
    Specifications:
    Displacement 5,801 t.(lt) 10,920 t.(fl)
    Length 441' 6"
    Beam 56' 11"
    Draft 22'
    Speed 12.5 kts.
    Complement 525
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    three 3"/50 guns dual purpose gun mounts
    four 40mm AA gun mounts
    twelve single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Propulsion
    one Worthington Pump & Machinery Corp, Harrison, N.J. triple expansion engine
    single propeller, 2,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Assistance 52k Assistance (BAR-17) after launching at Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard Inc., Baltimore, MD., 20 June 1944 David Nixon
    HMS Assistance (F-173)
    Assistance 119k HMS Assistance (F-173) at anchor in Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore, MD., 3 February 1945.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-79228, RG-18-LCM, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 Robert Hurst
    Assistance 73k HMS Assistance (F-173) at anchor in Plymouth Sound, date unknown. Courtesy David Page Webmaster Navyphotos.co.uk
    Assistance 44k HMS Assistance (F-173) at anchor, date and location unknown. Robert Hurst
    View the Assistance (AR-17)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Not Applicable to this Vessel
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    No Information Available
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 18 September 2009