USS Askari (ARL-30)

USS Askari (ARL-30)

USS Askari (ARL-30) was one of 39 Achelous-class landing craft repair ships built for the United States Navy during World War II. Askari is an Arabic word for soldier, a term frequently applied to indigenous troops in Africa serving European colonial powers, particularly the British and Germans in East Africa from the late 19th century to the end of World War I; ARL-30 has been the only U.S. naval vessel to bear the name.

Originally laid down as LST-1131 on 8 December 1944 at Seneca, Illinois by the Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, she was launched on 2 March 1945 and sponsored by Mrs. Patricia Ann Jacobsen. Askari was then ferried down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, where the landing craft repair ship was commissioned on 15 March 1945, with Lieutenant Charles L. Haslup in command. On 28 March, she got underway for Jacksonville, Florida where she was decommissioned on 9 April 1945 for outfitting for her role by the Merrill-Stevens Drydock & Repair Company. The ship was recommissioned as USS Askari (ARL-30) on 23 July 1945.