USS Pigeon (ASR-21)
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| History | |
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| Name: | USS Pigeon |
| Awarded: | 15 November 1967 |
| Builder: | Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company, Mobile, Alabama |
| Laid down: | 17 July 1968 |
| Launched: | 13 August 1969 |
| Acquired: | 29 January 1972 |
| Commissioned: | 28 April 1973 |
| Decommissioned: | 31 August 1992 |
| Struck: | 31 August 1992 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Pigeon-class submarine rescue ship |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | |
| Beam: | 86 ft (26 m) |
| Draft: | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
| Propulsion: | 4 diesel engines, two shafts |
| Speed: | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement: | 17 officers, 149 enlisted |
| Armament: | 2 × 20 mm guns |
| Aviation facilities: | Helicopter platform only |
The third USS Pigeon (ASR–21) was the lead ship of her class of submarine rescue ships. Laid down on 17 July 1968 by the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Co., Mobile, Alabama, the ship was launched on 13 August 1969, sponsored by Mrs. Allen M. Shinn, wife of Vice Admiral Shinn, Commander Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and commissioned on 28 April 1973. She was a sister ship to USS Ortolan (ASR-22).
The leader of a new class of submarine rescue ships designed to operate with the Navy's new deep submergence rescue vehicles, Pigeon was the first seagoing catamaran warship built for the Navy since Robert Fulton's twin-hulled steam warship Fulton was built at the close of the War of 1812. Her twin hull gave great stability for deep water operations and provides ample deck working space. She was able to carry two deep submergence vehicles on her main deck. These craft were capable of docking to a disabled submarine on the sea bottom, removing survivors and transporting them to the surface. Pigeon also carried the McCann diving bell or rescue chamber of the type which was used to rescue the survivors of submarine Squalus (SS-192) in 1939. Pigeon's mooring system enabled her to maintain a precise position over a disabled submarine during rescue operations.
Pigeon's rescue control center used a three-dimensional sonar system for continuous tracking of the rescue vehicle. During rescue operations it served as a floating command post with specialized communications equipment for contacting the disabled submarine and any other craft, planes or ships working with her.
Struck from Naval Register on 31 August 1992, Pigeon was laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay Group. On 18 December 1998, the vessel was transferred to the Maritime Administration for disposal. However, training requirements at Fleet Training Center San Diego (FTC San Diego) identified a need for this vessel. It was reacquired by the U.S. Navy on 23 March 2002 and tied-up at Pier 11 (across from West 19th Street), Naval Base San Diego, as a non-operational training platform.
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