USS Medusa ( AR - 1 ) USS " Medusa " ( AR - 1 ) was the United States Navy ' s first purpose - built repair ship . She served in the U . S . Navy from 1924 to 1946 . Technical characteristics . Authorized as part of the naval programs of 1916 and 1918 , " Medusa " was laid down at the Puget Sound Navy Yard , Bremerton , Washington , on 2 January 1920 . She was launched on 16 April 1923 , sponsored by Mrs . Burns Poe , and commissioned on 18 September 1924 , Captain R . T . Menner in command . " Medusa " was the first U . S . Navy ship designed as a fleet repair ship for major repairs beyond the fighting ship ’ s own capabilities but which must be accomplished without the benefit of visiting a shipyard . Prior to the commissioning of " Medusa " , U . S . Navy repair ships had been converted for that purpose . As the U . S . Navy began to grow in size during the World War I years , it was felt that such conversions would prove inadequate for the Navy ' s needs . The Department of the Navy designed " Medusa " with an eye toward at least equalling the repair facilities of the repair ship , which had been converted from a collier . " Medusa " was conceived as primarily a tender for battleship divisions , and so was given a speed and range that would allow her to work with the U . S . Navy ' s newest dreadnought battleships . Originally designated " Repair Ship No . 1 " , she was redesignated AR - 1 when the Navy assigned alphanumeric hull numbers to all of its ships on 17 July 1920 . " Medusa " commissioned as a very modern repair ship by the standards of 1924 , capable of blacksmith work , boiler repairs , carpentry , coppersmith ing , electrical work , foundry work , pipe work , plating , sheet - metal work , welding , and repairs of optical and mechanical equipment . Her machinery shop ' s equipment included lathes , radial drill s , milling machine s , slotting machines , boring machines , optical repair equipment , armature bake oven s , and coil winding machines . To meet additional demands from the fleet , she had a motion picture shop , large laundry and bakery facilities , and large refrigeration units . She also embarked two officers and 20 enlisted men from aviation Observation Squadron 2 ( VO - 2 ) to repair floatplanes based on battleships and cruisers . Operational history . " Medusa " spent her naval career with the United States Pacific Fleet . Upon commissioning in 1924 , she was home - ported at San Pedro , California and assigned to Train Squadron 2 , Base Force , after commissioning . She performed her duties out of San Pedro until World War II . " Medusa " first demonstrated her capability to keep up and support the fleet in 1925 . She departed Honolulu , Hawaii , on 1 July 1925 with the battle fleet and accompanied it on a voyage across the Pacific Ocean to Australia and New Zealand and then back to San Pedro , where she arrived with the fleet on 26 September 1925 . In the late 1920s , " Medusa " stepped outside her normal repair duties to play a transport role . On 11 May 1927 she departed San Pedro carrying seven officers and 78 enlisted men of the U . S . Marine Corps ' s Marine Observation Squadron 4 and their six Boeing O2B - 1 aircraft to Nicaragua . In July 1928 , she again carried Marines to Nicaragua , this time in company with storeship . " Medusa " continued her fleet support duties out of San Pedro until mid - August 1941 , when she moved to Pearl Harbor , Hawaii . She was there on 7 December 1941 when Imperial Japanese Navy carrier aircraft attacked . With her commanding officer ashore , her repair officer , Lieutenant Commander John F . P . Miller , took command . " Medusa " fired on a Japan ese Type A midget submarine she sighted in the harbor , ceasing fire on it when destroyer closed in to sink the submarine . " Medusa " s antiaircraft machine gun ners claimed two Japanese Aichi D3A 1 dive bomber s shot down during the attack . After the attack , she went to work in her primary role as a repair ship ; she provided pumps to the damaged seaplane tender , machine gun ammunition to the grounded battleship , and rifle s to U . S . Army troops at Schofield Barracks , and food , beverages , and fuel to ships ' boats that visited her , and she assisted in efforts to rescue men trapped in the hull of the capsized antiaircraft training ship . On 1 March 1942 , the Base Force was redesignated the Service Force , Pacific Fleet . Now a Service Force unit , " Medusa " continued to aid the clean - up at Pearl Harbor . On 4 April 1943 , " Medusa " got underway for the combat area . She arrived at Havannah Harbor at Efate in the New Hebrides on 20 April 1943 , relieving repair ship there on 24 April 1943 . She operated at Efate for the next 11 months , temporarily deploying to Espiritu Santo from 24 July 1943 to 4 August 1943 to fashion a temporary bow for the torpedo ed light cruiser . On 27 March 1944 , " Medusa " departed Efate for a series of shorter assignments . First sailing to New Guinea , she repaired ships of the 7th Fleet at Milne Bay and Buna Roads ; she then steamed to Guadalcanal , where she arrived on 15 May 1944 for service with the 3rd Fleet . On 1 June 1944 , she steamed to Sydney , Australia , for repairs to her hull , damaged by grounding on Buna Shoal in May , before continuing on to Manus Island in the Admiralty Islands . After the ammunition ship disintegrated in a massive explosion at Manus on 10 November 1944 , she provided repairs and medical supplies to internal combustion engine repair ship , which had suffered heavy damage in the explosion . In mid - January 1945 , " Medusa " departed Manus for Hollandia where she joined a convoy for San Pedro Bay in the Philippine Islands . There she serviced ships engaged in the capture of Luzon and other Japanese - held islands in the Philippines and the Ryukyus until 6 July 1945 , when she returned to Manus . Pacific hostilities ended on 15 August 1945 . At the end of August , " Medusa " steamed to Manila . There she operated with Service Squadron 7 until heading back to the United States on 14 November 1945 . On 8 December 1945 she reported to Terminal Island for duty in connection with the laying up of vessels in the San Diego Group of the Inactive Fleet . With that duty completed , she herself began inactivation . On 23 May 1946 , she was reported to be " worn beyond economic repair ; " in June 1946 it was recommended that she be stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and disposed of . An initial attempt to tow her from San Diego by submarine rescue vessel failed , but submarine rescue vessel succeeded in towing " Medusa " to Bremerton , where she arrived on 2 October 1946 . She was decommissioned there on 18 November 1946 , then was turned over to the United States Maritime Commission for ultimate disposal . The ships flag was given to the last person off the ship , Lieutenant Commander Willard E . Adams , who had also been stationed on " Medusa " during the attack at Pearl Harbor . " Medusa " was stricken from the Navy List on 10 June 1947 . After she was stripped , her hulk was sold to Zeidell Shipwrecking Company of Portland , Oregon , on 24 August 1950 . Scrapping was completed in 1951 . Battle honors . " Medusa " received one battle star for World War II service .