USS Briareus was originally the cargo ship SS Hawaiian Planter laid down as a Maritime Commission type C3 Mod.

[4] On 8 October 1941 the Hawaiian Planter departed the U.S. mainland with a load of drummed aviation fuel under United States Army charter operating in an attempt to build up supplies for bomber missions in the event of war at Singapore and in Australian territory at Rockhampton, Darwin, Port Moresby and Rabaul.

[7] Hawaiian Planter was purchased by the Navy on 16 February 1943 and renamed Briareus, then designated a Delta-class repair ship AR-12.

During the six months that Briareus spent at Espiritu Santo, she made a variety of repairs on a wide assortment of ships ranging in size from landing craft to the battleship California (BB-44).

The ship arrived at Manus in the Admiralty Islands on 26 September and reported for duty to the Commander, Service Squadron (ServRon) 10.

Briareus, some seven miles distant at the time, suffered no damage, but three of her crewmen detailed to ammunition delivery, disappeared in the disaster.

She arrived in at Port Purvis on Florida Island in the Solomons, located across Ironbottom Sound and Sealark Channel from Guadalcanal, on 21 February 1945.

Originally, she was slated to perform repairs on ships staging for the invasion of Japan, and she spent the rest of July working on transports and amphibious craft, but the imminence of the Japanese capitulation, however, caused a shift of emphasis to the minecraft necessary to sweep in advance of the occupation forces.

On 24 January 1952, the repair ship headed back to Norfolk where she began an assignment of just over three years with the Service Force, Atlantic Fleet.

In addition to her repair work in Norfolk, she pursued the routine of periodic fleet and single-ship exercises in the Virginia Capes operating area.

On 9 September 1955, she was decommissioned and berthed once more with the Norfolk Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet, which she served as an accommodation and depot ship.

That occupation continued until 7 June 1972 at which time she was transferred to the Maritime Administration for lay up in its James River Group, National Defense Reserve Fleet.

On 19 November 1980 the stripped vessel was sold to the Jacobson Metal Company in Chesapeake, Virginia, for $411,601 for scrapping and delivered to the buyer on 14 December 1980.