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History
United States
Laid down	date unknown
Launched	1904
Acquired	6 February 1942
Commissioned	31 December 1942
Stricken	22 December 1944
Fate	Wrecked 31 December 1942; later scrapped
General characteristics
Displacement	738 tons
Length	175 ft 6 in (53.49 m)
Beam	34 ft (10 m)
Speed	10 knots
Armament	Armament four .30 cal. machine guns

USS Rescuer (ARS-18) was a Rescuer-class rescue and salvage ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy during World War II. Her task was to come to the aid of stricken vessels.

Construction and commissioning

Rescuer (ARS-18) was built in 1904 as tug Casper by United Engine Works, and acquired for the Navy 6 February 1942 by the Port Director, San Pedro, California.

Service history

Assigned to the 13th Naval District on 7 February 1942, Rescuer underwent conversion at Seattle, Washington, then headed north to the waters of the Territory of Alaska, where she served during her brief naval career.

On 31 December 1942, while engaged in salvaging the stranded Soviet cargo ship SS Turksib near Scotch Cap (54°24′15″N 164°47′30″W / 54.40417°N 164.79167°W / 54.40417; -164.79167 (Scotch Cap)) on the southwest corner of Unimak Island in the Aleutian Islands, Rescuer was carried on to the beach in an 80-mph (129-km/h) gale, badly holed, and wrecked. Her third engineer fell overboard and drowned. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 22 December 1944.

References

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

1. ^ alaskashipwreck.com Alaska Shipwrecks (R)

External links

• Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Archived 2006-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
• NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - ARS-18 Rescuer

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in December 1942
Shipwrecks	1 Dec: HMAS Armidale 2 Dec: Lupo, HMS Quentin 3 Dec: Empire Dabchick, HMS Penylan 4 Dec: Muzio Attendolo, HMS Traveller 6 Dec: USS Grebe 7 Dec: Ceramic 8 Dec: U-254, U-611 9 Dec: I-3, HMS Marigold 11 Dec: HMS Blean 12 Dec: HMS P222, Teruzuki 14 Dec: Canberra Maru 15 Dec: U-626 16 Dec: USS S-49 17 Dec: HMS Firedrake 18 Dec: HMS Partridge, Tenryū 21 Dec: I-4 23 Dec: Sperrbrecher 138 25 Dec: HMS P48 26 Dec: U-357 27 Dec: U-336 28 Dec: Choyo Maru 29 Dec: USS Wasmuth 30 Dec: HMS Fidelity 31 Dec: HMS Achates, HMS Bramble, Friedrich Eckoldt, USS Rescuer Unknown date: HMS P311
Other incidents	7 Dec: USS R-16 9 Dec: HMS Porcupine 12 Dec: Empire Centaur, Tannenfels 14 Dec: HMS Argonaut 19 Dec: Donau 21 Dec: USS S-35 25 Dec: Nankai Maru, Uzuki
1941 1942 1943 November 1942 January 1943

• 1904 ships
• 1942 in Alaska
• Ships built in Alameda, California
• Shipwrecks of the Alaska coast
• Unique rescue and salvage ships of the United States Navy
• World War II auxiliary ships of the United States
• World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean
• Maritime incidents in December 1942
• Ships of the Aleutian Islands campaign