USS Atlas ( ARL - 7 ) USS " Atlas " ( ARL - 7 ) was one of 39 " Achelous " - class landing craft repair ships built for the United States Navy during World War II . Named for Atlas ( in Greek mythology , the son of the Titan Iapetus and Clymene and the brother of Prometheus ) , she was the second U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . Originally laid down as LST - 231 on 3 June 1943 at Seneca , Illinois by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company ; launched on 19 October 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Nettie Singer ; named ' Atlas and redesignated a landing craft repair ship ARL - 7 on 3 November 1943 ; and commissioned on 15 November 1943 for the voyage to the conversion yard . She arrived in Baltimore , Maryland on 14 December 1943 ; entered the Bethlehem Steel Key Highway Shipyard ; and was placed out of commission for her conversion to a landing craft repair ship . Her modifications completed early in February , 1944 " Atlas " was recommissioned at Baltimore on 8 February 1944 , Lieutenant Buell A . Nesbitt in command . Service history . World War II . After shakedown training along the Atlantic coast , " Atlas " departed Boston , Massachusetts at the end of the second week in March and steamed via Halifax , Nova Scotia to the British Isles . She arrived in Milford Haven , Wales on 29 March and remained there for two days before moving to Falmouth , England where she arrived on 1 April . She remained at Falmouth until the end of May when she proceeded to Plymouth to prepare for the invasion of Europe . Though not present for the actual assault , " Atlas " arrived on the scene on 8 June , two days after " D - Day , " and immediately began repairing damaged landing craft . Her crew worked about 14 hours a day returning their charges to active service while frequently fighting to fend off enemy air attacks . She served at various locations on both sides of the English Channel almost until the end of hostilities in Europe . On 16 April 1945 the ship left Plymouth to return to the United States . She entered Norfolk on 5 May to begin seven weeks of repairs in preparation for duty in the Pacific . Underway again on 22 June , the vessel transited the Panama Canal between 8 – 10 July and arrived in San Diego , California on the 25th . She remained there until 15 August , the day after Japan capitulated , before departing that port and heading for the Central Pacific . After stops at Pearl Harbor and Eniwetok , " Atlas " arrived at Guam in the Mariana Islands late in September and performed her repair duties there until late November . On the 27th , she shaped a course back toward Eniwetok and entered the lagoon at that atoll on 4 December 1945 for a five - month tour of repair work . At the end of April 1946 , she stood out of the Eniwetok anchorage to begin the voyage back to the United States . She made a stop at Pearl Harbor en route before arriving in Astoria , Oregon on 24 May . There , she joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet though she was not officially decommissioned until 13 September 1946 . Korean War . " Atlas " remained inactive until midway through 1951 when the Fleet was expanding to meet the demand for warships caused by fighting in Korea . She was recommissioned at Astoria on 1 June 1951 , Lieutenant Commander Jaroslav Kohl in command , and operated along the west coast until early November . On the 12th , the landing craft repair ship got underway for the Far East and made a stop at Pearl Harbor from 24 November to 1 December before continuing on to Japan . She arrived at Yokosuka on 21 December and , for the next nine months , repaired amphibious warfare ships and craft damaged in the Korean War . She operated primarily at Yokosuka and Sasebo but also saw service at Okinawa . On 25 September 1952 , she left Yokosuka and shaped a course back to the United States . The ship stopped off at Pearl Harbor before continuing on to San Diego where she arrived on 24 October . " Atlas " operated along the California coast until March 1954 . She stood out of San Diego on the 16th of that month for another tour of duty in the Far East , reentered Yokosuka on 15 April , and resumed repair work on American amphibious warfare ships and craft operating in the Orient . On 15 August , the vessel departed Yokosuka on her way to Indochina where the Viet Minh had recently won independence from France . With the certainty that a communist regime was to be established in the north , the United States assisted those who wished to leave the north before the communist regime took complete control . " Atlas " arrived in Haiphong on 28 August to provide repair services while anchored in Henrietta Pass . She also provided station ship , mail exchange and communication relay services . She got underway again on 24 September shaping a course back toward Japan . She arrived in Yokosuka on 7 October but remained there only three days before beginning her homeward voyage . Following the customary port call at Pearl Harbor , she continued on to the California coast and reached San Diego on 7 November . Operations in and out of her home port filled her time until 16 March 1955 . On that day , " Atlas " pointed her bow westward from San Diego for the final deployment of her career . After a stop at Pearl Harbor , the landing craft repair ship entered Yokosuka on 17 April . In addition to her repair work there , she put to sea for two special operations of unspecified nature in the Okinawa area . She also made liberty calls at Beppu and Kobe in Japan as well as at Hong Kong . On 21 September , " Atlas " weighed anchor at Yokosuka and shaped a course via Pearl Harbor for home and arrived at San Diego on 19 October . On 7 November , the ship headed north , reached Astoria on 14 November , and began preparations for inactivation . She was decommissioned on 13 April 1956 and was berthed with the Astoria Group , Pacific Reserve Fleet . She remained in reserve until her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 June 1972 . She was sold to the Marine Power & Equipment Company of Seattle , Washington on 18 September 1973 for scrapping . Awards . " Atlas " earned one battle star during World War II .