| Navy | The US Navy |
| Type | Repair ship |
| Class | [No specific class] |
| Pennant | AR 4 |
| Built by | New York Navy Yard (New York, New York, U.S.A.) |
| Ordered | |
| Laid down | 25 Mar 1907 |
| Launched | 19 May 1908 |
| Commissioned | 4 Oct 1909 |
| End service | 14 Aug 1946 |
| History | Displacement: 12585 BRT Commissioned as USS Vestal (Collier No.1) on 4 October 1909 |
Commands listed for USS Vestal (AR 4)
Please note that we're still working on this section
and that we only list Commanding Officers for the duration of the Second World War.
| Commander | From | To | |
| 1 | Mahlon Street Tisdale, USN | 10 Apr 1939 | 7 Mar 1940 |
| 2 | Cdr. Robert Philip Luker, USN | 7 Mar 1940 | 10 Oct 1941 |
| 3 | Cdr. Cassin Young, USN | 10 Oct 1941 | 19 Jan 1942 |
| 4 | Lt.Cdr. Watson Twitty Singer, USN | 19 Jan 1942 | 22 May 1944 |
| 5 | T/Capt. Jesse Benjamin Goode, USN | 22 May 1944 | 29 Oct 1944 |
| 6 | T/Cdr. Norman William Gambling, USN | 29 Oct 1944 | 4 May 1945 |
| 7 | T/Cdr. Harold John Pohl, USN | 4 May 1945 | 14 Mar 1946 |
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Notable events involving Vestal include:
7 Dec 1941
During the attack on Pearl Harbor, she was moored next to the battleship USS Arizona (BB-39) at Berth F-7 off Ford Island. At ca 0805 hours, shortly after the ship began it's anti aircraft fire, two bombs struck the vessel, possibly intended for the Arizona. One bomb struck the port side, penetrating three decks & exploded in a stores hold which necessitated flooding the forward magazines. The second bomb struck the starboard side, passing through several of the ship's workshop spaces, & left an irregular hole, about 5' in diameter, in the bottom of the ship.
After three shots, the ship's 3" gun jammed, & while they endeavoured to clear the round, the USS Arizona was hit with a bomb, exploding her powder magazine.
The repair ship eventually steamed up & managed to pull away from the burning USS Arizona, thanks largely to the captain, who'd re-boarded, & the ship's engineering staff, which managed to get the ship underway.
Eventually, the ship was grounded on Aiea Shoal due to the ship's unstable condition
The CO, Cmdr Cassin Young, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions aboard the Vestal that day.
Though damaged, she participated in the ensuing repair & rescue ops at Pearl Harbor, including sending crews to help pull men out of the USS Oklahoma (BB-37). (1)
Sources
- Personal communication