F<< Collier Photo Index (AC)

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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Vestal (AR-4)
ex
 USS Vestal (Repair Ship #4) (1913 - 1920)
 Vestal (Collier #1) (1909 - 1922)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Echo - November - Kilo
 NENK
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive) - Mexican Service Medal - China Service Medal (extended)
Second Row - World War I Victory Medal - American Defense Service Medal (with Fleet clasp) - American Campaign Medal
Third Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2) - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp)
Individual Awards
The Commanding Officer of Vestal at Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941, CDR. C. Young, was awarded the Medal of Honor.

Members of the Repair Department that proceeded to sea in Saratoga (CV-3) before her
repairs were completed were awarded the Navy Unit Commendation along with the Saratoga crew.
Vestal Class Collier/Repair Ship:
  • Laid down, 25 March 1907, at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn N.Y.
  • Launched, 19 May 1908
  • Placed in service, 4 October 1909 as Vestal (Collier #1)
  • Placed out of service, 25 October 1912 at Boston Navy Yard for conversion to a Repair Ship
  • Commissioned USS Vestal (Fleet Repair Ship #4), 3 September 1913, CDR. Edward L. Beach in command
  • Designated (AR-4), 17 July 1920
  • During WWII USS Vestal was assigned to Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:
    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Pearl Harbor-Midway, 7 December 1941 Okinawa Gunto operation, 1 April to 30 June 1945
  • Decommissioned, 14 August 1946, at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, WA.
  • Laid up in the Pacific Reserve Fleet
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 25 September 1946
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 28 July 1950, to Boston Metals Co., Baltimore MD.
  • Vestal received two battle stars for her World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 9,789 t.(fl)
    Length 465' 9"
    Beam 60' 2"
    Draft 26' (mean), 36' 6" (max.)
    Speed 16 kts.
    Complement
    (AC) 90
    (AR)
    Officers 35
    Enlisted 748
    Largest Boom Capacity 20 t.
    Armament
    (AC) none
    (AR)
    three single 3"/50 cal. dual purpose gun mounts
    two twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    Fuel Capacity
    NSFO 6,500 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two New York Navy Yard vertical triple-expansion reciprocating steam engine
    three White-Forester boilers, 200psi, °Sat (coal fired boilers, converted to oil)
    three turbo-drive 300Kw 120V/240V D.C. Ship's Service Generators
    two propellers, 7,500shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Vestal Collier #1
    Vestal 263k Christening and launch of Vestal (Collier #1). Miss Goodrich, ship's sponsor, breaking the traditional bottle of champagne across the bow of the ship at New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y. on 19 May 1908.
    Digital ID: ggbain 00449 Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.    		 Bill Gonyo
    Vestal 90k Vestal (Collier #1) photographed circa 1909-1912, while serving as a fleet collier prior to conversion to a repair ship.
    US Navy photo # NH 43620 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation -- Collection of Admiral Hilary P. Jones.    		 Robert Hurst
    Vestal 34k Vestal (Collier #1) date and location unknown. Photo from "Jane's Fighting Ships 1914." Robert Hurst
    USS Vestal Repair Ship No. 4 / AR-4
    Vestal 84k USS Vestal (Repair Ship #4) anchored off New York City, circa 17-20 December 1918, while still painted in World War I disruptive camouflage. Ship in the distance, beyond USS Vestal's stern, is USS Iowa (BB-4)
    US Navy photo # NH 43622 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Vestal 115k View of the harbor at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba with battleships, destroyers and auxiliaries of the U.S. Fleet present, circa 1922. Ship in center is USS Vestal (AR-4). In the right distance is USS Columbia (AG-9), the Fleet's administrative flagship.
    US Navy photo # NH 83740 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation -- Collection of Admiral Hilary P. Jones.    		 Robert Hurst
    Vestal 87k USS Vestal (AR-4) photographed circa early 1920s.
    Photo from collection of the New York Naval Shipyard.
    US Navy photo # NH43621 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Vestal 98k USS Vestal (AR-4) crew photo, circa 1920s. .
    Vestal 130k USS Vestal (AR-4) with six destroyers alongside, during the later 1920s. Outboard destroyer is USS Sands (DD-243). Next inboard is USS Hatfield (DD-231). Two of the other destroyers present are also of the group (DD-231--235) armed with 5"/51 guns, which can be seen on the ships' fantails.
    Photo from collection of Vice Admiral Dixwell Ketcham.
    US Navy photo # NH100533 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Vestal 57k USS Vestal (AR-4) underway, circa 1935, location unknown. Robert Hurst
    Vestal 40k USS Vestal (AR-4) underway, circa 1939, location unknown. Robert Hurst
    Vestal 127k View taken from USS Houston (CA-30) in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 20 February 1939, shows the USS Vestal (AR-4) crew manning the rail in honor of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was then embarked in USS Houston (CA-30).
    US Navy photo # NH50272 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Vestal 76k USS Vestal (AR-4) beached on Aiea shoal, Pearl Harbor, after the 7 December 1941 Japanese raid. She is listing from damage caused by two bombs that hit her during the attack.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-19933, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Vestal 102k USS Vestal (AR-4) after she was beached in Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. She had been damaged by Japanese bomb hits during the raid. An Officers' Motor Boat is alongside her starboard quarter.
    US Navy photo # NH 64480 from the collections of the Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Vestal 62k USS Vestal (AR-4) moored at Pearl Harbor, T.H., circa 1942, following repair of damage she received in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
    US Navy photo # NH97405 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Ballard 200k From bottom to top; USS Ballard (AVD-10), USS Hammondsport (APV-2), USS Vestal (AR-4) and a garbage lighter (YG) surrounded by anti-submarine nets at Pearl Harbor, 12 July 1942.
    US Navy photo # NH 84001, courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Forrestal Collection    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Vestal 33k USS Vestal (AR-4) underway, date and location unknown. Hyperwar, US Navy in WWII
    Vestal 112k USS St. Louis (CL-49) coming alongside USS Vestal (AR-4) at Tulagi, Solomon Islands, circa 20 July 1943. USS Vestal conducted initial repair of torpedo damage received by St. Louis during the Battle of Kolombangara, 13 July 1943.
    US Navy National Archives photo # 80-G-258905 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Vestal 94k USS Washington (BB-56) alongside USS Vestal (AR-4) for initial repairs, after colliding with USS Indiana (BB-58) during the Marshall Islands operation on 1 February 1944
    US Navy photo # NH 68352 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Vestal 24k USS Vestal (AR-4) with USS Washington (BB-56) alongside at Majuro atoll in the Marshal Islands, February 1944. .
    Vestal 92k USS Vestal (AR-4) with USS Blue (DD-387) alongside, date and location unknown. Clint Wingrove
    Pelias 477k USS Vestal (AR-4) on the (north side) of the pier across from USS Pelias (AS-14) at Mare Island Navy Yard, 13 August 1944 while undergoing repair and modification. YD-98 and the a small portion of YD-84 are seen at the opposite pier (south side).
    File name: AS 14 5204-44, Navy Photo, 8/13/44.    		 Darryl Baker
    Vestal 140k Amidships looking forward plan view of USS Vestal (AR-4) at Navy Yard Mare Island, 20 August 1944, during inclining experiments. USS Vestal was at Mare Island for overhaul from 2 July until 8 September 1944. USS Baltimore (CA-68) is in the background.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 5317-44.    		 Darryl Baker
    Vestal 121k Aft plan view of USS Vestal (AR-4) at Navy Yard Mare Island, 20 August 1944, during inclining experiments. USS Vestal was at Mare Island for overhaul from 2 July until 8 September 1944. USS Baltimore (CA-68) is in the background with YD-98 alongside.
    Navy Yard Mare Island photo # 5320-44.    		 Darryl Baker

    For more photos and information about USS Vestal, see;
  • Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
  • Commanding Officers
    • Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Pearl Harbor Action Report
    NAVSEA World War II War Damage Report
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Ship Photo Index Back To The Collier (AC) Photo Index Back To The Repair Ship (AR) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 10 December 2010