After
shakedown,
Sarpedon sailed from
Norfolk, Virginia for the Pacific. Following brief stops at the
Panama Canal Zone,
San Pedro, Los Angeles,
Pearl Harbor,
Eniwetok, and
Guam,
Sarpedon arrived at
Saipan on 2 July 1945. While awaiting further routing there, she began functioning as a repair ship, doing numerous jobs on equipment brought to her shops from other ships. She sailed for
Okinawa on 1 August, and upon arrival at
Naval Base Okinawa on 7 August, began work repairing the damage caused to ships there by heavy enemy air attacks and long continuous operations. The
Japanese surrendered on 15 August, but
Sarpedon, plagued by a new enemy, the weather, continued to work in support of occupation forces. After riding out
Typhoon Ida at anchor on 16 September, she went to sea to avoid the
Typhoon Jean of 29 September, but was ordered to remain in port when a third,
Typhoon Louise struck on 8 and 9 October. Many craft were wrecked in the harbor, but
Sarpedons anchor held despite collisions with two
barges and a
PC which broke their moorings and crashed alongside. Later moving to
Shanghai, China,
Sarpedon continued to provide repair support to ships engaged in occupation duties until sailing from Shanghai, on 20 March 1946, for
Bikini. However, her participation in the
atomic bomb tests there was cancelled. After remaining at
Kwajalein from 5 April to 8 May, she arrived at
San Pedro, Los Angeles, on 28 May 1946, for inactivation.
Sarpedon was decommissioned on 29 January 1947, and placed in reserve at
San Diego. Laid up in the
Pacific Reserve Fleet, San Diego Group, she was struck from the
Naval Vessel Register 15 April 1976; sold for scrapping 1 January 1977, by the
Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS); and acquired by
Phaethon Shipping & Trading Corporation S.A.,
Panama, and renamed '
SS Petrola 133'''''. The ship was broken up for scrap 30 May 1989. == Notes ==