USS Hector (AR-7)

USS ''Hector'' (AR-7) was a repair ship that served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1987 and as PNS ''Moawin'' in the Pakistan Navy from 1989 to 1994.

World War II

''Hector'' was launched 11 November 1942 by the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, San Pedro, California and sponsored by Mrs. Schuyler F. Helm. ''Hector'' was commissioned 7 February 1944. Hector had twin screws, (propellers), and two engine rooms. The boilers produced 400 psi of steam pressure. Among other things, some of the repair shops on board were a foundry, machine shop, canvas shop, optical repair, pump / valve repair, welding, diesel repair, scuba divers, Radio repair, and perhaps others. There were two cranes topside for lifting objects on and off of the ship. The crew consisted of 1108 Officers and Enlisted.http://www.hullnumber.com/crew1.php?cm=AR-7 ! U.S.S. HECTOR (AR-7) Crew Roster Displacement was 9140 tons. Length was 529 feet 6 inches. Beam was 73 feet 6 inches Flank Speed was 19 knots.

After shakedown along the West Coast, the new repair ship sailed for the Pacific, reaching Pearl Harbor 9 April 1944. She remained at Pearl Harbor effecting repairs on various ships, primarily landing craft, until she departed for Eniwetok on 5 June. Arriving there 13 June, ''Hector'' spent the summer at Eniwetok and then sailed for Ulithi 30 September. Her biggest repair job of the war came to her 27 October at Ulithi as the cruiser , torpedoed twice by Japanese submarines, was towed alongside. Although hampered by a severe typhoon season which twice sent her out to sea for safety, ''Hector'' managed to repair ''Houston'' by the end of the year besides aiding many other smaller craft.

''Hector'' departed Ulithi on 16 February 1945 and five days later steamed into Tarragona, Leyte Gulf, to repair ships as the battle for the Philippines raged. This task completed, she returned to Ulithi 30 March and continued on to Saipan 22 May. After the war ended on 1 September, ''Hector'' remained in the Pacific to prepare various ships for return to the United States.

Korean War

Departing Saipan 21 January 1946, ''Hector'' reached Long Beach, California 3 February. After serving as a repair ship there, she sailed for her first WestPac cruise 7 May 1947, thereby settling into a peacetime schedule interrupted 3 years later by the outbreak of Korean War. ''Hector'' sailed into Yokosuka 18 September 1950. From there she continued to Inchon, Korea, arriving at the scene of the Inchon Invasion, 25 September. For the remainder of the Korean War ''Hector'' alternated repair service along the Korean coast and in Japan with normal duty out of Long Beach. In 1954 she was presented with the Battle Efficiency Plaque for the year 1953–1954, and again in 1955 was awarded the same plaque for the year 1954–1955.

Thereafter, as before the Korean War, ''Hector'' alternated four to six months of service and exercises along the California coast with 6- and 8-month WestPac cruises. During these cruises the repair ship, operating in support and service of the United States Pacific and Asian defenses, visited such ports as Yokosuka, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guam, and Eniwetok. Serving intermittently as flagship for both Service Squadrons 1 and 3, ''Hector'' also was a major participant in the Navy's "People to People" program in Asia. Her deployments to the Western Pacific continued into the 1960s.

Vietnam

''Hector'' operated in the Far East from Japan to the Philippines between June 1963 and January 1964. After providing repair services for ships at Long Beach during the remainder of 1964 and the first 6 months of 1965, she underwent a modernization overhaul at Long Beach between July 1965 and February 1966 to increase her repair capabilities. Thence, she resumed fleet services out of Long Beach until departing for the Far East 5 August. She arrived Subic Bay later that month, and during the next six months repaired and serviced ships in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan. She returned to the West Coast in March 1967 and into mid-1967 ''Hector'' continued to maintain a high state of readiness and provide repair services at Long Beach.

Hector departed for WESTPAC via Pearl Harbor on 3 January 1972 arriving in Sasebo 26 January where she served as the flagship for COMSERVGRU THREE. While providing service to the fleet during this deployment ''Hector'' visited Vung Tau, Vietnam, Hong Kong, DaNang, Vietnam, Subic Bay RP, Okinawa, and Keelung, Taiwan. On 26 August ''Hector'' was relieved as COMSERVGRU THREE flagship and departed Sasebo for the US and arrived in Long Beach on 9 September 1972.

In 1972 ''Hector'' was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation that read in part the following: For meritorious service from 26 January to 25 August 1972 in direct support of United States Seventh Fleet combat operations in Southeast Asia. USS ''Hector'' contributed materially to the success of these operations by rendering vital fleet repair services to United States and friendly naval forces operating in the Republic of Vietnam. ''Hector'' also received a Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation and three additional Vietnam Service Medals during this deployment. Hector serviced the fleet as needed in various ports and locations. ''Hector'' provided maintenance repairs as well as damage repairs on ships from combat actions, notably the destroyers , USS Joseph Strauss and .

1974 began with ''Hector'' in Sasebo, Japan, and after visiting Yokosuka, that deployment ended with her return to Long Beach in the middle of February. In March, ''Hector''s home port was shifted to Mare Island, Vallejo, California. She underwent overhaul in Richmond, California in April, and visited San Diego during the same year.

End of Vietnam and Cold War

During the evacuation of Saigon in 1975 ( Operation New Life), ''Hector'' aided in setting up camps in Guam for Vietnamese refugees, for which ''Hector'' earned her first Humanitarian Service Award. During the same year, she completed conversion to Navy Distillate fuel and renovation to her crew's galley, mess decks and scullery.

During her deployment in 1977, ''Hector'' was called on to replenish combatant ships that had departed Pearl Harbor quickly in order to observe Soviet cruise missile triangulation operations. During this operation, the infamous "Hector Missile" was built to confuse the enemy. It was thought that the ship may come under Soviet Satellite observation, so a missile was constructed on board ship using 5 gallon soup and tomato cans taped together to form the body, then fins added to the rear and a cone to the front. Paint and lettering was added. The 5" guns that she once had were previously removed, and the only defenses Hector had at this time were .50 caliber machine guns. In July, ''Hector'' was forced to cancel an R&R visit to Keelung, Taiwan in order to evade Typhoon Vera, which struck northern Taiwan. She proceeded on to her next scheduled port, Subic Bay, Philippines.

During the spring of 1978, ''Hector'' provided Fleet Repair Service in Seattle, WA. Her deployment in September began with a visit to Papeete, Tahiti, and later to Subic Bay, Keelung, Taiwan; Pusan, Korea and finished the year providing FRS in Yokosuka, Japan.

In 1980, she received a major overhaul, and ''Hector'' became one of the first ships in the Pacific Fleet to have women officers report aboard. (One of whom was Ensign Darlene Iskra who served aboard as Diving Officer from 1980 to 1982 who went on to become the first woman to command a naval vessel, , in 1990.)

In 1981, ''Hector'' began her 25th deployment, visiting Subic Bay Philippines, Yokosuka Japan; Diego Garcia; Mombasa, Kenya, Melbourne, Australia, Auckland, New Zealand, Tonga, and Western Samoa. While in Pearl Harbor, ''Hector'' sent a team to rescue 12 passengers of a plane which crashed off ''Hector''s quarter. For this she was commended by Commander in Chief, US Pacific Fleet. In October 1981, ''Hector''s home port was again shifted, from Mare Island to Oakland, California.

In June 1982 the first ten enlisted women reported aboard ''Hector'' at the Naval Supply Center in Oakland, California. ''Hector'' received the Navy "E" Ribbon for the period 1 January 1982 – 30 June 1983.

In 1983, ''Hector'' spent a month repairing ships in Bremerton, Washington. During the month of April, ''Hector'' temporarily served as the Logistic Command Center while Commander Task Force 73 was embarked for FLEET EX 83-1, the largest military exercise in the North Pacific since World War II.

In 1984, during the ship's 26th deployment, ''Hector'' steamed over 35,000 miles. She also provided disaster relief to the storm battered island of Madagascar. On this deployment ''Hector'' received two Humanitarian Medals. One was for the rescue of 28 Vietnamese refugees from a small wooden craft. For the second award, a group of Hector volunteers spent several days in a leper colony doing maintenance on local homes, and other facilities, while in Madagascar. They also provided some much-needed medical service including dental work and amputations, all with field tools and in a damaged gazebo.

Her home port was changed from Alameda to San Diego in 1985, and ''Hector'' celebrated her 42nd birthday on the high seas. During transit up the Willamette River to Portland, Oregon in August, ''Hector''s aft mast was snapped off as a result of coming into contact with the Burnside Bridge.

At the beginning of 1986, ''Hector'' provided FRS to the ''Midway'' Battle Group in Yokosuka, Japan. ''Hector''s stay in Subic Bay was extended to 1 months during January to February due to Philippine elections and civil unrest. She later visited Al-Masirah, Oman and Pattaya Beach, Thailand.

After 43 years of continuous service ''Hector'' was decommissioned on 31 March 1987 in San Diego.

Pakistan service

On 20 April 1989, ''Hector'' was leased to Pakistan and renamed ''Moawin''. She was returned to the United States at Singapore in 1994 and on 17 October of that year was sold for scrapping to an Indian company.

References

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External links

Ship's homepage

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hector (AR-7)
Vulcan-class repair ships
World War II auxiliary ships of the United States
Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States
Ships built in Los Angeles
1942 ships