View source for USS Cebu

{{Short description|United States Navy WWII-era repair ship}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=USS Cebu (ARG-6) underway off Baltimore, Maryland (USA), 18 April 1944 (NH 106329).jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Cebu'' (ARG-6) in [[Chesapeake Bay]] off the Bethlehem Steel Key Highway Yard, Baltimore, 18 April 1944, one day after completing her conversion to an Internal Combustion Engine Repair Ship. The ship is painted in Camouflage Measure 31, Design 6Ax.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1947}}
|Ship name=
* ''Francis P. Duffy''
* ''Cebu''
|Ship namesake=
* [[Francis P. Duffy]]
* [[Cebu Island|Cebu]]
|Ship ordered= as a [[Liberty ship|Type EC2-S-C1]] hull, [[Maritime Commission|MCE]] hull 1805{{sfn|Bethlehem-Fairfield|2008}}
|Ship builder= [[Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard]], [[Baltimore]], Maryland
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number= 2253{{sfn|Bethlehem-Fairfield|2008}}
|Ship way= 2{{sfn|Bethlehem-Fairfield|2008}}
|Ship laid down= 21 September 1943
|Ship launched= 18 October 1943
|Ship acquired= 27 October 1943
|Ship commissioned= 15 April 1944
|Ship decommissioned= 30 June 1947
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship identification=*[[Hull classification symbol#Support type|Hull symbol]]: ARG-6
*[[International Code of Signals|Code letters]]: NPZL
*{{ICS|November}}{{ICS|Papa}}{{ICS|Zulu}}{{ICS|Lima}}
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honors= 1 [[battle star]] (WWII)
|Ship fate=* Laid up, [[Pacific Reserve Fleet]], [[Stockton, California]], 30 September 1947
*Transferred, [[National Defense Reserve Fleet]], [[Suisun Bay]], California, 4 August 1961
*Sold for scrapping, 18 October 1973, withdrawn from fleet, 14 November 1973
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption={{sfn|Navsource|2016}}
|Ship class={{sclass|Luzon|Internal Combustion Engine Repair Ship|2}}
|Ship type=[[Liberty ship|Type EC2-S-C1]]
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship displacement= 
*{{cvt|4023|LT|lk=on}} (light load)
*{{cvt|14350|LT}} (full load)
|Ship length={{cvt|441|ft|6|in}}
|Ship beam={{cvt|56|ft|11|in}}
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft={{cvt|23|ft}}
|Ship power=
*2 × [[Babcock & Wilcox]] header-type [[boiler]]s, {{cvt|220|psi|lk=on}} {{cvt|450|F}}
*{{cvt|2500|shp|lk=on}}
|Ship propulsion=
*1 × [[General Machine Corporation]] [[Marine steam engine#Vertical|vertical]] [[Compound steam engine#Multiple expansion engines|triple expansion engines]]
*1 x [[propeller]]
|Ship speed={{cvt|12.5|kn|lk=on}} ([[Sea trial|ship's trials]])
|Ship range=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship troops=
|Ship complement=31 officers, 552 enlisted
|Ship boats=
|Ship sensors=
|Ship EW=
|Ship armament=
*1 × [[5"/38 caliber gun|{{cvt|5|in|0}}/38]] [[caliber (artillery)|caliber]] [[dual purpose gun|dual purpose]] (DP) gun
*1 × [[3"/50 caliber gun|{{cvt|3|in|0}}/50]] caliber (DP) gun
*2 × twin [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|{{cvt|40|mm|1}} Bofors]] [[anti-aircraft]] (AA) gun mounts
*12 × single [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|{{cvt|20|mm|1}} Oerlikon cannons]] AA mounts
|Ship armour=
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''USS ''Cebu'' (ARG-6)''' was a [[USS Luzon (ARG-2)|''Luzon''-class]] [[internal combustion engine]] [[repair ship]] that saw service in the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]]. Named after [[Cebu Island|Cebu]], an island in the [[Philippines]], it was the second ship of the Navy to bear this name.

==Construction==
''Cebu'' was [[Keel laying|laid down]] 21 September 1943, as [[liberty ship]] SS ''Francis P. Duffy'', under a [[Maritime Commission]] (MARCOM) contract, MCE hull 1805,  by the [[Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard]], Inc., in [[Baltimore]], Maryland; launched 18 October 1943; sponsored by Mrs. M. C. Bird; acquired by the Navy 27 October 1943; and commissioned 15 April 1944.{{sfn|DANFS}}

==Service history==
''Cebu''{{'}}s special mission was providing shops and trained men for the repair of [[internal combustion engine]]s, but through the course of the war, her men performed a variety of tasks, ranging from the repairing of ship's clocks to major work on [[battleship]]s. She arrived at [[Manus Island|Manus]] in the [[Admiralty Islands]] 10 September 1944. At this fleet base, she prepared small craft and larger ships for their role in the [[Philippines Campaign (1944–1945)|Philippine operations]], working many times around the clock in order to insure the readiness of ships vital to the invasion assaults.{{sfn|DANFS}}

===''Mount Hood'' explosion===
{{further|USS_Mount_Hood_(AE-11)#Disaster|name=''Mount Hood'' disaster}}
At Manus on 10 November 1944, ''Cebu'' was anchored only {{cvt|800|yds}} from {{USS|Mount Hood|AE-11|2}} when the ammunition ship exploded, showering ''Cebu''{{'}}s decks with bomb fragments and heavy projectiles. Five of her men were killed and six wounded, but quick work prevented serious damage to the ship itself. She was able to continue her work without interruption, preparing ships for the [[Lingayen Gulf|Lingayen]] and [[Iwo Jima]] assaults.{{sfn|DANFS}}

==Philippines and occupation duty==
''Cebu'' was stationed at [[Ulithi]] from 22 January to 12 February 1945, when she sailed for [[San Pedro Bay (Philippines)|San Pedro Bay]]. Her work continued at a furious rate as victims of suicide attacks required immediate repairs. Her services to small craft at [[Leyte]] continued until 21 September, when she sailed for occupation duties at [[Okinawa Island|Okinawa]] and [[Japan]] until 11 March 1946.{{sfn|DANFS}}

==Operation "Crossroads"==
{{Further|Operation Crossroads}}
''Cebu'' prepared at [[Pearl Harbor]] from 29 March to 11 May 1945, for her role supporting the atomic tests of Operation Crossroads at [[Bikini Atoll|Bikini]] and [[Kwajalein]] in the summer of 1946.{{sfn|DANFS}}

==Decommissioning==
She arrived at [[San Diego]], California, 28 September, and was placed out of commission in the [[Pacific Reserve Fleet]] at [[Stockton, California]], 30 June 1947.{{sfn|DANFS}}

On 4 August 1961, ''Cebu'' was transferred to the [[National Defense Reserve Fleet]] at [[Suisun Bay, California]]. Her name reverted to ''Francis P. Duffy'' and she was struck from the [[Naval Register]] on 1 September 1962.{{sfn|Navsource|2016}}

==Fate==
[[File:USS Cebu (ARG-6) laid up at Suisun Bay, California (USA), 27 July 1972 (NH 83859).jpg|thumb|SS Francis P. Duffey [ex-USS Cebu (ARG-6)] laid up in reserve at Suisun Bay, CA., 27 July 1972.]]
On 18 October 1973, ''Francis P. Duffy'' was sold to [[Zidell Explorations Inc.]], for $151,899.99 to be scrapped. She was withdrawn from on 14 November 1973.{{sfn|Navsource|2016}}

==Awards==
''Cebu'' received one [[battle star]] for World War II service.{{sfn|DANFS}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}

===Online resources===
* {{cite DANFS
  | url = https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/cebu.html
  | title = Cebu
  | publisher = Naval History and Heritage Command
  | access-date = 10 May 2017
  | ref = {{sfnRef|DANFS}}
  }}{{PD-notice}}
* {{cite web
  | url = http://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencylarge/bethfairfield.htm
  | title = Bethlehem-Fairfield, Baltimore MD
  | publisher =  www.ShipbuildingHistory.com
  | date = 14 August 2008
  | access-date = 10 May 2017
  | ref = {{sfnRef|Bethlehem-Fairfield|2008}}
  }}
* {{cite web
  | url = http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/29/2906.htm
  | title= USS Cebu (ARG-6)
  | publisher= Navsource.org
  | date= 19 August 2016
  | access-date= 10 May 2017
  | ref= {{sfnRef|Navsource|2016}}
  }}
* {{cite web
  | url = https://www.marad.dot.gov/sh/ShipHistory/Detail/849
  | title = CEBU (ARG-6)
  | publisher = United States Department of Transportation
  | access-date = 10 May 2017
  | ref = {{sfnRef|MARAD}}
  }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{navsource|09/29/2903|USS Mindanao (ARG-3)}}

{{Luzon class repair ships}}
{{Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards}}
{{Internal Combustion Engine Repair Ships}}
{{November 1944 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cebu (ARG-6)}}
[[Category:Luzon-class repair ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Baltimore]]
[[Category:1943 ships]]
[[Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Pacific Reserve Fleet, Stockton Group]]
[[Category:Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in November 1944]]