USS Rigel (AF-58) was a
''Rigel''-class stores ship
Store may refer to:
Enterprises
* Retail store, a shop where merchandise is sold, usually products and usually on a retail basis, and where wares are often kept
** App store, an online retail store where apps are sold, included in many mobile op ...
acquired by the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
. Her task was to carry stores, refrigerated items, and equipment to ships in the fleet, and to remote stations and staging areas.
Operational history
The second ship to be named ''Rigel'' by the Navy, ''AF-58'' was laid down under
Maritime Administration Maritime administrations, or flag state administrations, are the executive arms/state bodies of each government responsible for carrying out the shipping responsibilities of the state, and are tasked to administer national shipping and boating issue ...
contract 15 March 1954 by the
Ingalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and at 12,500 employees, the second largest ...
Corp.,
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula ( ) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is part of the Gulfport– Biloxi–Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area. The population was 2 ...
; launched 15 March 1955; sponsored by Mrs. Austin K. Doyle; and commissioned 2 September 1955.
U.S. Navy (1955-1975)
The first of a new class of high-speed, large-capacity, fully refrigerated stores issue ships, ''Rigel'' completed
shakedown out of
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...
, and her homeport of
Norfolk, Virginia. In February 1956, she sailed south for the first time; underwent further training in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n and
Puerto Rican waters; and into the fall provided logistic support along the mid-Atlantic seaboard and in the
Caribbean. In late fall (14 November-9 December), she completed her first
U.S. 6th Fleet
The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in ...
deployment which included her initiation in her primary mission - replenishment at sea.
During the winter of 1957, she spent 2 months in the Caribbean, then sailed east, in May, for 4 months in the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
. January 1958 brought a return to the Caribbean, followed in March by the initiation of a regular schedule of 6-week replenishment deployments to the Mediterranean with intervening periods spent in loading, upkeep, training, and shipyard overhauls. On her second and third deployments of that year, she directly supported units of the
U.S. 6th Fleet
The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in ...
sent to
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
at the request of that country's president.
''Rigel'' maintained her regular
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
logistic deployment schedule through the 1960s. Interruptions came with the replenishment of units engaged in
good will visits to West
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
(January 1961); exercises off
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
(June 1962, June 1965); and crises in the Caribbean - the
Cuban Missile Crisis in November 1962 and the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
crisis in May 1965.
''Rigel'' was fitted out with an
amidships
This glossary of nautical terms is an alphabetical listing of terms and expressions connected with ships, shipping, seamanship and navigation on water (mostly though not necessarily on the sea). Some remain current, while many date from the 17th ...
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
platform in 1961, thus providing her with a vertical replenishment capability. Two years later, that platform was replaced with one on her
fantail
Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as " ...
to simplify the pilots' problems when landing aboard or conducting replenishments. ''Rigel'' served until decommissioned on 23 June 1975.
Military Sealift Command (1975-1992)
''Rigel'' was placed in service by the
Military Sealift Command (MSC) as USNS ''Rigel'' (T-AF-58), 23 June 1975. She continued operating with the MSC, resupplying U.S. Navy ships until 1992.
Decommissioning and fate (1992-2008)
''Rigel'' was struck from the
Navy list
A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...
on 16 May 1994, and was transferred to the
Maritime Administration Maritime administrations, or flag state administrations, are the executive arms/state bodies of each government responsible for carrying out the shipping responsibilities of the state, and are tasked to administer national shipping and boating issue ...
. She was laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet on 1 April 1998 off Fort Eustis, Virginia (USA). In 2008, she was finally sold to All Star Metals for $469,626 and scrapped in Brownsville, Texas (USA).
Military awards and honors
''Rigel’s'' crew was eligible for the following medals:
*
Navy Expeditionary Medal
The Navy Expeditionary Medal is a military award of the United States Navy which was established in August 1936.
Award criteria
The General Orders of the Department of the Navy which established the medal states, "The medal will be awarded, to ...
*
National Defense Service Medal
The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...
*
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
The Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (AFEM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces, which was first created in 1961 by Executive Order of President John Kennedy. The medal is awarded to members of the U.S. Armed Forces who, after ...
*
Southwest Asia Service Medal
References
External links
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rigel
Rigel-class stores ships
Ships built in Pascagoula, Mississippi
1955 ships