USS Phaon ( ARB - 3 ) USS " Phaon " ( ARB - 3 ) was one of twelve " Aristaeus " - class battle damage repair ships built for the United States Navy during World War II . Named for Phaon ( in Greek mythology , a boatman of Mitylene in Lesbos ) , she was the only U . S . Naval vessel to bear the name . Originally laid down as " LST - 15 " by the Tampa ( Florida ) Shipbuilding Company on 17 September 1942 ; reclassified as a battle damage repair ship 25 January 1943 ; launched 30 January 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Marion D . Calabreeze ; and commissioned 5 August 1943 with Lieutenant George Fay Watson , USNR , in command . Service history . As an ex - LST , ARB – 3 had heavier armament , greater deck facilities for cargo handling , and a much longer superstructure deck , though in this case the tank deck was covered with lathes , grinders , drills , metal cutters , welding machines and other shop equipment not found on an LST . After shakedown to New Orleans and final fitting out there , she sailed 3 September via Guantanamo Bay and the Panama Canal for Samoa , anchoring in Pago Pago Harbor on 13 October . From Samoa " Phaon " moved to Funafuti in the Ellice Islands , arriving there shortly after the occupation of that island on 18 October . There , she repaired LCTs , pontoon barges , and PT boat s . She restored many craft used in the Invasion of Tarawa , Gilbert Islands . From Funafuti " Phaon " advanced westward to Majuro in the Marshall Islands , arriving 6 February 1944 , shortly after the invasion . Here , in the same harbor with one of the mightiest fleets ever assembled , " Phaon " worked on minelayer s , tankers , minesweepers , destroyer s , and small boats ( LCVP s and LCMs ) . On 18 March 1944 " Phaon " weighed anchor again , proceeded via Kwajalein to Eniwetok in the Marshalls , arriving 23 March for repair work on small boats , LCTs , and yard minesweepers . On 9 June 1944 " Phaon " left Eniwetok arriving on 15 June , Saipan for the invasion . There , on D - Day plus three , the destroyer came alongside for repairs and many other ships thereafter . As metalsmiths , mechanics , and carpenters from " Phaon " swarmed over " Phelps " repairing the damaged boiler , blower , deck and bulkheads , the sturdy warship still very much in the fight , blasting away at enemy troops and pillboxes . On 24 June , during an air raid by Japanese G4M " Betties " , " Phaon " suffered a near - miss on the starboard side . The damage to the ship was not very serious but the shrapnel fragments killed two of her men and injured eleven others . That day , she worked on a PCS and two LCI s , also repairing other small craft in preparation for the invasion of Tinian . On 24 July , the morning of the Tinian invasion , the destroyer came alongside with numerous dead and wounded officers and men . She had suffered several direct hits from a Japanese six - inch shore battery and her bridge was practically torn away . While " Phaon ' s " medical department cared for the wounded , her repair department patched up the ship , enabling " Norman Scott " to pull away two days later . The securing of Saipan by no means ended " Phaon ' s " work there . Saipan was her last invasion , but she prepared and repaired ships for Iwo Jima , Okinawa , and the Philippines . During the month between the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa , " Phaon " worked on 96 different ships . After V - J Day , her work was still far from finished and she continued repairing and overhauling the ships that needed it . On 28 December 1945 " Phaon " was ordered back to the United States . In 29 months away she had completed approximately 2 , 000 repair jobs , on almost everything from small boats to battleship s . She was decommissioned and placed in reserve on 15 January 1947 , berthed at San Diego , struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 July 1961 , and sold for scrapping on 8 July 1962 to Zidell Explorations , Inc . of Portland , Oregon . " Phaon " received three battle star s for World War II service .