USS Rainbow

History
United States
NameUSS Rainbow
BuilderJames Laing, Sunderland, England
Launched7 January 1890, as Norse King
Acquiredby purchase, 29 June 1898
Commissioned2 December 1901
Decommissioned24 December 1914
Recommissioned29 January 1916
Decommissioned11 July 1925
ReclassifiedAS-7, 17 July 1920
Stricken26 June 1928
FateSold for scrap, 13 September 1928
General characteristics
TypeDistilling ship / Submarine tender
Displacement4,360 long tons (4,430 t)
Length325 ft 9 in (99.29 m)
Beam41 ft 1 in (12.52 m)
Draft17 ft 8 in (5.38 m)
Propulsion2 coal-fired boilers, 1 triple-expansion engine, single shaft
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement55 officers and enlisted
Armament

USS Rainbow (AS-7) was the only ship in the United States Navy by that name. The ship was originally converted to a distilling ship in 1898, and then converted again in 1917 to a submarine tender.

Rainbow was built in 1890 as the merchant ship Norse King by James Laing at Sunderland, England. She was purchased by the U.S. Navy on 29 June 1898, placed in reduced commission on 18 July, and transferred to the New York Navy Yard for fitting out for use as a distilling and station ship in the Philippines.