USS Rigel (AR-11)
Rigel (AR-11) at anchor in Manila Bay in late 1945
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| History | |
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| Name: | USS Rigel |
| Builder: | Skinner and Eddy Corporation, Seattle |
| Laid down: | 1918 |
| Launched: | 23 November 1918 as SS Edgecombe |
| Completed: | December 1918 |
| Acquired: | 29 October 1921 |
| Commissioned: | 24 February 1922 |
| Decommissioned: | 11 July 1946 |
| Reclassified: | AR-11, 10 April 1941 |
| Honours and awards: |
4 battle stars (WWII) |
| Fate: | Transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal, 12 July 1946 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Altair-class destroyer tender |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 423 ft 9 in (129.16 m) |
| Beam: | 54 ft 3 in (16.54 m) |
| Draft: | 20 ft 7 in (6.27 m) |
| Propulsion: | Geared turbine, single propeller |
| Speed: | 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph) |
| Complement: | 481 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: |
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USS Rigel (AD-13/AR-11) was an Altair class destroyer tender named for Rigel, the brightest star in the constellation Orion.
Originally built in 1918 as SS Edgecombe by the Skinner and Eddy Corporation of Seattle, Washington for the United States Shipping Board, she was transferred to the United States Navy by Executive Order on 29 October 1921, delivered 16 November 1921, converted to a destroyer tender, and commissioned as USS Rigel on 24 February 1922 with Lieutenant E. G. Affleck in command.
Following an extensive fitting out period and shakedown, Rigel was homeported at San Diego. During the interwar period she remained in southern California. While in San Diego at the Navy Destroyer Base, 11th Naval District, her skipper was Captain Frucht. Lt.Cmdr. William E. Lund was the supply officer for the 11th Naval District and was attached to the Regal. USS Regal (and it was spelled with an E, not an I) had one unique feature—she was the only naval vessel in the 1930s to maintain quarters for the captain's wife! My parents and I had dinner aboard at the invitation of Mrs. Susie Frucht. We were served by Filipino mess boys in a small but elegant mess which had one wall outfitted as a goldfish aquarium. This situation with the captain's wife living aboard continued until Mrs.Frucht decided to keep a bee hive on deck. When sailors complained of being stung, the captain and his lady bought a home in Point Loma and moved ashore.
Redesignated a repair ship, AR-11, on 10 April 1941, she underwent overhaul at Bremerton, Washington then sailed to Hawaii for more extensive repairs and alterations. By mid-July, she was at Pearl Harbor and was still in the yard on 7 December 1941. She was without her authorized armament and superstructure and was slightly damaged during the Japanese attack. Her crew, unable to fire, immediately turned their skills to rescue and salvage operations. Conversion work on Rigel was completed on 7 April 1942.
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