USS Rainbow ( AS - 7 ) USS " Rainbow " ( AS - 7 ) is 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 . Service history . Asiatic Fleet , 1901 – 1908 . " Rainbow " was commissioned in full on 2 December 1901 , Comdr . S . A . Stanton in command , and was assigned to the Asiatic Fleet . En route to the Philippines , she sailed via Gibraltar for the Suez Canal , calling at Palermo , Sicily ; Port Said , Egypt ; Colombo , Ceylon ; and Singapore before arriving at Cavite on 3 April 1902 . " Rainbow " , as flagship of the Philippine Squadron , remained in the Philippines , with only periodic runs to Hong Kong for repairs , until 1906 . Her range was then expanded from an annual circuit among Philippine ports to include visits to various Japan ese ports , and in November 1907 , a call at Vladivostok with Secretary of War Taft embarked . Pacific Fleet , 1908 – 1911 . Becoming flagship of the 3rd Squadron , Pacific Fleet , in 1908 , " Rainbow " cruised among the Philippine and Japanese islands and off the coast of China , and , on at least one occasion , December 1908 - January 1909 , conducted hydrologic surveys . Then , designated tender to the First Torpedo Flotilla , she alternated between the China coast and the Philippines until pressed into service as a transport in 1911 . Asiatic Fleet , 1911 – 1914 . " Rainbow " departed Cavite on 26 October 1911 , en route with an expeditionary force of Marines landed at Woosung ( 31 October - 1 November ) to help protect American nationals from imminent dangers of the revolutionary turmoil in China . She became the temporary flagship of the Commander - in - Chief , Asiatic Fleet , 1 November 1911 , cruising the China coast to observe conditions which might affect the safety of Americans at Shanghai , Woosung , Nanking , Amoy , Swatow , Tsingtao , and Taku . " Rainbow " shifted from Olongapo to Cavite on 8 October 1912 and served there as temporary flagship for the Commander - in - Chief , Asiatic Fleet ( 30 October - 7 November ) . She departed Cavite on 7 November 1912 , bound by way of Woosung , Shanghai , and the Yangtze River to Nanking , China . She arrived at Nanking on 20 November and sailed 10 days later to cruise with the American ambassador to the ports of Shanghai , Hong Kong , Swatow , Amoy , and Woosung . She departed Woosung on 28 December 1912 , investigating the landing facilities at Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines before being repaired at Olongapo in January 1913 . " Rainbow " shifted from Olongapo to Cavite on 26 January 1913 and remained in the Philippines until 28 March when she again set course for the coast of China . She transferred stores and men to at Woosung , then served as a station ship at Shanghai until 4 November 1913 . After calling at Olongapo , she proceeded to Manila , embarked the Commander - in - Chief for transport to Shanghai , and served there as flagship from 21 December 1913 to 19 January 1914 . " Rainbow " resumed station ship duty at Cavite on 22 January 1914 . She again became temporary flagship of the Commander - in - Chief at Cavite on 1 March 1914 , but terminated this duty on 23 March 1914 when she shifted to Olongapo for overhaul , completed on 8 July 1914 . She departed Manila Bay on 16 July 1914 , taking refuge from a storm in Lingayen Gulf the 18th , before proceeding to survey the French Frigate Shoals , Hawaii ( 7 – 10 August 1914 ) . She arrived at Honolulu 12 August , basing there for further survey work off the French Frigate Shoals until 14 November 1914 . She then set course for San Francisco , arriving 24 November 1914 and shifting to the Mare Island Navy Yard the following day to prepare for inactivation . She decommissioned in the Mare Island Navy Yard on 24 December 1914 . Conversion to submarine tender , 1916 – 1918 . " Rainbow " was placed in commission , in reserve , at the Mare Island Navy Yard on 29 January 1916 . She shifted to the U . S . Naval Training Station , Yerba Buena Island , 4 February 1916 , serving as a receiving ship there until 14 December 1917 . She then entered the Mare Island Navy Yard to fit out for service as a tender to the 6th Division , Submarine Force , U . S . Atlantic Fleet . Submarine tender , 1918 – 1925 . On 2 April 1918 " Rainbow " departed Mare Island to tend submarines and at Yerba Buena Island , California City , and San Pedro , California . On 3 May 1918 she departed San Pedro for the eastern seaboard in company with " L - 6 " and " L - 7 " . She arrived in Charleston with the L - boats on 9 June 1918 and proceeded independently on the 21st for the Philadelphia Navy Yard , arriving on 24 June 1918 . " Rainbow " overhauled in the Philadelphia Navy Yard until 20 October 1918 , then tended the O - boats of Submarine Division 10 at Newport , Rhode Island ; Bridgeport , Connecticut ; and Tompkinsville , New York . The tender sailed from Tompkinsville in company with Submarine Division 10 , bound by way of Hampton Roads , Virginia , to Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , arriving on 7 January 1919 . " Rainbow " served as tender for Submarine Division 10 at Guantanamo until 10 March 1919 ; then cruised to Charlotte Amalie Harbor , St . Thomas , Virgin Islands , where the O - boats carried out daily practice on the target range until 16 April . After calling at San Juan , Puerto Rico , the tender and her submarines returned to New York on 1 May 1919 . " Rainbow " continued as a tender to Submarine Division 10 at Cold Spring Inlet , Cape May , New Jersey , from 14 May to 22 September 1919 . She then sailed to Charleston , where she remained in commission , in reserve , until 13 February 1920 . She entered the Boston Navy Yard on 18 February 1920 for overhaul and was placed in full commission there 1 July 1920 to serve as a tender to Submarine Division 12 . Reclassified AS - 7 on 17 July 1920 , " Rainbow " departed the Boston Navy Yard on 28 October 1920 , made a brief call at the Portsmouth Navy Yard , Kittery , Maine , then reached Newport , Rhode Island , 6 November 1921 to commence tending the S - boat s of Submarine Division 12 . The submarine division shifted base to New York on 19 November and sailed the 30th bound by way of Key West , Guantanamo Bay , the Panama Canal and ports of Mexico , to San Diego , arriving on 9 February 1921 . " Rainbow " tended Submarine Division 12 on the California coast until 6 April 1921 , then set course from San Francisco with the S - boats of Division 12 for Honolulu , arriving 17 April 1921 . Tending operations in Hawaiian waters continued until 12 November 1921 when she set course with the S - boats for Apra Harbor , Guam ( 27 – 30 November ) , thence to Cavite , Philippine Islands , arriving on 6 December 1921 . Upon arrival at Cavite , Philippine Islands , " Rainbow " became the flagship of Submarine Flotilla 3 ( later designated Submarine Division ) , Asiatic Fleet . She also served as tender to Submarine Division 12 and sometimes assisted in tending the " boats " of Submarine Division 18 . Except for a visit to Hong Kong ( 11 – 31 October 1921 ) , she remained in the Philippines until 23 April 1923 . She then sailed with the Submarine Divisions of the Asiatic Fleet and tender " Finch " to serve along the China Coast at Shanghai , Chefoo , Chinwangtao , Woosung , and Amoy . " Rainbow " returned to Olongapo , Philippine Islands , from the coast of China on 10 September 1923 , serving there and at Cavite until 24 June 1924 . She again sailed from Cavite on 24 June 1924 in company with tender " Finch " and the S - boats of Divisions 12 and 18 to serve at Tsingtao , Chefoo , and Amoy until 20 September . She returned to Olongapo on 23 September 1924 and sailed 28 October for return to the western seaboard of the United States . She called at Sorsogon Bay , Luzon ( 29 September - 3 October ) ; Apra Harbor , Guam ( 6 – 17 November ) ; Pearl Harbor ( 7 – 19 December ) ; and reached the Mare Island Navy Yard on 31 December 1924 . " Rainbow " departed San Diego on 2 February 1925 to land Marine reinforcements at Corinto , Nicaragua ( 11 – 12 February ) , then proceeded by way of the Panama Canal , Guantanamo Bay , and Hampton Roads to the Philadelphia Navy Yard , arriving on 10 March 1925 . Decommissioning and sale , 1925 – 1928 . " Rainbow " was decommissioned in the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 11 July 1925 . She remained inactive in the Philadelphia Navy Yard until her name was struck from the Navy list on 26 June 1928 . She was sold for scrapping on 13 September 1928 to the Boston Iron Works , Baltimore , Maryland .